The Phone Lady » Blog

Talk Less to Listen More

The Phone Lady — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:15:22 +0000

If I had to choose my #1 Most Irritating Communication Habit it would be … not listening!

I’m sure you’ve experienced it. You’ve enthusiastically shared a story or provided information; you finish and wait expectantly for reaction or input. Instead, when the person speaks, their words don’t connect at all with anything you’ve said. It’s as if they were participating in a completely different conversation. Makes me crazy!

Having said that, I’m sure I’ve done it myself. It takes focus and presence to be a good listener. In fact it takes practice. But the benefits of great listening skills more than make up for the effort needed – both personally and professionally.

So how do we become better listeners? There are lots of strategies out there and I don’t profess to be an expert, but here are a few ideas that work for me:

1) Talk less – if you are doing most of the talking, you aren’t doing much listening

2) Stop thinking – we miss so much of what other people say because we are already thinking about what we’re going to say in reply

3) Ask, don’t tell – instead of being focused on getting your opinions or experience or information heard, ask questions and encourage others to talk about themselves

4) Don’t multi-task – nothing reduces our ability to hear more than doing something else at the same time. Remember the last time you had to ask someone to repeat themselves because you decided to finish an email while they were talking?

5) Stay calm – emotion impacts with our ability to listen. I spent many years providing software support. It took a lot longer to help someone frustrated, angry or panicked than someone who was calm.

6) It’s not about you – I seem to say this everyday but that’s because it’s true. When you focus on yourself, allow your ego to be the priority, you won’t hear a word someone else says.

What about you? What is your #1 Most Irritating Communication Habit? And what’s your best listening strategy?

One more tidbit – about powerful words on the telephone. This video, sent to me by Gwen Davies (thanks, Gwen) illustrates the power of the word “will” versus “should”. The video is just under 2.5 minutes and worth every second!

http://vimeo.com/52782617

Happy dialing everyone!

The Phone Lady News and Events

June 26 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

This monthly prospecting practice, in conjunction with The Hub Halifax - 1673 Barrington Street, brings together like-minded entrepreneurs who want to perfect their telephone skills. To register click here http://www.thephonelady.ca/rsvp/ Call me at 902-404-3290 or email me for more details.

June 28 – Halifax – Telephone Etiquette – Teamwork Cooperative/The WorkBridge

This workshop is designed for those looking for employment or wanting to improve their current skills: 1 to 4 pm. http://teamworkbridge.org/workshops/specialty-workshops/

June 29

On vacation … not taking my phone!

There’s An Echo Out There

The Phone Lady — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 23:04:59 +0000

On Wednesday May 29 I returned to my office from an afternoon workshop and immediately had to dash towards the ringing phone.

“Mary Jane, speaking,” I said. “How can I help you?”

The person at the other end spoke over me, so I didn’t get any of their information.

“Hello,” I said. And again, “Hello.”

Silence.

The rhythm of the conversation wasn’t right. “Is this a computer?” I asked. (Yes, I do realize that’s a silly question.)

Then a very pleasant and professional male voice said “Oh, do I really sound like that.”

“Yes you do, “ was my reply.

He proceeded to ask me about a mailing his company had sent me recently. I explained that I had been traveling, was a bit behind on looking at mail. He then asked me if I’d used the coupon in the mailing.

Not good. I got a bit annoyed because he wasn’t listening to me. I referred to my previous answer in a clipped tone. He responded by offering to put me through to an account rep in order to use my coupon.

Grrrr – not a good experience. I ended the call as quickly and politely as possible, but it kept playing out in my head and prevented me from focusing on other things. After about 30 minutes, I called the company.

Speaking with a senior sales executive I explained who I was and what I do – and I told her I’d received the worst sales call ever from her company.

She was skeptical and reticent at the beginning of our conversation. There were a few awkward silences between us. But as I continued to describe my encounter with her salesperson and how it was likely impacting her bottom line, she relaxed a bit. “Given what you do,” she said in a somewhat conspiratorial tone, “I’ll share with you that …it was a computer.”

