0816_TOEFL-Test-and-Score-Manual-1997

248 ● 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business
If you think hiring a mystery shopper would improve your customer
service, do it. Companies are usually listed in the Yellow Pages under
“shopping services” or look online.
GREAT
Listen to the Telephone Doctor
Nancy Friedman, known as the “Telephone Doctor,”
IDEA
is passionate about teaching people how to make the
most of their most valuable business tool: the telephone.
Friedman is in demand as a speaker and consultant because too many
employees take the telephone for granted. They don’t make a fuss when a
customer calls. They answer calls without enthusiasm, half-listen to what’s
being said, and take confusing, incomplete messages.
We may carry smartphones around and answer them day and night,
but Friedman believes people rarely tap into the telephone’s real power.
Here are her best tips:
• Teaching your employees to answer the phone properly and make calls
in a professional manner, will boost sales as well as morale. When we
spoke, Friedman offered more great ideas: Teach your employees to
smile before they answer the phone. Even if it’s forced, smiling brightens
your voice and boosts your energy.
• Keep important numbers handy. In all print and online correspondence,
note the addressee’s phone number. This makes it easy for you
to call the person to follow up.
• When you are out of the office, call your staff at random times. When
you check in, ask them to tell you what’s happening. No business owner
ever wants to hear “nothing’s going on” when they call their office.
• Learn to love voice mail. Voice mail is your friend. Leave clear and specific
messages. If you don’t want to leave a message, follow the prompts
to reach a live person to leave a message.
To find out more about the company’s products, including customer
service courses, presentations, and DVDs to improve telephone skills, visit
Friedman’s web site: www.telephonedoctor.com.