Standards for telephone communication in a restaurant. All call centers: prices, services, reviews, addresses

There are several rules associated with placing and removing an interlocutor from “hold”:

When setting up, ask if the interlocutor can wait, and explain the reason for the need to wait.
For example: “Can you wait because I need to contact accounting to answer your question?”
When withdrawing, thank the interlocutor for waiting. This step helps to dissipate the tension and nervousness that arises in anyone who is expecting. We also show the person that he is important to us and we are grateful to him for not hanging up.

If you know you'll have to wait more than one minute, don't put it on hold. Tell him that you will call him back after clarifying the information he is interested in. When waiting on the phone, even one minute seems like several, don’t give your interlocutor an extra reason to be nervous and angry. 9.

Telephone service standards.

How many times has this happened to me: you call an organization and ask the person who answers the phone a question, for example: “Tell me, are you working on Saturday?” The answer is “Yes” or “No”, and the conversation ends.

One day I finally called back and asked: “Why are you hanging up, I still have a question for you?” The answer was simply brilliant: “We need to speak faster!” In a situation similar to the one described above, before saying goodbye to the caller, ask: “Can I answer any more questions?”, and only after receiving a negative answer, end the conversation. Before hanging up, say goodbye to the person, tell him everything just a simple: “Goodbye.”

11. Adapt to the speed of your interlocutor’s speech. If a person speaks slowly, this indicates that his thinking process proceeds at the same speed.

Telephone communication standard

Home Blog Rules of telephone etiquette for a call center Compliance with every rule of telephone etiquette for a call center begins even before the operator hears the first dial tone or picks up the phone. A contact center employee must be able to cope with situations that follow standard and non-standard scenarios.

Attention

He must be prepared in advance for the conversation and know all the written and unwritten rules of each stage of the conversation: greetings, resolving a client’s issue (for an incoming call) or implementing a task (for an outgoing call), farewell. What does a greeting consist of? A word can consist of several parts (morphemes): prefix, root, suffix and ending.

Greetings, of course, are not limited to one word. But if you look closely at each part of it, you can see the same morphemes.

Rules for communicating with clients by phone

This will help you not only improve the effectiveness of communication with the client, but will also lay the seeds of skills in positioning the person on the other end of the line. Addressing your interlocutor only with “Vy” Few people know that addressing the interlocutor with “Vy” is borrowed and that not so long ago it simply did not exist in Rus'.

The format of addressing a person as “You” was first mentioned in texts about business communication with the emperor in ancient Rome. Today, many experts agree that if a person has reached the age of 12, it is customary to address him as “You.”
How to properly introduce yourself to a client There are several options: a) “Good afternoon, Sakura company!” b) “Good afternoon, Sakura company, my name is Elena. Am I listening/How can I help you? c) “Good afternoon, Sakura company, controller Elena.

I'm listening to you. This will give the client confidence that he is calling the right organization and that he is talking to the “face” of the company.

All call centers: prices, services, reviews, addresses

I am calling regarding negotiations to clarify prices. D: Very nice. What specifically are you interested in? M: Has the cost of an exhibition square meter increased? D: Yes, I grew up.
One square meter in the pavilion costs six thousand rubles from September 1, and three thousand in the open exhibition. M: I see. Thanks for the information. D: Please. If you have any questions, please call.
M: Thank you. I will contact you if necessary. All the best. D: Goodbye. Conclusion The ability to apply the rules of telephone communication with clients becomes an integral part of the image of any organization. Consumers prefer companies that are pleasant to do business with. Effective business communication is the key to successful transactions, and therefore the financial well-being of the enterprise.

05.01.2015

Telephone etiquette when communicating with clients

This is especially true for calls to a mobile phone; our interlocutor can be anywhere and be busy with anything. After introducing yourself, do not get straight to the point, first ask if the interlocutor can talk to you. By asking this question, we show the interlocutor that we are well-mannered and that we value his time.

Important

Thus, we position ourselves as a professional in his eyes and inspire respect for ourselves. There are two ways to use this recommendation:

Introduce yourself + ask about the opportunity to spend time + state the purpose of the call.
Introduce yourself + state the purpose of the call + ask about the opportunity to spend time.

Get to the point of your call as quickly as possible.

Telephone etiquette rules for a call center

Once I called a client, from whose answer it became clear to me that he was chewing. I told him: “Bon appetit,” and he answered me: “Did you hear that?”
Put your chewing gum (cutlet, cigarette) aside. 13. Don’t apologize to your interlocutor for taking up his time.
This recommendation also applies to meetings. If you think that you have distracted your interlocutor from important matters or that you have taken away his valuable time, then do not tell him about it out loud. Having said “sorry, our meeting (conversation) has been delayed, I probably took your time,” you yourself will lead him to the idea that:

he lost his time communicating with you;
your time is worthless;
you are not confident in yourself;
you feel guilty.

Instead of apologizing, you can thank the other person:

Thank you for finding the opportunity to meet (talk) with me.

Standard for communicating with clients by phone example

And vice versa - a fast-talking client will be annoyed by your slowness.

Be “near” with the client when you listen to him - let him periodically understand that you are listening carefully to the caller. To do this, you can sometimes insert phrases like “I understand,” “Absolutely true,” etc.
Focus on the conversation - remember, no one can multitask WITHOUT losing quality (unless you're Gaius Julius Caesar).
Record important information received - follow the statement that “a short pencil is better than a long memory.”
Say goodbye to your interlocutor correctly - end the conversation on an emotionally positive note.

Home page » telephone etiquette

No matter what anyone tells you, when the phone goes off after the first ring, it’s like a delicious cake, like a ripe watermelon, like a parachute jump - an explosion of emotions for the client at the other end of the line, because he gets the impression that they were just waiting for his call . 2 beeps - good. 3 - acceptable. 4 beeps - last chance to improve. If after the fourth ring the client does not hear the IVR voice asking him to call back, consider the client to be dissatisfied.

If you took the time, say thank you. By giving and receiving information, you and I are losing more and more time. The telephone conversation has long and firmly settled on the minute hand of the clock, rotating it faster and faster every day. Therefore, when communicating with a client, do not forget to thank him for listening to you.

