Proper telephone etiquette can help you build rapport and have effective communication. by understanding how to make calls, you save a lot of time and clients

1. The Stages in a tele-call are:
1. Pre-call planning
2. The Call
3. Post Call Action

2. Pre call
 Knowledge Management
 Training
 Application update
 Process, Product & Systems
 Service Level Agreement
 Benchmarks
 Area of concern
 Client History
 Departments – Roles and responsibilities

3. Post Call Action
 Ensuring closure of request, complaint, edits in
service
 Keeping the customer updated about his/ her
request and status
 Watching the SLA and working accordingly
 Service Follow up call
 Feedback call at regular intervals
 Prevention and correction of errors

4. The call
 In answering the phone:
 Answer calls promptly, by the second or third ring.
 Smile as you pick up the phone.
 Assume your "telephone" voice, controlling your volume and speed.
 Project a tone that is enthusiastic, natural, attentive and respectful.
 Greet the caller and identify yourself and your
company/department/unit.

5. Handling the Telephone
 Don’t practice on the caller
 Hold the transmitter right
 Avoid side conversations
 Make sure the caller is on hold before discussion
 No munching or drinking when on the call
 Three Ring policy
 Understand the features
 Be well trained

6. The Greeting
 The Buffer
– “ Good morning”
– “Thank you for Calling”
– “ Happy Holidays”
– “ How many I help you”
 Company or department name
 Your Name
 Go slow be clear

7. Names Are Important
 Often is the first thing we hear
 Err on the side of formality
 Avoid assuming others want to be greeted/treated
just like we would

8. 1. ENERGY : Reflects attitude and enthusiasm
2. RATE OF SPEECH : Speaking fast can create problems
3. PITCH : Avoid Monotones
4. QUALITY : Clarity
Voices can be annoying, easy to decipher or
unintelligible, clear as a bell or squeaky.
Your voice quality is determined by 4 factors:
Your Best Voice

9.  Use the right address; Mr, Mrs, Miss
 First name/ Full Name
 Use his/ her name often.
Eg: “ I understand Mr. Gupta….”
Eg: “ Anil , could you tell me by …….”
Eg: “ May I address you …..”
Addressing the Caller

10. Managing the Flow of each call

11. The 7 Steps in a call:
1. Opening/ Greeting
2. Listening
3. Questioning
4. Product/ Sales offer
5. Objection Handling
6. Trial Close
7. Closing

12. Callers:
1. Make statements
2. Offer Objections OR
3. Ask Questions
You:
1. Will hear what you want to hear
2. Will hear what you expect to hear
3. Will not recognize the difference
between a statement, question or
objection
Effective Listening

13. Not Listening
 Will cause repetition
 Will cause you to ask the customer to repeat
 Will cause errors
 Will cause misunderstandings
 Will make you look unprofessional
 Will cause others to not listen to you

14. • Recognize an Objection
• Address it immediately
• Pay attention to voice inflections
• State the response in clear and positive terms.
• Do not provide unnecessary information
and conversation.
Managing Objections

15. When in Conflict……
 Calm your self down
 Think about what you really need
 Say anything which causes both of you to agree on something
 Acknowledge and apologize for any mistakes.
 Summarize the other person’s needs, feelings.
 Focus on the common positive goals
 Make requests for specific actions from another person.
 Understand that the problem is with the situation and not with you.

16. Converting criticism & Complaints
Don’t be so inconsiderate!……. could be restated as:
Please try and understand our point of view.
Somebody ought to understand the customer’s point of view here. …
could be responded to as:
Please give me chance to explain…..
You are right sir. If you could let me know what the problem is, I will
certainly try to help you out.
I don’t like your service!……… could be responded to as:
I am sure you have a very good reason for the way you feel….
I am sure there’s been some misunderstanding…..