Created by CallAssistant in Utah http://www.callassistants.com/ Echo allows a call representative to work computer technology a bit like a DJ, conversing with customers by choosing pre-recorded, pre-programmed responses that are intended to fit together seamlessly.

The executive I spoke with indicated that while they were still in a trial with the technology, they had experienced a lot of success. A high percentage of customers had accepted the offer to use their coupon immediately. No one, other than me, seemed to notice it was a computer-generated conversation. Also, a very skilled call representative can learn to “work” a different conversation in each ear, she said, obviously providing savings in terms of time and staffing.

Who knew! I didn’t see this coming, that’s for sure.

There is video available of Echo. It is over 7 minutes in length and you likely won’t want to watch the entire marketing message, but if you skip ahead to 3:45 minutes, you may find it interesting. You’ll see a female call representative conducting a customer call … and you’ll hear the male voice she is “using”. Perhaps it’s the same male voice I spoke to on May. http://youtu.be/fXftQoIyIlQ

What are your thoughts?

The Phone Lady News and Events

June 26 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

June 28 – Halifax – Telephone Etiquette – Teamwork Cooperative/The WorkBridge

This workshop is designed for those looking for employment or wanting to improve their current skills: 1 to 4 pm. http://teamworkbridge.org/workshops/specialty-workshops/

June 29

On vacation … not taking my phone!

Don’t Ask If You Can’t Listen

The Phone Lady — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 18:49:31 +0000

Earlier this week I received a phone call from a friend and colleague. We are always both very busy and we usually acknowledge this with quick, graceful phone calls that respect each other’s hectic schedules.

But this call arrived moments after I finished a difficult project, when I was enjoying a few moments of relief. In other words, I wasn’t rushed when I answered his call.

He spoke in his usual cheerful, busy tone so we focused on the specific reasons for the call, dealt with them quickly and began to “wrap up”, summarizing the conversation and moving towards “goodbye”.

Then suddenly he asked me a BIG question. It was both personal and professional, totally in keeping with our relationship. I was delighted he asked and … because I wasn’t rushed, I started to give the BIG answer, an answer that was an invitation to a more in-depth conversation.

He couldn’t receive my answer. His response told me that he didn’’t even hear my answer – that he’d already moved on to the next item on his ever-present “to do” list.

We ended the call, but I wasn’t happy. It felt as if the question was disingenuous (which, based on our relationship, I know it wasn’t) and it felt rude, like a slammed door.

So why did it happen?

Well, I have to admit that I’ve done this myself although it has taken several days of thought to realize it. And now that I’ve experienced it so clearly, I’m going to work hard to not let it happen again.

Here’s the scenario:

You are speaking on the phone to someone with whom you have a close relationship. You are really, really busy – they are not as busy. You move through the conversation and you can “hear” that they are open to conversation, to catching up, to having a more leisurely chat.

But you can’t do it. In the next 20 minutes you are hoping to complete X, Y and hopefully Z.

But you also don’t want to offend your friend by your busyness.

So you send them a signal. You ask them a BIG question, that let’s them know you do care, are interested, want to talk to them.

And then … you don’t listen to the answer because X, Y and hopefully Z are still waiting to be done. So you reply to their answer with something standard and non-committal like “Well that’s good to hear.” – and you end the call.

While this makes sense to you at the time, it doesn’t translate at all at the other end of the phone line. In fact it feels really, really bad. Definitely a behaviour we should all watch out for as we continue to juggle busy schedules while staying in touch with family and friends.

One more tidbit to share this week – prompted by my friend Linda Daley at Daley Progress www.daleyprogress.com, who celebrated publishing her 50^th newsletter this week.

The Phone Lady is 7 clients away from having served 250 clients. I think that is so … cool! To celebrate, I’d like to honour that 250^th client in some way. How should I do this?

Happy dialing everyone!