Rules for communicating by phone. example of a business conversation on the phone

Once in a particular language environment, we involuntarily try to adapt to its conditions. Having a phrasebook in hand makes it easier for us, but after spending a couple of hours studying Wikipedia, even you yourself begin to be surprised how in England you start to have conversations about the weather on their own, and in Latin America, when the same topic is mentioned, you involuntarily fall silent, not wanting to become aggressive a breeding ground for bad manners.

A similar situation arises in business communication with a client over the phone. A call center operator who knows the rules of on-line conversation and telephone etiquette feels confident, thereby adapting to the client and implementing the tasks assigned to him.

Let's try to give 10 tips to all those who are trying to learn how to speak on the phone correctly.

10 rules of etiquette for telephone conversations with clients

When a company representative negotiates with a client, customer or partner, the representative calls back again.

Concluding negotiations, it is worth once again voicing joint agreements and understandings.
The one who called, or the senior in position or age, ends the conversation and says goodbye first.
Sincere words of gratitude are indispensable when ending a conversation. In parting, you can orient your interlocutor towards cooperation: “See you tomorrow” or “Call me in...”.

Telephone conversations play an important role in the activities of hotel workers. Hotel staff in contact with clients must follow the rules for conducting telephone conversations when communicating on the phone.

Phone calls disrupt the normal work routine, break the working day into short periods of time with an average duration of 10-30 minutes (and sometimes 5-10 minutes), which does not allow you to concentrate on problems and sometimes provokes stress. About 60% of conversations on a business phone occur in the first half of the day. In this regard, not only the ability to conduct a short conversation is required, but also to instantly adapt, reacting mobilely to different clients.

When learning the art of answering the phone correctly, you should remember that the words spoken at the beginning of the conversation determine the tone of the subsequent conversation. When speaking, you should ensure that your speech is literate and avoid jargon. You can’t turn a conversation into an interrogation, asking questions like “Who am I talking to?” or "What do you need?" You need to watch your diction, do not hold the microphone with your hand when conveying something from the conversation to those who are nearby - your comments can be heard by the client talking to you on the phone. If you make a complaint or reclamation, do not tell the client that it is not your fault, that you are not involved in this and that you are not interested in it.

Answering calls to the hotel. What and how the staff says shapes the customers' impression of the hotel. First of all, you must pick up the phone no later than the 3rd ring. A telephone conversation should begin with the words: “Good afternoon”, “Good morning”, “Good evening”, “Hello”. Then you should say the name of the hotel, the name of the person who answered the call and ask “How can I help you?” You should answer in detail, but briefly, avoiding monotonous enumeration. In a large work environment, consistency is especially important, so you should speak on the phone in the same manner as other employees answering the phone.

Answering internal and external calls.

When answering, you should give both the first and last name of the person answering the call. According to business etiquette, the caller introduces himself first. When the call is answered, you should not engage in immediate conversation. You need to be kind and ask if the caller has time to talk. The communication partner will appreciate that the caller is respectful of his time. If the number is dialed incorrectly, you must apologize and then just hang up.

You should call back: if you are not there and you naturally cannot answer the phone, then you should call the person who called you back as soon as possible.

Tips for talking on the phone when calling a hotel: you need to prepare for the conversation in advance; Before answering the phone, you need to put other work aside. Smile when you answer the phone! The caller will feel the sincere affection of your call. You should not interrupt your interlocutor during a conversation; take a pause.

Don't make the person wait, and if necessary, make sure he or she will wait (usually no longer than 30 to 60 seconds). When you pick up the phone again, resume the conversation by saying, “Thanks for waiting.” Your courtesy will make it clear that you remember that the other person was kind enough to spend his time waiting.

Five tricks you can use to deal with an unpleasant person:

- Do not interrupt the interlocutor.
- Repeat what you were told - this means that he was understood.
- Call the person by his last name several times during the conversation.
- Explain what you intend to do and keep your promise.
- If possible, write down the gist of the conversation.

Tips for contact zone workers calling by phone: before dialing the phone number, you should formulate the reason for the call in a few sentences. Then, if you are connected to the voice communication system, you can leave a brief message. You need to speak slowly. Leave your phone number. Asking someone to wait by the phone should be the exception rather than the rule. You need to speak slowly, calmly, loudly and clearly enough. The less time you have, the less you can afford to delve into explanations of what your interlocutor did not understand the first time; highlight especially significant words with your voice, change intonation; consciously change the strength of your voice, do not speak monotonously; use short sentences in which you formulate only one thought; pause periodically, giving your interlocutor the opportunity to “digest” what you said; speak in the voice of a mature person, do not be mannered; talk on the phone, sit straight without straining, stay calmer, more focused; smile during a conversation, then the voice becomes more pleasant. The importance of telephone communication can hardly be overestimated, since this is the easiest way to establish contact; telexes, teletypes, faxes only complement it. The ability of staff to conduct telephone communication affects their personal authority and the reputation of the hotel enterprise as a whole.

Conclusions

Summarizing the above, we can conclude that employees of the hotel industry must master the basics of professional ethics, the rules of international ethical standards, and ensure high organization of work and discipline. However, mastery of social norms does not indicate a high service culture. Only a deep understanding of the situation, the ability to independently develop rules for communicating with clients, to understand oneself and others - this is the essence of the culture of human relations and the highest type of moral regulation of behavior, which, undoubtedly, the service personnel of hotel enterprises should possess.

Speaking about the culture of behavior of hotel service workers, we can distinguish 2 sides: contacts with the client and contacts with the staff, which imply, first of all, the organization of accommodation and, most importantly, communication with the client. Regardless of the interior and living conditions in a hotel, the level of service and communication with the client remain extremely important.

The hotel is an enterprise whose activities are aimed at serving domestic and foreign guests. Therefore, the strict rule for staff is to respect all cultural traditions and ways of thinking, as well as a willingness to communicate without prejudice with everyone. The pride of any hotel is its staff, who are able to speak different languages and make a good impression on guests with the level of their knowledge and flexibility of communication.