17. STATEMENT : “You prices are a little higher than
I thought they would be”
Right : Statement “ I hope that won’t be a
problem. They are
excellent products. Can I
have your billing address
please?
Wrong : Objection “On the contrary we have
lowered our prices”

18. Wrong:
Assuming this
is a statement
I am sure that you will be satisfied with
our product. Will a Friday delivery date
be okay?
Right:
Addressing
the objection
and moving
on.
That’s fine. Our customers tell us that
our prices are very competitive. We
have recently lowered our process on
the model you are considering. If you
place your order now, we could deliver
the product for you early next week.
Objection : “Your prices seem too high and I think I
should shop around and compare prices before I
place my order”

19. Complaint Calls

20. The Five forbidden Phrases
Forbidden phrases Recommended response
1
.
“I don’t know” “ That’s a good question. Let me check that out
for you”
2 “Just a second” “It may take me a few minutes to get that
information. Would you be able to hold while I
check on that?”
3 “No” at the start of a sentence Do not use at the start of a sentence
4 “We can’t do that” “ That’s tough. Let me see what I can do.”
5 “You’ll have to ….” “What you might need to do…”
exercise

21. • Avoid ambiguity
• He’s gone”, “He isn’t here”
• Form your sentence correctly, it can have several
meanings
•eg: I am not well at home, I am at home. Not well.
• Complete your statements so they make sense, or
give suggestions.
Statements to avoid

22. Statements to avoid
“ She is still at lunch”
“She went home early”
“I think he is still in the meeting.”
“I’m sorry he has not come in yet.”
“The SD is still not available.”

23. Voice Tones

24. Components of voice tone
Pronunciation
Articulation
Breathing
Pitch
Rate of speech
Volume
Emphasis
Tone

25. Voice tones & Pronounciation
 Your Pronunciation of words determines your Command over the language.
 Articulate and clear in your speaking.
 Your breathing should be quick and inaudible
 Speak in an indoor voice when in office.
 Rate of speech must go hand-in-hand with the situation.
 The emphasis on words can create a difference in the message.
 Don’t use a monotone.
 Match your voice with your callers when in a cordial discussion

26. Asking Questions

27. THE RIGHT QUESTIONING SKILLS
We must recognize the benefit of questioning in interpersonal communication.
• OPEN ended questions
What? How? Where? Why? How come?
• CLOSE ended questions
Answers to these are Monosyllables.
THE RIGHT QUESTIONING SKILLS

28. Seeking Information.
OPEN QUESTIONS CLOSED QUESTIONS
Begin with : How, Who, When,
Why, What and Where
Begin with Did, Can, Have, Do,
Is, Will and Would
Eg:
How often does that happen?
Where were you?
Who is responsible for this
work?
When did the package arrive
Eg;
Did you call them?
Do you have your bill?
Can I come along with you?
Will you attend our seminar?

29. Example
 How often does that problem occur?
 What did you do before about this problem?
 Have you called the Service department?
 Do you have your bill?
 I would like to send you some information, will that be okay?
 The technician will be there on Friday, will that be okay?
 You were to send us a letter, am I right?
 I will send him at 2:00 pm, will you be available?

30. Survival Skills

31. Approach 1: The direct approach
Approach 2: The Good news/ bad news approach
“ Good Morning Mr. Mohammed. This is Fernandes from Shopper’s Stop. Do
you have a moment? The reason for my call is that I wanted to let you know I
made a mistake when I added your bill yesterday. I quoted you Rs. 287.00 but the
correct total is 337.00. I apologize for the error but wanted to insure the correct
amount was okay with you”
“ Good Morning Mr. Mohammed. This is Fernandes from Shopper’s Stop. How
are you today? I wanted you to know that I confirmed our technician will visit
you on Friday as scheduled. I also wanted you to know that I misquoted the
service charge during our last conversation. I quoted a service charge of Rs. 287.00
but the correct total is 337.00. I apologize for the error and hope it won’t cause any
problems”
Delivering bad news

32. MANAGING DIFFERENT CALLER BEHAVIOURS
The 4 types of caller behaviour patterns
1. Assertive/Demanding
2. Angry
3. Passive
4. Talkative
“Every caller is different. Recognize that and innovate”

33. 1. Listen so that you understand the problem or request
2. match some of the customer’s assertiveness
3. Use closed questions to help control the conversation
4. Be friendly but specific and direct in your statements
5. Remain courteous
Assertive and demanding caller

34. Irate Callers

35. How to relate
“ I understand how you must feel”
“ I’m sorry about the confusion”
“ Mr. Walwani, I don’t blame you for being upset, lets see
how we can correct the problem.”