THE PHONE LADY NEWS & EVENTS

June 5 – Halifax – Phone Fear to Phone Fabulous - Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED)

Whether it’s leveraging supplies, coordinating marketing initiatives or following up on a sales lead, the telephone is often the fastest, cheapest and most effective tool at hand to get the job done. Why is it then that it is also one of the most avoided tools in business? Not feeling confident in your ability to effectively communicate by phone can very quickly create a negative impact on your business’ bottom line. Avoid this impact and overcome your phone fear by empowering yourself with the knowledge that you need to turn your telephone into one of your company’s key competitive advantages. Learn more details and register here: http://www.ceed.ca/index.php?id=4&m=6&y=2013&d=5

June 7 – Halifax – Powerful Conversations – Editors Association of Canada

Discover your unique “phone personality” and learn how to be a more effective communicator on the telephone. This workshop will sharpen your existing skills and teach you new ways to use the phone to build relationships and get things done. More details available here: http://www.editors.ca/content/pre-conference-workshops

June 26 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

June 28 – Halifax – Telephone Etiquette – Teamwork Cooperative/The WorkBridge

This workshop is designed for those looking for employment or wanting to improve their current skills: 1 to 4 pm. http://teamworkbridge.org/workshops/specialty-workshops/

Assumptions Limit Excellence

The Phone Lady — Sun, 26 May 2013 22:46:36 +0000

At the Ottawa Airport this morning, someone’s boarding pass drifted past my feet as I walked to my gate. I picked it up and went over to the agents for the appropriate flight.

“Good Morning, ladies,” I said to them both (it was 7 am), holding up the boarding pass. “I … .”

But I didn’t get to finish my second sentence. One of the agents, without looking up from her computer screen and making eye contact, cut me off. In that clipped, professional tone airline staff have perfected, she proceeded to tell me that boarding had not been announced. In other words ”Go away and leave us alone. Can’t you see we’re busy here!”

She made an assumption about the reason for my approaching the desk.

Her response had an immediate negative impact on me, especially since I had walked out of my way to deliver the lost boarding pass. Without hesitation, I raised my voice, interrupted her and said with a somewhat irritated tone, “I’ve found someone’s boarding pass.”

Yes – the agent was somewhat embarrassed. No – she did not apologize … but she did provide me with this week’s post.

In this context, the word assumption is defined as “taking for granted” (counter-productive to customer service) or “presumption, arrogance” (the antithesis of building relationships).

Yet we all make assumptions about dozens of things each day. Some of them are costing us the goodwill and loyalty of existing customers. And some of them are limiting our ability to cultivate/attract new customers.

What’s interesting for me is earlier in the week my husband had commented on my tendency to make assumptions. He said it as a kind and supportive piece of advice and I try to take his advice seriously. He’s often right. So I’d been contemplating this notion of assumption and now I want to investigate further.

How can we identify our own assumptions? Since they are something we take for granted, how can we recognize them? Should we perhaps ask our trusted colleagues, friends, family for their input? I’d love to hear what you think.

THE PHONE LADY NEWS & EVENTS

May 30 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

June 5 – Halifax – Phone Fear to Phone Fabulous - Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED)

June 7 – Halifax – Powerful Conversations – Editors Association of Canada

June 28 – Halifax – Telephone Etiquette – Teamwork Cooperative/The WorkBridge

This workshop is designed for those looking for employment or wanting to improve their current skills: 1 to 4 pm. http://teamworkbridge.org/workshops/specialty-workshops/

Which One Are You?

The Phone Lady — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:06:01 +0000

I’ve spent much of this past week prospecting for both myself and others and I’ve noted common characteristics among voicemail messages. Does your message match any of these … and what does this mean to your prospects and customers?

The Flight Attendant

This message has the same intonation and pacing as the safety procedure message we hear at the beginning of every flight. It is well rehearsed, contains no errors or “uhms” or “ahs”. It is absolutely professional … but lacks all trace of warmth, interest and personality. Callers certainly receive the information they need but not an opportunity to engage or build relationship.

The Indy Driver

This message whizzes along at top speed. The words are spoken so quickly, fit together so tightly that they create a visual of the person taking one big breath at the beginning and not breathing again until their done. The impression this creates is of rush and stress – simply too busy to take on more business or to be of service. Rather than welcome a caller, the speedy message pushes them away.

