5 Telephone Etiquette Tips for Being Professional On the Phone

​Customer service personnel are often looked upon by consumers as the “face” and “voice” of a company. So, how they interact with your customers plays a big role in how your customers view your company. 
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One of the ways a customer service professional can enhance a company’s public image is by being friendly but professional every time they answer an inbound call. For some calls, this can be easier said than done, but good telephone etiquette is something that needs to be practiced on every single call, especially the hard ones! 

If you want to improve the results of your call center employees, here are five proven telephone etiquette tips from CallNET’s Fayetteville answering service.

#1: Answer Every Call the Same
Even though your team receives a variety of different calls every day, how they answer them is important. Each call should be answered identically. This sets the tone for the call and creates a sense of uniformity for your business. A professional greeting should be used and it should be delivered slowly and with a positive tone. 

#2: Keep the Call Flowing at an Easy Pace  
Some callers want their issue addressed quickly and with minimal chit chat. Others want to have lengthy conversations. It is important to treat each caller properly. When it comes to overly talkative callers, your team should politely answer their questions with straight to the point answers. They should avoid becoming too engaged in conversation. In most cases, the caller speaks too much because they are nervous about calling. Once the caller’s nerves become settled, the call will usually proceed organically.

#3: Be an Attentive Listener and Take Notes
Few things are more frustrating to a caller than having to repeat themselves. They want the person on the live to listen to their problem and understand their needs. They want empathy and they want the individual to remember what is being said. One way to accomplish this is to have your call center agents keep notebook on their desks so they can record important information. Things like names, dates, and locations are crucial to the call, but easy to forget. Writing them down allows your agents to repeat the information back to the caller before they hang up so the caller can feel assured that their issue is being taken seriously and handled properly.   

#4: Keep the Tone Positive
Callers can pick up when the other party is frustrated or annoyed. It comes through in their tone like a freight train. For this reason, if your agent’s buttons are being pushed by the caller, it is more important than ever for the agent to remain calm and maintain a positive tone in his or her voice at all times. In many cases, when the agent remains positive, they have the power to turn the caller around.

#5: Build Rapport With the Callers
Building a positive rapport with customers is one of the benefits of using live receptionists. When this occurs, it builds trust between the callers and your receptionists and this can be invaluable to your business. Remember, your callers want to be heard, understood, and valued. How your receptionists answer your calls and act while on the phone with customers are the things that impact those feelings the most.

Want a Professional Fayetteville Answering Service? Try CallNET Risk-Free!
At CallNET, each and every one of our call center agents undergo intensive training, coaching, and support before they ever answer a single call. We take the time because the success and satisfaction of our clients is first and foremost on our minds. When you partner with CallNET’s Fayetteville answering service, you can expect every call to be answered professionally, politely, and accurately in-line with your corporate image. 

CallNET offers a flexible range of services, like 24/7/365 call answering, dispatch services, enhanced customer service, appointment scheduling, and more. Our award-winning answering services are fully customizable, so you only pay for the services you use. We’ve been helping businesses in and around Fayetteville grow for more than 24 years, so give us a try today and see what we can do for you. 

To learn more about our exclusive “best rate guarantee” or to start your own free trial of our award-winning Fayetteville answering service, call us today at 1-800-395-2612.