36. “Mrs. Duran, you’re right. You were promised that we would have this
fixed by tomorrow. Let’s start this again and get this problem
solved.”
“ I’m sorry Mr. Joe, we promised you that we would complete this by
tomorrow but we won’t be able to. I promise we’ll try harder to get
this done on time next time. However…..”

37.  Understand that the customer is not unhappy with you but with the
company.
 Don’t take the hostility personally.
 Be warm and friendly, it will disarm the caller.
 Smile, he can hear it over the phone.

38. Passive Customers
 Ask for feedback
 Don’t assume they are satisfied
 They are easy to service

39. Talkative callers
 Closed questions
 Space control
 Minimal responses
CUSTOMER : How is everything? Have they been keeping you busy?
YOU : We have been really busy. How may I help you?

40. Rushing Callers
“ Always take time with callers,
rushing threatens them!”
• Give full attention to the caller
• Avoid quick , short monosyllables : Okay, Sure,
Yes, Yeah, Uh-huh, No….etc

41. Emotional callers

42.  As questions to determine the problem
 When you select a course of action, be direct and specific in
your statements
 Remain positive and service oriented.
EX
The Art of Negotiation

43. The service Follow-up call is as important as the inbound
call made by an angry customer
Service calls should be made when:
1. Nothing went right.
2. The customer is Irate.
3. The customer is new.
4. The customer is a regular customer.
The Outbound call

44. Basic steps to make a successful outbound call:
Plan your call
1. Greeting
2. Introduce yourself & your company
3. State the purpose of the call
4. Deliver your message in a friendly yet business like,
clear terms, leaving time for questions.
5. State any customer benefits
6. Ask for agreement
EX
Making the out bound Service Call

45. Hold Techniques

46. HOLD TECHNIQUES
1. HOLDING FOR A PERSON
• Try to service the call your self
• Use the “Let me” technique
• Don’t Say “ I’ll ensure he calls you
back”
• Never take a message without a
number.
• “ Can I take a message” is weak
and ineffective.
2. HOLDING FOR INFORMATION
• Use the “Able” technique
• Give a clue on what you are
putting him/ her on hold for.
3. RETURNING TO A CALLER ON HOLD
• “ Thank you for holding”
• “ I have the information you need”

47. Swear Stoppers
Use the key
“ I can handle your
problem but I cannot
handle your abusive
language”
Point 1: Never argue
Point 2: Be firm and polite

48. Message mangling
Receptionist: “ John’s not here right
now. Want to leave a
message?”
Caller : “ Yes I sure do. “I’d like to
attend the meeting but I am
unable to. I’m at the hospital,
my wife is having a baby. I’ll call
him tomorrow.”
Message: Unable to attend
the meeting. Will call.

49. Message Taking
 Messages should be taken
word for word.
 No messages without
numbers.
 Break Shift, forward the
message to the other
receptionist.
 Check for help.
 Keep a register for
messages, or a small tape to
play back.
 Take date & Time

50. Internal Callers
• Can be more demanding
• Need to be treated like external customers are
• Will have repeated dialed numbers

51. Closure

52. CLOSING THE CONVERSATION
• “Thank you for calling”
• Summarize your call
“Have I understood you right Sir?”
“I hope I have cleared all your doubts…”
“May I please repeat your request…?”
• Provide assurance about the promise fulfillment
“We will try our best to ensure….”
• Leave him with a positive feeling
“It was a pleasure serving you…”
“Do call back should you need anything further…”
“ Have a comfortable journey…”
• Ask for any further assistance required
• Let him close the call first

53. Leave a Good Lasting Impression
The closing of the call should
 Be Short
– Thank you for your order.
 Be Polite
 Crisp
Leave a lasting impression

54. Quality Customer relations

55. Six cardinal rules of Customer Service
1. Be friendly before you know who it is
2. Company Jargon
3. Don’t be too busy to be Nice
4. People before paperwork
5. Please..Thank you…You’re welcome
6. Rushing Callers

56. Quality is a 4 letter word
“Love your work and
quality customer
service will follow”