The Minimalist

Efficiency is valuable and we all admire people who get to the point, but being greeted by “Jane Smith’s office. Leave a message.” creates doubt. Does this Jane Smith still work for the company? Does she pick up messages? Am I calling the right person, the right organization? Where there is doubt, there is a caller who goes elsewhere for what they need.

The Detailer

As many of you know, I am an advocate of the dated message … but not the play-by-play of one’s entire schedule and an optional phone number and a website address and a bit of information about tomorrow’s schedule … . You know what I mean. The goal of a great voicemail message is to let the caller know you can be of service, not that you are constantly busy being of service to others.

Eeyore

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Winnie The Pooh, Eeyore is the stuffed donkey in the stories and he’s generally characterized as gloomy and pessimistic. In animated versions his voice is low and slow and … tired and bored. And there is a wealth of voicemail messages out there that sound exactly like Eeyore. What the caller hears is someone who has no interest at all in the job or the company and this not only pushes them towards the competition, it shuts the door behind them as they go.

Now I did try to find a category for the great voicemails – the one’s that had energy, enthusiasm and expressed a desire to be of service but … each of them were as unique as the person who created them. And that’s what builds relationships!

I look forward to your thoughts and feedback. Happy dialing everyone.

Next Sunday is part of the Victoria Day holiday (hard to believe) after which I’m off to Ottawa for a week so … no blog will arrive in your inbox. You’ll hear from me again on May 26^th.

THE PHONE LADY NEWS & EVENTS

May 21 to May 26

The Phone Lady in Ottawa attending meetings and delivering workshops.

May 30 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

June 5 – Halifax – Phone Fear to Phone Fabulous - Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED)

June 7 – Halifax – Powerful Conversations – Editors Association of Canada

June 28 – Halifax – Telephone Etiquette – Teamwork Cooperative/The WorkBridge

This workshop is designed for those looking for employment or wanting to improve their current skills: 1 to 4 pm. http://teamworkbridge.org/workshops/specialty-workshops/

The First Impression

The Phone Lady — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:38:46 +0000

All of us need to give more thought to our outbound voicemail message. Why? Because for our clients, customers, donors and prospects our voicemail is our receptionist. It is vital that this “receptionist” welcome our callers and contain our desire to be of service.

In a workshop this past week I was asked “How can we make sure we create the best message for our voicemail?” It was the first time I’d been asked this question and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Below are a few guidelines to consider, and you can add your own suggestions in the comment section.

1. Use the notion of a real-person receptionist as your guideline. If you had someone answering your phone for you, how would you instruct them to greet each caller? What information would they provide?

2. Change your message daily to let your callers know you are working today, you want to connect with them today, you are thinking about them and their needs today.

3. If it’s impossible for you to create a daily message, consider a weekly one. This will at least prevent people from hearing the same message over and over and over and over and over …. .

4. Record your message the night before. In the morning we can often sound dry and scratchy. Also, it’s not difficult to fall behind schedule in the morning, causing us to create a message at top speed.

5. Breath deeply before you start to record and make sure you smile. This will allow your voice to sound calm and happy.

6. Keep the message brief. You don’t have to include every detail of your day. You want to let your audience know about your availability and when they can expect a return call.

7. Allow the message to work for you as well. For example, by telling callers “I’m in a workshop throughout the day today but will return all calls tomorrow” I can focus on my workshop participants while still delivering service to my callers.

8. When you need to provide an alternate contact phone number – perhaps to another member of your team, or to your cellphone, make sure you say the number at the same speed it takes you to write it down, and then repeat it so your caller can verify they’ve written it down correctly.

9. Use a landline to create your message. Cellphones are prone to producing echoes, static and even unintentional silence.

Enjoy your phonework!

THE PHONE LADY NEWS & EVENTS

May 21 to May 26

The Phone Lady in Ottawa attending meetings and delivering workshops.

