Currently, every business customer care desk redefines the firm’s success and capability of growing. With the much important role played by this office, proper customer service phone skills are a mandatory trait for those who partake in customer handling in the office. With excellent phone communication skills, you will be in a position to successfully handle your clients, and keep them interested in your firm.

You need to be flexible enough with your scripts so you can respond to your prospective customers’ wants and requirements. Remember, scripts are just a frame of reference to help you respond to your prospects. Your telephone technique should let the candidate know that the benefits of what you have to offer are so they don’t feel “stuck.” They have real options within their control. They can slowly move from either leaving their job to managing their organization or just have the ability to supplement their current income if they choose – just like you! Below are some of the most crucial phone skills tips you should consider applying.

Even voice tone

It is important to speak openly, calmly and in an even tone. If you are anxious or even short of breath, the other party may perceive that you are distracted, causing the phone conversation to be terse and unproductive. Having good phone book skills is crucial as it may be the break through to a prospective deal for your company or provide vital counseling to someone who is in need of support. However, since both of you may not see each other face-to-face, a telephone conversation may not lead to favorable outcomes; on the flip side, it results unintended misunderstanding.

Identify Yourself

It is important to identify yourself to the other party before you proceed with the conversation. It’s a bold idea to assume that the other party knows you.

Ask For Identification

Along the lines of the above point, you should also ask for the identity of the other party. You do not want to reveal confidential information to the wrong person on the other line! Situations like this aren’t as far-fetched since speaking on a mobile phone may create identity distortions as compared to using a fixed-line phone.

Structured Call

If you are making a sale over the phone, it is important to ask the customer if you may use a few minutes of his time. You should then proceed with providing more significant features of the product. Be mindful that if the receiver is speaking as if he is driving, his mind may not be fully registering what you are selling – in this type of situation, it will be more productive to call him at his office or home.

Emotional Caller

If you receive a call from a member of public who is in an emotionally unstable state, it is good to ensure that you are not in a distracting environment; you should make sure that your full attention is with the caller. Remember not to speak too loudly and allow other people to get details of your confidential phone conversation.

Incoming Call

It is rude to pick up an incoming call abruptly and expect your phone partner to hold. If the incoming call is urgent, it is a matter of courtesy to tell your phone partner that you will get back to him shortly. Remember to get his number.

Using the email/fax

In sales, you can complement the phone conversation with email attachments or even a fax, allowing you to go through the product’s specification and together be more persuasive in closing the sales. The other party can visualize your product better.

Your handset

If the battery in your handset is running low, remember to inform the other party. It also good practice to ask for his number.

Speak precisely

The caller cannot see you discern your facial expressions, and it is, therefore, important you talk in a direct manner that is slightly slow with an active effort. More than 50% of communication is non-verbal, so you should know that communication over the telephone is quite a difficult thing to do. Now add in a language and cultural barrier, and the task of communicating over the phone gets even more complicated. Speaking inaudibly is one of the most fundamental mistakes that telesales agents make and a surefire way to bore the person at the other end of the phone. Don’t expect someone to ask you to repeat yourself, as you might just find they hang up instead!

Handling your Emotions

If you are bored, tired, or in a bad mood, take a break before you make any more calls, because chances are your mood will be infectious over the telephone! If you add in a language or cultural barrier, then communication will become frustrating for both listener and caller. You should plan telemarketing phone calls around your mood, and if you are not in good form, why not take a ten-minute breather? Make your voice a pleasure to hear. Breaking will arm you with the patience needed to communicate over the phone with people who don’t necessarily speak your language fluently.

Smile when talking

People from all cultures are instinctive creatures, and a positive attitude conveys very much more loudly than you might think over the phone. Your smile might not be apparent. People listening to someone’s voice can easily detect insincerity. So smile when you speak and put your whole heart into the conversation.

Today, many people opt to take the easy way out by avoiding situations involving verbal communication. The problem with this is that communication skills must be used regularly to keep them sharp. It’s the old “use it or loses it” syndrome. If we don’t speak to each other regularly, we fall out of the habit of being good listeners; we fall out of the habit of using our voices and our words to their best advantage. Receptionist phone skills must frequently be rehearsed to ensure that you don’t lose the attribute.

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