The goal of the service staff is to create an open, friendly atmosphere, therefore, addressing the guest by name or surname, any hotel employee will be able to gain the guest's favor. Guests and employees should build their relationships on mutual respect, becoming equal business partners. It is necessary that every guest can contact any hotel employee with his problems and concerns and his expectations will be met. This level of service is a guarantee of success and competitiveness in the hotel services market. Walker D. Introduction to Hospitality: Proc. /-M.: UNITY, 2005

It is necessary to take care of the guests because the guest is the most important person, regardless of whether he called, wrote a letter or came in person.

A guest is not someone who interferes with the work of the staff; on the contrary, he is the main reason why all the staff work. Serving guests should not feel like a favor. On the contrary, it is the guests who provide the courtesy, giving each employee the opportunity to prove themselves and earn money.

The guest is not the person with whom you should argue or who should prove who is stronger. The guest is always right.

Every hotel employee must understand that quality is not an unaffordable luxury, but constant attention to the needs of guests. The staff of any hotel must be open to change and new ways to continually improve the guest experience.

The relationships between staff also play an important role. If the hotel staff is multinational, employees must treat each other with respect regardless of position and cultural differences. Officials, heads of departments and departments, as well as all other personnel must know each other and the general organizational structure. The ability of staff to work in a team is very important. Necessary for work are the principle of democratic governance and the opportunity for professional growth and advanced training.

Each member of the team becomes one with the goods and services that the hotel provides.

The culture of behavior of a hotel worker includes all aspects of a person’s external and internal culture, namely: rules of behavior and treatment, the ability to correctly express one’s thoughts, and observe speech etiquette.

Politeness testifies to a person’s culture, his attitude to work and to the team. It is very important for a hotel worker to be tactful in relationships with guests and constantly remember to respect the person.

The tactful behavior of hotel workers consists of a number of factors. The main one is the ability not to notice mistakes and shortcomings in the behavior of guests, not to focus attention on them, not to show excessive curiosity about their clothes, customs, and traditions. You cannot ask unnecessary questions, talk about your affairs, or be intrusive.

You cannot show a guest whether you like him or not, make unnecessary comments, read moral lectures, express various complaints, or ask guests about their personal lives.

It is also necessary to behave tactfully towards visiting guests - you cannot ask about the purpose of their visit, or enter the room without the permission of the resident.

Tactfulness also manifests itself in attention to the guest. If a guest is sick, you need to help him get medicine, call him by phone. You need to be especially attentive and tactful towards older people and forgive their weaknesses - after all, they are often absent-minded, forgetful and vulnerable.

Dignity and modesty are mandatory human character traits for a hotel worker. If modesty requires restraint and tact in communication, then discipline requires adherence to the established order, accuracy, and precision. Modesty and discipline also imply a high sense of responsibility for the assigned area of work.

Housekeeping personnel must always remember that the maids' floor or room is primarily office space, and the personnel employed on the shift are on duty.

The culture of behavior and communication is also related to the concept of speech culture. A hotel worker must be able to competently and clearly express his thoughts. The culture of speech, like the tone, must be constantly monitored. The culture of speech etiquette presupposes not only the ability to speak, but also the ability to listen. Listening carefully to your interlocutor, without interrupting him, and showing sincere participation at the same time is an art.

Much depends on the ability to greet the guest correctly. The guest should be greeted in the reception area and on the floor with a friendly phrase: “Welcome to our hotel!” He should be given a brief description of the hotel and precise information about the rules of accommodation and the services that he can use. When seeing off the guest, the administration and floor staff, in addition to a polite farewell, must wish the guest a good trip and invite him to visit the hotel again. Of course, this has nothing to do with servility and ingratiation with guests.

A guest should feel respect for himself from the first step upon entering the hotel and until his departure from it. F. Kotler, D. Bowen, D. Makens Marketing. Hospitality. Tourism: Textbook for university students / - M.: UNITI, 2007.

Impeccable manners are very important - the ability to behave in society in accordance with the rules of good manners and etiquette. Manners reveal a person’s moral character, internal culture, and attitude towards others.

By the way a person stands, walks, sits, holds his arms and legs, one can judge his respect or disdain for others. Each pose must be correct, natural and appropriate to the situation. What you can allow yourself when alone is unacceptable in the presence of others.

A person with a straight waist and a well-trained body makes a pleasant impression. His gait, posture and movements are smooth and at the same time moderately energetic.

Hotel workers must adhere to the principle - they are not allowed to sit in the halls, lobbies, corridors, or recreation areas of residents. For this purpose, the staff has service rooms.

All hotel staff, while on duty, must develop the habit of walking softly, calmly, silently, confidently, not running, but not moving too slowly. A calm, moderate gait emphasizes the official position of the official. Volkov Yu.F. Hotel service technology: textbook / - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2005

Thus, in order for the hotel to meet international service standards, the staff should be tactful in their relationships with guests, constantly remember to respect the person, observe the culture of speech etiquette and constantly monitor the culture of speech, because Hotel workers find themselves the object of observation by others, evaluation and judgment about the culture and upbringing of each person.

"Head of a construction organization", 2010, N 3

Telephone conversations are an important component of business communication. A significant part of contacts with partners, clients and colleagues is made over the phone. Every manager should understand that the fate of further cooperation or an important project can sometimes depend on one call. How to teach employees to conduct telephone conversations competently?

It is believed that entrepreneurs spend an average of 25% of their working time on telephone conversations. Employees of specialized departments - sales, purchasing, public relations and advertising - communicate significantly more by phone. However, not all of them know that there are certain rules for conducting telephone conversations. The following situation often arises: a company advertises the provision of any services, searching for clients, new employees. A person who responds to an advertisement hears something like: “Hello! No one is there, everyone has gone to lunch” or “We will call you.” As a result of such anti-advertising, the company discredits itself in the eyes of potential customers and loses expected income.

Note. It is important that employees do not just listen once and safely forget the rules for conducting telephone conversations, but place them on their desktop, preferably near the telephone, and accept them as a guide to action.

To avoid such situations, the manager must introduce certain standards for conducting telephone conversations in the organization and be sure to familiarize all employees without exception with them. The tasks of immediate superiors should be constant monitoring and adjustment of staff telephone conversations. The techniques described in this article have been tested in many organizations, and believe me, they work.