May 30 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

June 5 – Halifax – Phone Fear to Phone Fabulous - Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED)

June 7 – Halifax – Powerful Conversations – Editors Association of Canada

June 28 – Halifax – Telephone Etiquette – Teamwork Cooperative/The WorkBridge

This workshop is designed for those looking for employment or wanting to improve their current skills: 1 to 4 pm. http://teamworkbridge.org/workshops/specialty-workshops/

Are you Digging the Well?

The Phone Lady — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:02:15 +0000

Dig the well before you are thirsty. Chinese Proverb

This quote came across my desk on Thursday. I had just returned to my office from prospecting practice at The Hub (see below, News and Events, May 30), so it was very appropriate.

On the large white board we had created an imaginary time line for gaining new customers. (I’m convinced this is the most common mistake of entrepreneurs and salespeople alike – to focus on the customers in front of them and forget to discover the customers they will need next week, next month, next year.) While it varies depending on your product or service, here’s what can – and does – happen to many entrepreneurs and salespeople:

May 1 – you recognize that you haven’t done the necessary prospecting/follow up for strong revenue in June

May 2 – you choose 20 leads (hopefully they are from your very well-defined target market!) and you start making phone calls

May 3 – by the end of the day you’ve only reached 1 of 20, and they have allocated their budget for this year. They do ask you to follow up in November for 2014

May 6 to 10 – between meetings and work on existing client projects, you find a few hours to prospect and you reach 5 people. Two are interested and agree to a meeting, but both are traveling and the meetings are scheduled for early June. Two request more details by email and say they’ll discuss possibilities with members of their team. One says you have called at exactly the right time and would you be able to meet next week?

May 13 to 17 – even though it is difficult to find the time to make calls, you do connect with 7 more prospects. 3 of them give you a direct no, not applicable to them at this time, but agree you can follow up in a year. 2 ask for details by email to share with others. 2 say they are interested in meeting but call them at the end of May to set up a time. The meeting with the prospect you spoke with last week goes very well and you have set a date of June 7 to begin working together

May 20 to 24 – you do manage to connect with the last 7 prospects of the 20 you chose to reach this month. 1 of them is retiring and not sure who will be responsible when they leave so call back in 5 months, 2 of them have committed to working with other suppliers, 2 of them are interested but not until September, 2 of them set up meetings with you in June

May 27 to 31 – you follow up on the on the 4 prospects that requested detailed email and reach 1 of them, who agrees to meet with you at the end of June. You also follow up on the 2 that asked you to call at the end of May to set up a meeting, you reach voicemail and leave messages

So here are the results of prospecting in May for June revenue:

2 currently working with other suppliers

3 “no thank you” but follow up in a year

1 follow up in November

4 meetings in early June

1 meeting the end of June

3 detailed emails requiring follow up

2 follow up to organize a meeting

1 follow up for new contact in October

2 follow up in September

1 hired you to begin in early June

So, your “well” isn’t completely dry. You have one new customer for June, 4 meetings organized, 3 emails to follow up on and 2 prospects that said they want to organize a meeting soon. That’s good but … if you’d been prospecting consistently …

Call it what you wish – your funnel, your well, or your martini glass (martini glass? – see my July 2012 post http://www.thephonelady.ca/keep-your-martini-glass-full/) – as a salesperson and entrepreneur your primary job is letting your potential customers know you exist and how you can help them.

You can prospect by phone, or by networking, or through social media, or regular mail, or a combination of all these things. It doesn’t matter as long as you prospect before “you are thirsty”.

THE PHONE LADY NEWS & EVENTS

Many thanks to Chelsea Hill and the Centre for Women in Business for this wonderful profile in the April issue of BizBeat: http://www.centreforwomeninbusiness.ca/en/home/aboutus/bizbeat/feature.aspx

May 5 – Halifax – Launch for Anthology Untying the Apron Strings

At The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road http://www.themusicroom.ca 2 to 4 pm

This anthology of poetry and prose created by Lorri Neilsen Glenn ca.linkedin.com/pub/lorri-neilsen-glenn/27/a27/795 remembers our mothers of the ’50s and I am honoured that Lorri has included my essay Eulogy for Eunice.

