Avionics News January 2017 - 46
series BUSINESS BASICS B Y G R E G L A S L O On Call Tune up your phone skills to stay ahead of business I t was supposed to be a first-step conversation with an old colleague about a new project, and when I called, it was all puppies and unicorns about what I would add to the team. But before the serious conversation, my friend mentioned we were on speakerphone, and, as an aside, joked about how you never know who might be listening. That should have been a clue, but we proceeded through goals, requirements and deliverables, and in return, I asked many questions. With each, I could feel the conversation grow colder. It became clear that we weren't alone on the line. Suffice it to say, we never talked again, and I felt a little perturbed, and maybe blindsided. A potential client I took to be a friend had left me dangling like a fish. Live and learn. That's business. While I'm just spitting out sour grapes, the bigger point is salient: Phone calls remain an important way you do business in 2017, even if you focus your marketing, sales and customer service on other media. This is still how many customers, vendors and colleagues contact you. It may, in fact, be their only interpersonal impression of you, so how you handle these calls shapes 46 avionics news * january 2017 your business and creates an impact on the outside world. Consider spending time looking at how you use this tool, and brush up on your phone techniques. It's a bigger topic these days than you think, spanning from answering and following up on calls to choosing hold music, hold and voicemail messages, and managing cellphone use. It starts with recognizing why phone etiquette is important and grows into ways to do it right. You're always on call, and for the good of your business, you don't want any of them to drop. Holding the line Even in an era of social media, text messages, email, websites and other electronic communication, the telephone still needs to be part of your avionics shop's marketing mix, according to global audio-branding agency PH Media Group, and your phone etiquette says as much about your company as your digital efforts or brochures. In fact, the company found that half of all customers still prefer their questions answered via telephone rather than online. How your shop answers the phone can have a huge effect on your customers, and that experience must meet the high standards you've created with the rest of your branding efforts.
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