So, what should telephone standards contain?

The importance of first words

Any negotiation begins with a greeting. It is precisely this that contributes to the creation of the first impression, which, as we know, cannot be made twice. If you doubt this, try this risky experiment. They call your office, one of the employees picks up the phone and answers: “Ale... what do you want? I don’t understand anything...”. And then he pauses a little and begins to speak very politely. You will immediately see that this will not help him. The person on the other end of the line will not forget the first rudeness and will communicate extremely strained, if not hang up at all.

In order not to step on the same rake, the rules of business etiquette recommend creating a greeting script in relation to the specifics of the company or its departments. This formula could be like this: “Good afternoon. The office manager of the Stroyresurs company, Alina Petrova, is listening to you. How can I help you?”

In this greeting formula, it is important that the employee who answered the phone stated his organization, name and position and, finally, politely offered his assistance to the caller.

You don’t have to give names, limiting yourself to just identifying the company’s department. For example: "Design department. Good afternoon!" It is important that the person who dialed your number understands exactly where he called and who is talking to him.

In the case of outgoing calls, the greeting formula may be as follows: “Good afternoon! Irina Glebova, sales manager of the Stroyresurs company, is calling you. Can I talk to the director of your organization, Fedor Vasilyevich Devyatov?”

If your employee doesn’t know who he needs to contact, the following formula will do: “Good afternoon! My name is Svetlana Ivanova, purchasing manager at the Stroim Dom company. Can I talk to the employee who makes your supply decisions?” The following option would also be correct: “Good afternoon! My name is Svetlana Ivanova, purchasing manager of the company “Building a House”. Please tell me who in your organization makes supply decisions? Can I talk to him?”

Note. The list of prohibited use should include the verbal cliché: “Ivan Ivanovich is bothering you.” The word “bothers” immediately evokes an involuntary negative reaction in the interlocutor: they are bothering me, they want to distract me from important matters, and take away my time. It is better to replace the negative “bothers” with the neutral “calls”.

If your employee calls someone on a mobile phone, the greeting formula should be slightly different: “Good afternoon, Igor Petrovich! Irina Glebova, sales manager of the Stroyresurs company, is calling you. Is it convenient for you to talk now?” In this case, be sure to say the name of the interlocutor and ask if he can talk to you at the moment. If not, it's worth asking when is the best time to call him back.

All employees of the organization should know the greeting formulas by heart and try not to clutter them with verbal garbage like: “Listen...Who are you? Who do you want?”

After the greeting formula, write in large numbers in the rules for conducting telephone conversations and cross out the words that are strictly prohibited from being used: “sound O niche", "recall O him", "call O nit". This placement of stress indicates the speaker’s lack of education. The correct placement of stress in these words is: "ringing And sh", "chime And m", "call And T".

Preparing for negotiations

For telephone conversations, as for any type of negotiation, it is necessary to prepare. First, you should think about the first phrase after the greeting, that is, the subject of the call. For example: “Good afternoon! My name is Ivan Nikitin, sales manager of the company “Building a House”. I want to offer the first floor of our new facility for rent. Who can I talk to about this? The topic of the upcoming conversation must be formulated immediately so that the call is forwarded to the right person and no one wastes time finding out the reason for the call and searching for a competent employee.

It is also necessary to clearly understand the purpose of the call, possible ways of developing the conversation and its outcome. If an employee correctly prepares a list of questions, their sequence, as well as clarifying and additional questions, then the effectiveness of the conversation will be much higher. You should not count on improvisation; in excitement or haste, you can miss something important, which you will later regret.

In addition, the employee must have all documents that may be required during the conversation at hand. Otherwise, such undesirable situations may arise: “Uh-uh... Wait, I’ll look for this paper now...”. Three minutes later, the employee returns to the telephone receiver: “Is it possible to find anything in this shalman?! Again, everything was rearranged, as if on purpose. I’ll call you back.” After such a conversation, your opinion about the order in your organization will clearly be shaken.

Brevity is the sister of talent

If your employee spends hours on the phone, this does not mean that he is a master of telephone communication. Unfortunately, more often this only indicates that he does not know how to briefly discuss all issues and interferes with the work of those around him.

Note. There are standards for business telephone conversations, according to which the duration of a business telephone conversation should not exceed five minutes.

The main thing in a telephone conversation is brevity and content. First, you need to value your own and other people's time. And secondly, psychologists have proven that after three to four minutes of telephone communication, the activity of perception noticeably decreases. If your employee is unable to figure everything out in a short time, it is better to arrange a personal meeting where you can discuss the controversial issues in detail.

How to build communication

Often, clear, competent questions from a telephone operator or special employee help to easily find out the reason for the call, relieve tension and quickly redirect the call, which always makes a very good impression. Therefore, the director should be particularly selective in choosing an employee who receives incoming calls, and not appoint the youngest and most inexperienced “specialist” to this position.

Sometimes in the process of communicating with clients there is a need to ensure that the information is accurately understood. In this case, the following phrases are suitable: “Did I understand correctly that...”, “Could you please clarify again how...”, “Please repeat the address,” etc. We recommend teaching company employees how to “extract” information from their interlocutors using questions. A question is the most important tool in the process of negotiations, including telephone ones. How competently your employees know how to ask questions will determine the completeness of the information they will be able to have.

Note. When your employees learn to ask questions over the phone correctly and accurately, they will realize how much faster they can now achieve results.

There are two types of questions: open and closed. If an employee just needs to clarify a fact, a closed question that requires a one-word answer: “yes” or “no” is suitable. If you need to get more detailed information, you should ask an open-ended question. For example, a person calls an organization and nervously tries to find out something. In this case, the employee should first ask a leading closed question: “Do I understand correctly that you signed an agreement with our organization?” After answering “yes,” it is appropriate to ask the following, already open, question: “Do you have any questions regarding the agreement?”

Breaking the Deadlock

It also happens that a person calls a company who is already annoyed with the work of its employee. In this case, the specialist will have a difficult conversation. It is appropriate to familiarize employees with the rules for conducting such conversations and then correct their mistakes.

