Simply because everybody has a telephone doesn’t imply they know how you can reply it, particularly in the case of enterprise.
Pizzeria operators know the way essential the phone is to the success of their enterprise as a result of a bigger proportion of gross sales is generated from phone-in orders. So, having the proper particular person reply the telephone may be essential to a day’s backside line. However, what qualities ought to that “proper” particular person have? How do you retain clients calling in repeatedly? When a buyer calls in to order a big pepperoni pizza on a busy Friday night time, who would you like answering that decision? How would you like your corporation to be represented?
Harris Eckstut, founder and principal of Eckstut Restaurant/Small Enterprise Teaching and Consulting Companies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, mentioned that “though it isn’t important to have one sole worker to reply the telephone, it’s important — even essential — that the particular person (or individuals) permitted to reply the telephone ought to have an awesome telephone persona with a transparent voice that’s simply understood.
“By telephone persona, I imply a enjoyable one who is bubbly/ enthusiastic/ gratifying to talk with; which, by defi nition, will promote larger examine averages. Which is what good salespersonship, and the raison d’etre for being in enterprise, are all about.”
Juanita Ecker, president of Skilled Picture Administration in Troy, New York, mentioned it’s undoubtedly extra skilled to have somebody whose essential job is to reply the telephone, however added that the majority corporations merely aren’t in a position to do this.
In accordance with Ecker, the perfect telephone particular person is “somebody who can provide their undivided consideration to the caller.” She additionally mentioned appearing rushed, even when the worker is busy, shouldn’t be the way in which to deal with calls — it sends out a detrimental message.
“It comes throughout to the caller as ‘you’re not essential,’ ” Ecker mentioned. Invoice Stephens of Invoice Stephens Associates in San Antonio, Texas, advises that the worker answerable for answering the telephone be nice, , involved and clever.
“They aren’t getting paid to hurry speak they’re communicators, so they have to converse intelligibly and be simply understood,” Stephens says, including that good phone tools needs to be utilized by the worker. He additionally cautions {that a} wi-fi telephone and extra manufacturing duties assigned to the telephone particular person may be disastrous.
“Give them back-up jobs, not timedriven, to allow them to cease and provides their full consideration to the incoming calls,” Stephens mentioned. “They need to be naturally sales-oriented. You’ll be able to drive them to upsell, but when it comes naturally, the outcomes shall be very rewarding. Give them a particular merchandise/objects to promote and a fee on their gross sales. This might deliver parity to the manufacturing and gross sales individuals and the tipped supply individuals.”
Ecker agrees that the telephone particular person is the right particular person to upsell clients by suggesting choices akin to further cheese, a liter of pop, or an order of garlic bread as a result of the client might not be conscious of those menu choices.
To seek out the perfect telephone particular person, Nancy Friedman, president and founding father of The Phone Physician Buyer Service Coaching of St. Louis, Missouri, recommends interviewing the candidate by telephone first. “That’s how one can inform if they’ve an excellent phone voice,” Friedman mentioned. Throughout an interview, she provides, a candidate ought to act out precisely what duties she or he shall be acting on the job.
Friedman additionally mentioned that this can be very essential, necessary in actual fact, for the telephone particular person to verify orders. “Don’t simply say, ‘yeah, I received it,’ ” Friedman says. Additionally, Friedman stresses the significance of an enormous smile.
“You’ll be able to hear a smile,” Friedman insists. Placing individuals on maintain ought to all the time be dealt with with consideration, in response to Friedman. She suggests saying one thing like, “I’m going to examine in your order, can I put you on maintain?” Friedman mentioned that the telephone particular person ought to all the time inform the caller why she or he is being placed on maintain earlier than it occurs.
Ecker agrees that placing clients on maintain needs to be completed with kindness. “If you need to put somebody on maintain, don’t simply say ‘I’m going to must put you on maintain, click on.’ Ask, ‘is it okay if I put you on maintain?’ It’s extra courteous,” Ecker mentioned. “And while you come again, all the time say ‘thanks for holding.’ Don’t preserve an individual on maintain for too lengthy, like quarter-hour, as a result of you’ve a protracted line of consumers. Assist one or two clients and get again to the particular person on maintain and let the shoppers in line know you’ll be proper with them as quickly as you assist the caller. Folks hate to be placed on maintain as a result of they suppose nobody will get again to them.”
The best telephone particular person could also be on the market able to go, however greater than possible she or he should be taught just a few issues earlier than the primary official “hey, could I take your order?”
In accordance with Friedman, the success or failure of the worker who’s answerable for answering the telephone comes right down to coaching.
“The foremost drawback is that younger children are usually not getting educated. Younger children, highschool and school children, wish to be good. It must be as much as the pizzeria proprietor who says, ‘In the event you’re going to work at my retailer, you’re going to get every week’s value of coaching, and never on-the-job coaching,’ ” Friedman mentioned. “Folks suppose it’s common sense and it’s not.”
So, the subsequent time your telephone rings with an order, make sure the particular person answering it’s prepared for the problem. The nice persona of an worker plus good coaching supplied by the operator may end up in the proper telephone particular person for a enterprise who will preserve clients calling repeatedly. ?
DeAnn Owens is a contract journalist dwelling in Indianapolis. She focuses on options and human curiosity tales.
