Out-Shine Your Competitors: 4 Easy Phone Tactics Most People Mess Up

I was talking on the phone with a potential client the other day, and she said, "You do have a really great energy.  I would love to work with you."

Keep in mind that I have not yet met this woman.  She could feel my good energy over the phone and decided to hire me on the spot.  How powerful is that?  

Many people might argue that with email, social media and the internet, the phone is out of date and unnecessary, but it is still one of the most useful, and most potentially damaging pieces of equipment in your office.  Like it or not, it will never go away.  Are you guilty of making any of these mistakes when using the phone?

1.  The standard voicemail.  

Does yours sound like this?

"You've reached the voicemail box of Mike Smith.  Please leave your name, number, and a brief message, and I'll return your call as soon as possible."

When you really break this down, there are just so many issues.  First, you are insinuating that whoever is calling is probably going to leave a lengthy, irritating message, so you feel the need to nip it in the bud by instructing them to leave a "brief" message.  Second, the person calling definitely knows the drill.  They have used the phone before, you don't need to spell out the meaning of voicemail.  Most of all though, this message is unfriendly.  It makes you sound stuffy and possibly rude.

Try this instead:

"Hi, thanks so much for calling Mike Smith with x company.  I'm so sorry I missed your call.  I look forward to talking with just you as soon as I get back to my office.  Have a great day!"

See the difference?  You've thanked them for calling.  They feel important and of course they will still leave you a message with their name and number even though it wasn't in your instructions.  Plus, if you can manage to have some warmth to your voice, you might even manage to begin building trust, especially if you do call them back quickly, as you promised.

 2.  Not Letting Someone Go When They Say They're Busy

Let's pretend you call someone and they answer the phone, so you assume they're free to chat and you launch into your spiel.  Instead, they interrupt you, saying "I'm right in the middle of a meeting right now."

Now you're flummoxed.  Why did they even answer if they were in a meeting?  You start talking faster, "Okay, no problem, I just wanted to tell you about a few things that were missing in the proposal, it won't take very long, it's in paragraph four...."

You've now made a big mistake.  Didn't you listen?  The person said they were busy.  Take the opportunity to earn their trust.  Instead say, "No problem, I'll try you back later."  And hang up.  Yes, just hang up.  I have had customers send me an email, thanking me for letting them get off the phone so quickly, and even apologizing profusely for their behavior.  See how that turns a negative into a positive?

3.  Not being friendly

MMS Consulting conducted an exhaustive research study, interviewing customers in over twenty states and asked them a series of questions about their interactions with vendors.  The results were very enlightening and quickly formed a pattern.  When asked to give their top advice to vendors, the most common response was, "Be friendly."  

It turns out that being friendly is harder than you may think and many vendors are sorely lacking a friendly demeanor.  To help make sure you don't sound cranky, try smiling while you talk.  You could even get a small mirror and put it on your desk so you can try smiling at yourself while you talk.  Another good trick is to leave yourself a series of voicemails and listen to yourself as you talk.  Do you sound like someone you would want to talk to if your computer just crashed and you need help?  If not, you're doing something wrong.

4.  Not Using "The Pause"

While it's important to be friendly and have good energy on the phone, don't dominate the conversation.  Make good use of "the pause".  Don't be afraid to leave dead air for a moment, especially if you're having a difficult conversation about a shipping problem or something unpleasant.  There is often a delay on phones, especially when one person is using a cell phone, so don't assume dead air is bad news.  Give the other person a chance to talk so you aren't interrupting the whole time.

The phone is a powerful tool, and if used correctly, you can not only build trust with your customers, you can even earn some business.

 Do you want to find out more about the results of our customer research? Katie Mullen recently founded MMS Consulting, which offers sales training and consulting. MMS used extensive customer research and Katie's successful sales career spanning over 10 years to develop effective training curriculums for both remote and onsite training. Katie also offers LinkedIn branding for individuals and can also assist job seekers, especially those looking to break into the medical sales world.

Contact me at katie.mullen@mms-consulting.com.