For example, in response to a caller’s complaint, your specialist replies: “I don’t know anything, it’s not my job” or something similar. This acts on the interlocutor like a red rag on a bull. It is not difficult to guess that further mutual accusations will begin. As a result, your company's reputation will suffer.

It is much more effective to give the caller the opportunity to speak out, listen to him and express sympathy: “Yes... I understand you... Of course...”. If, during the interlocutor’s temperamental monologue, your employee is able to demonstrate concern and interest, there is a chance to extinguish the conflict at the initial stage. If a positive result cannot be achieved and the interlocutor behaves aggressively, you need to give him another opportunity to “cool down”, for example, in this way: “I am ready to consider all your complaints if you, for your part, are ready to change your communication style.” . Professional and life experience will help you make the final decision, but even in such difficult circumstances, professional ethics and the honor of the organization remain the main criterion.

As we speak

In a telephone conversation, it is important not only What they say, but also How that's what they say. Listen to that How what your employees say, what is their voice, intonation, tempo and timbre of speech. How often do they use professional, dialect, and perhaps even colloquial expressions that are not understandable to everyone?

The same phrase can be changed beyond recognition. For example, you introduced a standard according to which the employee receiving calls must, when saying goodbye to the interlocutor, say: “Thank you for the call.” But pay attention to how your employees say this phrase. One puts all his goodwill into her, another mutters something under his breath, and the third completely changes her beyond recognition: “Well, thank you for calling.” Needless to say, the latter options at least lead the interlocutors to bewilderment.

Each of us, during a telephone conversation, involuntarily creates an image of the interlocutor in our imagination, sometimes very far from reality. The magic of the voice is not a myth at all! The voice is an instrument that you need to learn to use correctly.

Note. Since the interlocutors do not see each other, the entire emotional load falls on the voice, and it is thanks to it that the impression of the telephone interlocutor is formed.

It is also important to monitor the pace of speech. You should know that speaking quickly is tiring, and speaking too slowly is annoying. Ideally, it is better to adapt to the pace of speech of the interlocutor. If the other person speaks quickly, and your employee speaks very slowly, then he will be considered slow-witted. If, on the contrary, the interlocutor is unlikely to be able to understand what your specialist is trying to explain to him so quickly. The pace of the conversation should be mutually comfortable, and the speech should be melodic, logically structured, and intelligible.

Pay attention to the facial expressions of your employees on the phone. One frowns in annoyance, another has a bored, distant look, and the third smiles pleasantly. Which one of them do you think will be more successful in telephone conversations? You can even “hear” a smile on the phone! However, experts in the technology and culture of telephone conversations recommend not just smiling, but “smiling with your eyes.” Then the voice takes on a benevolent, soft tone. As a means of emotional influence, “smiling with the eyes” in telephone communication is much more effective than a regular smile.

Finally, special attention should be paid to the correct speech of your employees. In telephone conversations with clients, it is unacceptable to use an abundance of professional words that may be incomprehensible to the interlocutors. But even understandable words (for example, “kopeck piece”, “three ruble”) hurt the ears. It’s better to say correctly: “two-room and three-room apartments.” Colloquial and slang expressions such as “Well, have you thought of it? Will you bring money (loot, bucks, bucks, etc.) in cash?” If a manager hears such expressions, it is better to correct the employee immediately after the end of the telephone conversation and warn him for the future. Otherwise, an illiterate employee will continue to scare off potential clients with his slang.

Ending a conversation

According to etiquette, under equal conditions, the one who called is the first to end the conversation. However, if this is a conversation with the boss, then the initiative to end the conversation in any case comes from him. A woman has the same privilege. True, in an official setting this rule does not apply.

Technically, ending a conversation over the phone is much more difficult than in person. Ideally, the conversation should be completed according to the results or according to the script, but in life this does not always work out that way. If the conversation drags on, then you should use the following phrases: “We can assume that we have discussed all the issues with you,” “I think we can draw some conclusions,” etc. As a last resort, you can turn to the saving phrase: “I have an appointment (meeting, report, etc.) for... o’clock. I regret that I have to end the conversation.” It is necessary to end the conversation in such a way that the interlocutor leaves a good impression.

So, the first step of the head of an organization is to introduce his employees to the basic rules of telephone conversations. Personnel management specialists can help the director with this. The second step is to develop telephone standards for the company. The third step is the implementation of these standards, familiarizing all employees without exception with them. And finally, the last step is constant monitoring of employee negotiations and their adjustment. You only need to take four simple steps, after which there will be fewer conflicts and more profit.

To prove this, let us give a typical example. The director of a capital construction company decided to organize training for his employees in conducting telephone conversations. The next day after the training, one of the old clients, after another call to the company, asked in surprise: “Have all your staff changed?” They spoke to him so competently and politely that he simply did not recognize the permanent employees of this organization.

O.S. Brown

Nizhny Novgorod State

linguistic university

them. N.I.Dobrolyubova

The first people potential clients and partners of the company contact by telephone are secretaries and office managers. The subscriber’s first impression of the organization depends on how well they have telephone communication skills. In this article we will talk about the factors that shape it, and also teach you how to develop and use scripts and speech modules for incoming phone calls.

Due to the large number of offers and growing competition in all areas of production of goods and provision of services, the quality of service greatly influences the choice of customers.

INCOMING CALL REPLY SPEED

When calling some companies, the client first listens to a recorded voice greeting, then selects the purpose of the call using the tone keys (for example, he needs to consult a product or contact a company employee at an internal number).

Typically, the voice message lasts 15-20 seconds, and then the client waits for the connection, listening to beeps or background music. If the wait is prolonged, he usually hangs up and the company loses the client, and with it the profit.

In such cases, the client’s patience is overflowing, his mood is ruined, and he can take his irritation out on the employee who answered the call. This is why it is so important not to make the client wait too long.

A comfortable waiting time for a client is three phone beeps. It is during this time, according to the International Association of Professional Administrators, that the client has time to prepare for the upcoming conversation and think through the issues that need to be resolved.

RECORDING A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

Most operators and virtual PBXs offer the option to record telephone conversations.

