By Dave Sherman
Connection Pros
A couple of weeks ago, I met a gentleman who was a loan officer for a small bank in town. We chatted for a little bit and I realized that there was the possibility that we could do business together. The next Tuesday, I picked up my phone and called him. The phone rang a couple of times and when it was finally answered, I heard a noisy rush of air fill the phone and a voice say, “Hi, this is Bob.”
I was so stunned at how the phone was answered that I had to look at his card again to remember who I was calling. I thought I was calling a brick and mortar bank and what I got was something completely different. My thoughts about doing business with this person immediately disappeared.
How many of you spend dozens of hours each week meeting and connecting with people, only to ruin that potential connection because of how you handle their incoming telephone calls. Building connections with others doesn’t just happen face to face. It happens through email, snail mail and phone calls. What I want to do is provide you with a few tips to help you develop better connections with people every time they call.
- Stop relying on your voicemail – Did you know that 3 out of 5 people that are sent to your voicemail box will hang up before leaving a message? Did you also know that most of those people that hung up will pick up the phone and call your competitors? You need to do everything possible to have a live person handle all of your calls.
- Be careful when sending calls directly to your cell phone – How many times have you answered your cell phone in a place that you know that you shouldn’t have answered it? A noisy restaurant, driving down the freeway with the windows open, or sitting at home with the TV or stereo on. What kind of impression do you think you’re sending to a potential customer?
- Give your callers more options – There are services available where your callers can have the option of being connected directly to you, leaving you a message, listen to information about your business and so much more. It allows you to have a more professional image for your business and still stay in your budget.
If you need information about a service that can help you better handle your calls and portray a stronger company image, call me at 602-971-1766 and I’ll send you to the right people. See you next month.
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