Voice Artist

Sound Like A Winner On The Phone

At Messages On Hold we conduct 95% of our business over the phone, so weā€™re acutely aware of how important our phone manner is. We know that nothing drops the buying temperature of a lead like a poorly handled phone call. To ensure every person in our company is not just competent on the phone but confident too, we go through rigorous training.

Customer Service Guru & Messages On Hold MD Kym Illman

Customer Service Guru & Messages On Hold MD Kym Illman

So you can start 2014 by offering your customers unwaveringly brilliant service over the phone, weā€™ve compiled our five most powerful phone techniques.

1) Smile!

Sounds simple, right? If you smile while youā€™re on the phone, your voice will sound relaxed, friendly and upbeat. Keep in mind that 38% of communication is tone of voice. Over the phone, itā€™s north of 50%.

2) Eliminate the hanging orā€¦

ā€œDo you want to hold orā€¦ā€ This sounds unprofessional and indecisive. If you canā€™t provide a second option, drop the ā€˜orā€™ altogether.

3) Never say ā€œItā€™s not my departmentā€

Believe it or not, customers donā€™t care about how your company is structured. All they care about is who theyā€™re speaking with ā€“ you ā€“ the representative of the entire company. Instead, try saying ā€œIā€™ll help you with thisā€ then do the leg work to resolve the issue.

4) Stop placing your hand over the receiver

Your hand is not sound proof. It merely muffles the office sounds as you shuffle papers about your desk, frantically type on a keyboard or worse yet, call out across the office for a colleague. Remedy this by purchasing a soft touch keyboard or using your phone systemā€™s hold button.

5) Have a pen handy

Almost every phone conversation will result in you having to record details of some sort. Telling the caller that you just have to get a pen & pad impresses nobody. Be ready.

Thatā€™s it! Implement these rules across your office and notice the difference it makes to how customers respond to you. To find more helpful tips that you can implement right now to sound like a Fortune 500 company, visit Messages On Hold.

If youā€™d like to share a useful tip, leave a comment on our Facebook page today!

– Lachy

What’s In A Name?

People love hearing their own name. Itā€™s one of the earliest nouns weā€™re conscious of and hearing it actually activates certain parts of our brain. How to Win Friends and Influence People was first published in 1936, almost 80 years ago, and even then Dale Carnegie could identify how much of an impact using someoneā€™s name could have.

At Messages On Hold we like using names. It relaxes people. From a customer service point of view, itā€™s a simple and effective way of building rapport with our clients.

Of course, saying a personā€™s name when weā€™re directly communicating with them is the ideal use of a name, but we wanted to find a better way of taking advantage of the name game.

Enter Shane Warne.Shane

We sponsored Shane for a few years and loved having him on board as a member of the Messages On Hold team.

Our Managing Director Kym Illman knew having Shane associated with Messages On Hold was a fantastic opportunity to strengthen the quirky nature of our brand but he also identified a way to make our clients names sound even sweeter – by having Shane say them!

When we welcome a new client or employee to the Messages On Hold family, they get a phone call from Shane. Itā€™s a friendly call, just to let them know theyā€™re appreciated and weā€™re excited to work with them!

Unfortunately, due to Shaneā€™s busy schedule we couldnā€™t have him dropping everything to make a quick phone call whenever we needed him, so Kym came up with a clever plan.

To boost our odds, we collated a list of the 500 most common first names in our database and the 300 most common surnames. Then we asked Shane to record the message weā€™d like to send all our clients, plus the list of names weā€™d come up with.Ā  Now when we welcome a new client or employee, thereā€™s a good chance we can send them a personalised, friendly message from Shane Warne including their two favourite words!

Not only is this a fantastic way of making our much-appreciated clients and staff members feel welcome, itā€™s also a great marketing tool. I know when I got my phone call when I started at Messages On Hold, I told everyone that my new employer had called me and managed to get Shane Warne to say hello to me, personally! The idea is that the more you blow your clients away with interesting touches like that, the more likely they are to share the experience with their associates. Using names in a unique manner is one way we can keep building great relationships and ensure our brand continues to be aligned with quirky, fun and personal marketing messages.

– Sophie