It allows secretariat managers to track the literacy of employees, compliance with the rules of telephone etiquette and the stages of consulting clients.

The recorded conversation is also useful for self-reflection. After listening to it, you can identify and eliminate gaps in telephone communication. Therefore, if the company records calls, ask for several recordings to analyze them and understand what points need further work.

VOICE AND SPEECH WORK

Telephone communication differs from personal conversation in the absence of visual contact between the interlocutors. Therefore, during telephone communication, the main tools of the secretary, who is deprived of the opportunity to see the interlocutor, are voice and information (words).

The voice is the secretary’s “musical instrument”, which needs to be worked hard on. After all, with the help of our voice we express our attitude towards the interlocutor in a telephone conversation. When answering a call, consider several recommendations (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Memo from the Professional Development Center “Profi-Career” on working with voice

If you want to improve your telephone communication skills, then it would be a good idea to purchase a mirror on a stand and place it close to the phone. In front of a mirror it is easier to control your facial expression, which affects your voice and intonation.

To improve diction you can also use tongue twisters:

The bankers were rebranded and rebranded, but they were not rebranded.

Creative is not creative, it needs to be re-creative!

De-ideologized, de-ideologized, and pre-ideologized.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECEIVING INCOMING CALLS

To improve the quality of telephone communication with clients and partners, the company needs to develop universal instructions for receiving incoming calls for secretaries and office managers (Example 1). It must be performed by every employee who works with incoming calls.

When drawing up instructions, it is important to take into account the purpose of processing an incoming call. The main ones are to provide the client with information and obtain basic information about him and the organization he represents (name, position, name of organization, phone number, email address).

SCRIPTS AND SPEECH MODULES FOR INCOMING CALLS

The greeting must comply with the company standard and be:

Positive;

Understandable;

Easy to understand;

Informative;

Business.

The standard greeting formula consists of three stages (Fig. 3): a greeting phrase, information about the company and personal data of the employee who received the call.

Rice. 3. Greeting formula

A corporate greeting might sound like this: “Good afternoon! Company “Profi-Career”, administrator Galina. How can I help you?

When developing a corporate greeting, pay attention to several important points:

If the organization is engaged in the supply of equipment, installation and repair, for example, of windows and plumbing, then in the greeting it is necessary to indicate the type of activity of the company. For example: “Good afternoon! Window installation, Ventura company. My name is Anna. How can I help you?

However, if the company is called “Superwindows”, the type of activity need not be mentioned: the name speaks for itself.

It is necessary to mention the type of activity so that callers do not feel discomfort if they suddenly forget the name of the company, which often happens during mass price monitoring.

Be sure to introduce yourself. Customers are pleased to communicate with a specific person, and not with an impersonal company. Introducing yourself by name will save the client time asking, “How can I contact you?”

The phrase “I’m listening to you!” It's better not to use it. It goes without saying that the client calls the company to be listened to and heard. Such a phrase only complicates and lengthens the greeting.

Here are the correct and incorrect greeting phrases:

Stage 2. Receiving a client's question/request

At this stage, the secretary or office manager asks the name of the caller and finds out the purpose of the call: “How can I help you?” or “How can I contact you?”

After the remark of the employee who answered the call, the client’s question sounds, which needs to be answered, or a response remark. Establishing closer contact and showing that you are listening carefully to the person will help technique accession. First, confirm the client's point, then answer the specific question. The means of connection can be:

Positive reaction to the subscriber’s words: “You have come to the right place!”

Your positive answer: “Yes, of course!”

Supporting phrase or sentence: “Yes, this type of delivery is suitable for you, the price is reasonable and the delivery time is quite short. Now I will tell you about other nuances..."

When forwarding a call, the secretary must in a tactful and professional manner find out who is calling and for what purpose (“scan” the call).

It is important to distinguish between “scanning” calls and “filtering” them. When assigning tasks to secretaries, managers often do not distinguish between these concepts. By “filtering” we mean “screening out” unwanted calls. For example:

Administrator: Reception of Mr. Sobolev, my name is Alina Volkova, how can I help you?

Caller: Can I talk to Mr. Sobolev?

Administrator: Who's calling him?

Caller: Ivanov Ivan.

Administrator: Unfortunately, Mr. Sobolev is absent.

When “filtering” calls, the following phrases are also used: “Who is asking him?” or “Who am I talking to?”

Such remarks resemble an interrogation, causing dissatisfaction in the caller and the feeling that they are not interested in him, they do not trust him. But the task of a client-oriented company is to help the client.

To get information about the caller when it comes to forwarding, it is better to use phrases from the three lower blocks, which allow you to “scan” the caller, but not “filter” him:

Let's consider how to conduct a dialogue correctly at the stage of receiving a client's question/request:

Secretary: Hello! Plant breeding, Romashka company. My name is Anna. How can I help you?

Client: Hello. Please connect me with Tatyana Ivanova.

Secretary: Thanks for your call. How can I introduce you to Tatyana?

Client: Olga Sidorova, JackJoe company.

Secretary: Thank you, Mrs. Sidorova. One minute please.

What did the secretary do right?

1. Thanked you for the call.

2. Tactfully asked the caller to introduce himself, without an imperative (“Introduce yourself”).

3. Thanked the client for providing information using the official personal contact form (“Mrs. Sidorova”). The caller should also always be thanked for their introduction.

If a client asks to connect him with a manager who is not there, you must first inform him that the boss is not in the office and only then clarify the client’s personal data:

In the first case, the client may have the impression that Pyotr Andreevich asked in advance not to connect him with the caller, although, perhaps, the secretary was not faced with such a task.

Stage 3. Clarification of the client’s question/request

At this stage, it is necessary to listen to the client and clarify for what purpose he is calling, using leading questions that require a detailed answer - open questions:“What information would you like to receive?”/“Please tell me what exactly you are interested in?”

Guiding questions will help:

Identify client needs.

Clarify what the client means and reduce the conversation time.

Establish a dialogue with the client.

Build communication to find solutions that meet the client’s needs.

Remember that questions should be short and clear. Do not ask the client several questions at the same time. To clarify information, you can use several types of questions (see Table).

