Your phone is probably the most important communication method you have in your business arsenal. Do you carry your phone with you everywhere? Do you answer at all hours? Do you let it go to voicemail? What is your voicemail? Do you have a system for dealing with the phone and voicemail?
1. Your business voicemail should be clear and succinct. Hi, you’ve reached Acme Consulting, we’re not able to come to the phone right now, please leave . . . You get the drill.
2. If you can’t pick up when they call, have a time each day to answer the phone and return calls. Try to make sure this is the same time each day, thus your clients will try to contact you during that same time each day. You can train your clients, did you know?
3. When you’re handling customer service, you should probably answer more now than later. Customer service calls are vital to your business, and if you can’t answer them, you should have someone else do it. Instant response is better than later response. You might lose out if a client is anxious to hire someone for the job or a client needs to find product ASAP.
4. What does your verbal communication sound like? Do you stutter, pause, clear your throat, mumble? Do you think that works? Why not work on speaking clearly, without pauses, grunts, and stutters. Speak slow, this helps you to have authority.
5. What does your nonverbal communication look like? Do you hunch over, blink a lot, sweat heavily, talk with your eyes focusing downward? Stand up straight, focus on a face as if they were standing in front of you, put on a brave face even when you don’t feel like it. It goes a long way, especially on the phone.