You can also check whether you understood the caller’s question correctly. “Paraphrase” technique. The essence of this technique is that it is necessary to paraphrase the interlocutor’s remark:

Caller: I have the following situation. Our company sent documents by overnight delivery, but they are not always delivered the next business day for various reasons. Especially if the recipient was not there. Therefore, I am interested in faster and more efficient delivery of documents on the same day.

Secretary: Do I understand correctly that you need urgent delivery of correspondence? We also have extra-urgent deliveries within two hours from the moment the correspondence is collected in Moscow.

If you receive confirmation of your words, it means that you listened to the client who contacted the company, carefully and understood everything correctly.

One of the common mistakes when clarifying a caller’s question is the use of the imperative mood. This form of addressing the client creates a negative impression of the secretary as a representative of the company and makes the client experience not the most positive emotions.

Stage 4. Consulting/informing the client

It is very important for the receptionist to know the basic issues that the caller is asking about. They are usually included in the list of frequently asked questions ( frequently asked questions- FAQ) (Fig. 4). It also indicates possible answers.

The memo is especially useful when it comes to prices for products or services, or detailed information that is not on the organization’s website. For example, the websites of fitness centers most often do not indicate prices for club cards. They are communicated by the administrator by phone.

Materials in help format (FAQ) are a good help for secretaries who have recently begun their official duties.

Rice. 4. Fragment of a sheet of frequently asked questions from the Professional Development Center “Profi-Career”

It is important to be proactive during the counseling phase. The initiative in a telephone conversation is always with the one who asks the questions. The secretary should ask leading questions, thereby helping the client.

Effectively use to manage a conversation interception technique. Its main rule is: end your words with a question and listen to the answer! The answer diagram is shown in Figure 5.

Rice. 5. Response scheme for interception technique

The response with the interception technique might sound like this: “I need time to prepare information for you. Are you comfortable receiving a response by email?”

The secretary also needs to know:

How to ask a client to wait. Even when several phones ring, you need to pick up the phone so as not to lose customers. In this case, you can say to the caller: “Sorry, Oleg Nikolaevich, I will forward another call and get back to you right away. Thank you!"

Returning to the delayed call, thank the client for waiting and remind you where you left off: “Oleg Nikolaevich, thank you for waiting, we stopped at the fact that...”

How to redirect a client to another employee. If the question the client is asking needs to be addressed to another employee, state the last name, first name, patronymic, position and telephone number of the employee to whom you are referring the client. Ask your interlocutor for permission to switch: “Petr Alekseevich, chief accountant, deals with these issues. Can I switch you to it? […] Thank you!"

Don’t forget to tell the employee taking the call what the client is calling about, so that the client doesn’t have to voice his request a second time: “Ivan Alekseevich, Tatyana Morozova is calling about organizing a training.”

The dialogues of some employees with clients are more like players kicking a ball on the field. This phenomenon is called "bureaucratic rebound" or useless call forwarding. For example:

Secretary: Good afternoon Company "Best Internet Provider", Daria. How can I help you?

Client: Hello, I would like to clarify whether the Internet subscription fee under my contract has changed.

Secretary: I don’t even know... Wait, please (redirects the call).

Client: I would like to clarify the information regarding the Internet subscription fee.

After the third redirect, most clients lose patience.

When redirecting, consider a few recommendations:

Don't rush to switch the call if you can help the client yourself.

Study the company's organizational structure to understand which employee is responsible for what. Then you can refer the client to a specialist who will help the caller as quickly and competently as possible.

Tell the caller what you will do. Tell him that you will transfer him to a competent employee. Don't forget to ask permission to switch and thank the client after he agrees.

Be sure to tell the employee to whom you are referring the caller the purpose of the call and the client’s question. If the client has to voice a question or describe a situation several times, especially if the story is long, this can irritate the caller. Therefore, when redirecting, it is better to briefly describe the situation to a competent employee yourself.

For example, the secretary of an IP telephony provider company asks the client to give his personal account number. If during the conversation it turns out that the secretary’s knowledge is not enough to resolve the client’s issue, he should be referred to a technical service specialist. The administrative employee forwards the phone call and gives the caller’s personal account number so that the client does not have to waste his time.

How to receive a message. A secretary, executive assistant, or receptionist takes messages by telephone when the manager or competent employee being asked is not available.

The secretary must clarify what to convey to the absent person. There are several approaches to receiving messages. Compare two dialogues:

It's better to use the second option. Otherwise, you most likely will not convey anything to your colleague or manager, even though you called them. In the first dialogue, the secretary asked a question, the obvious answers to which were “yes” or “no.” Most callers choose the “no, thank you” option out of politeness or thinking that the secretary’s question about the caller’s desire to leave a message is just a formality.

When recording a message, be sure to accurately record the following information:

Write down the message verbatim, don't rely only on your memory. If something is unclear, ask clarifying questions. Having recorded the information received, read what was written down to the subscriber to make sure that everything is correct.

Save the information submission form. If the caller was unhappy, convey his emotions and feelings in the message.

Don't add anything of your own. By replacing terms and words, shortening or removing details that you think are not important, the meaning may change.

Do not use napkins, corners of documents, or scraps of paper to receive telephone messages. To record information, it is better to create a special form for receiving messages, which will clearly record the information (Example 2).

The message must be sent to the addressee. Otherwise, the subscriber will call again, but in a much more unpleasant mood, because he had to wait in vain for a call back.

Step 5: Ending the conversation

When ending a telephone conversation, the secretary must:

Clarify if the client still has any questions: “Do you have any more questions?” / “What else would you like to clarify?”

Thank you for the call and say goodbye to the client: “Thank you very much for your call, have a nice day, goodbye” / “Thank you for your call, all the best, goodbye.”

Remember that the client is always the first to end the conversation.

Don’t forget about the rules of telephone etiquette: study the stages of telephone conversations and the algorithms of actions at each of them, learn to control your voice, intonation and timely adapt to the interlocutor on the other end of the line - all this will help you win the favor of the company’s clients, and therefore increase profits.

Literary encyclopedia / Under. ed. V.M. Fritsche, A.V. Lunacharsky. In 11 volumes - M.: Publishing House of the Communist Academy; Soviet Encyclopedia; Fiction, 1929-1939.

Call Master. How to explain, convince, sell over the phone. / Evgeniy Zhigiliy. - M.: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2013. - 352 p. P. 24.

A well-constructed conversation during a phone call is the key to a good result. Perhaps the potential client will not agree to buy the product immediately and from your company, but he will remember the friendly attitude and professionalism of the specialist. Therefore, in order to leave the most favorable impression on the client, it is necessary to adhere to rules that seem simple at first glance. Why at first glance - now we will try to explain.

Incoming call response speed

Do not force the caller to listen to the dial tone; answer after the third time at most. This is the best option. It is also not recommended to answer after the first call: the interlocutor may have the mistaken opinion that you have no clients, and all you do is sit by the phone waiting for a miracle.

Voice intonation

A lot depends on the tone in which you communicate with your interlocutor. A person who has no knowledge or experience in the field of your company’s activities can bombard you with a huge number of, in your opinion, elementary questions. In this case, many employees have irritated notes in their voices. Contrary to the general belief that telephone communication can hide this, the interlocutor easily recognizes such intonation, and the desire to communicate with you further, as well as to cooperate with your organization, disappears completely. Be patient, that’s why you’re a professional, to answer all your potential clients’ questions.

Speakerphone and call hold

If you need clarification on a question, ask the other person to wait and turn off the microphone. Every program (if the call is made through a computer) and every telephone has such a function. There is absolutely no need for the client to listen to what is going on with you. Firstly, information constituting a trade secret may reach him, and secondly, he should not hear personal communication between employees who may not mince words. Speakerphone will also not improve the quality of your conversation. Annoying extraneous noise and poor audibility will not have a positive effect on the conversation.

Predicting what the other person might say

It’s good if you have a conversation script in front of your eyes. It’s even better if, in addition to the obligatory remarks from the company employee, it contains possible responses from the potential client to them. Having worked through possible objections several times, subsequently the correct answers will come on an intuitive level, and, sensing doubt in the interlocutor’s voice, you will already know how to dispel it.

Professionalism

Here we are talking about your competence as a specialist. You must have a reasoned and accurate answer ready for any client question.

Open-minded attitude

If your potential client is a legal entity, it is unlikely that you will immediately get to the management on the first call. Most likely, either the secretary or another ordinary employee will answer you. But it is he who will make the first impression of you and convey all the relevant information to the person responsible for making decisions. And how exactly he presents it will determine in the future whether you will have a new client or not.

Ethics of communication

In addition to the basic rules of communication with a potential client, there is such a thing as ethics. This includes no less simple recommendations, as in the previous case.

Greetings

If you have the opportunity to call a person by name, be sure to use it. The client appreciates individual treatment, this gives him the appearance that he stands out from the general flow of potential buyers. Wishing a person good day (depending on when exactly you are calling) also encourages mutual communication.

Performance

The caller needs to know whether he got there. Just like when making an outgoing call, you must immediately indicate where exactly you are calling from. It would be optimal to name the organization and introduce yourself by name, so that the interlocutor’s imagination personalizes you, and does not paint him a picture of an incubator.

Politeness

It would be correct if at the beginning of the conversation you inquire whether it is convenient for your interlocutor to speak. If you do not do this, be prepared for the fact that in the middle of your fiery speech he may interrupt you and say that he is busy. It’s good if you manage to call him again after some time, but even in this case the entire script will have to be repeated again.

Parting

Be sure to check before hanging up to see if the other person has any questions. If everything is clear to him, wish him “all the best” or “good day” and feel free to end the conversation.

Stages of communication with the client

The stages of communicating with a client over the phone are standard. Much here depends on the specifics of the service or product offered:

Greeting and making the client feel welcome. The more correctly you start a conversation, the more chances you will have to continue it.
Specifying the purpose of the call. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an outgoing or incoming call, you need to find out or identify the main issue around which the communication will be built.
Presentation of a product or service. Focus your interlocutor's attention on the advantages and unique features of your offer.
Dealing with objections. A stage that can almost never be avoided. To properly handle objections, entire trainings and scripts are compiled and conducted, so it’s good if you have a cheat sheet at hand.
Concluding a deal. This stage is the goal of most outbound calls. Leading to him is the best result of your communication with the client.
Parting. Intonation during farewell also plays a significant role. If successful, there is no need to show excessive cheerfulness, this way you will let the client know that this is only what was expected of him. His vivid imagination will instantly picture you sitting near the phone and cheerfully rubbing your hands. End the conversation in the same tone in which you started it.

Features of psychology

Before you try to sell a product or offer a service to a client over the phone, put yourself in their shoes. How interesting will your offer be to him? What benefit will he get if he agrees to it? What doubts may the client have during the conversation?

In medium and large organizations, the practice of conducting psychological training is widespread. This helps remove the barrier that many people have when making an outgoing call. Cold calling is an extremely thankless job. Most of them end in refusal, and the employee forms the opinion that this type of activity is not suitable for him. Therefore, most psychological trainings are aimed at employee development. If the operator feels comfortable when making a call, the conversation will go easier and in an atmosphere of greater ease than if he simply reads the script from the sheet, afraid to insert an extra word.

Be that as it may, putting yourself in the client's shoes means understanding his situation. In this case, it will be easier to explain to a potential buyer why your offer is most beneficial for him. Ordinary persuasion will not bring results; you need arguments and the ability to confirm them. Only in this way can you dispel your interlocutor’s doubts about the obligatory future acquisition.

What skills are needed for communication?

First of all, in order to be able to communicate with a client on the phone, communication skills are very important. Following them, an equally important point is stress resistance. It is not always the case that there is an intelligent person on the other end of the line who can politely refuse your offer. Sometimes the interlocutor may rudely say that he does not need your services or goods. You need to be prepared for this from the beginning and under no circumstances take this manner of communication personally.

The ability to quickly assess the situation also plays an important role in the process of telephone communication with a client. If interest slips into your interlocutor’s intonation, you can additionally (or instead) offer him to purchase related products. Sometimes it is the presence of an additional offer that plays a key role in making a positive decision.