You can find out more about the Halifax launch here https://www.facebook.com/events/117017758496274/?notif_t=plan_user_invited and about the anthology here http://www.guernicaeditions.com/title.php?id=9781550717297

May 30 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

June 5 – Halifax – Phone Fear to Phone Fabulous - Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED)

June 7 – Halifax – Powerful Conversations – Editors Association of Canada

October 2 – Halifax – Exceed Your Quota: Get More Appointments – Close More Sales!

Peter Skakum of Tangent Strategies joins me for this powerful workshop at Ashburn Golf Club. We’ll show you how to confirm more meetings and leave those meetings with new customers and new orders. Download the course description, learn more details and register here: http://www.thephonelady.ca/registration/

Am I Being a Pest? And Kudos to Porter

The Phone Lady — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:03:02 +0000

“What’s the best time to call?” is one of the questions I get asked frequently and earlier this week I posted my answer to The Lunch Pack’s Burst of Learning group on LinkedIn. (It takes less than a minute to read and can be found here: http://lnkd.in/__b3NS)

While writing that post, I began to think about the frequency of other comments on phonework. Then during my time at Oxford Learning’s Niagara Falls conference http://www.oxfordlearning.com/ this past week, I found a contender for first place: “But I don’t want to be a pest”.

This is usually said in relation to the phonework of follow up. You have received a query from a prospective client or had a detailed conversation with them, and you need to follow up for further discussion.

Here are some thoughts that I hope will help eliminate your “pest” concerns:

1) When a prospective customer contacts us for more information, it is vital that we follow up in a consistent and professional manner. To do otherwise is a clear message of disinterest on our part. Remember the adage “Actions speak louder than words”. When we avoid, procrastinate or ignore our follow up work because we are preoccupied with ourselves, with the notion of being a pest, we are still communicating with our prospect – and what we are saying is “We don’t want your business”.

2) Follow up is what the vast majority of our prospects expect. In fact, whether they recognize it or not, they are judging us on it. They contact us for information and then they get back to their busy busy lives. They are trusting that we are professional enough, and interested enough, to keep the conversation going. If we don’t they either decide they don’t want our particular service or product or … they move on to the competition.

3) We are a “pest” when we don’t listen. By this I mean, if we continue to call someone who has already said “no”; if we call someone every quarter when they clearly asked us to follow up in a year’s time; and … if we continually call someone who is outside our target market. Do your research. Listen carefully. Do your follow up.

One more tidbit. This past week I flew Porter Airlines www.flyporter.com for the first time. They are a stellar example of providing an unexpected and delightful experience that builds loyalty. If you have never flown Porter, here are a few highlights:

1) A meal on the flight from Halifax to Toronto – with good healthy ingredients.

2) Free stuff – beverages and a wide variety of snacks at no cost at all.

3) Mostly cheerful staff – which makes being a customer a cheerful experience.

4)And Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto (also known as the Island Airport) is, well, beautiful. Seating is in groups of four with some privacy, ideal for the business traveller. And while you are waiting, the cafeteria-style restaurant offers lots of healthy food choices with … more free stuff – free coffee and tea, bottled water and snacks.

I felt taken care of and that I mattered as a customer. And I haven’t felt that when on a plane or at an airport since …????

Thanks, Porter

THE PHONE LADY NEWS & EVENTS

Many thanks to Chelsea Hill and the Centre for Women in Business for this wonderful profile in the April issue of BizBeat: http://www.centreforwomeninbusiness.ca/en/home/aboutus/bizbeat/feature.aspx

April 25 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

May 2, 9 and 16 – Halifax – PhoneWork: The Art (and Science) of Effective Telephone Communication

At NSCC, Institute of Technology Campus, 6 to 9 pm Thursday evenings

From telephone interviews to conference calls, from customer service to market research, from booking appointments to closing sales, the telephone is an essential business tool. Using it effectively requires specific listening, interviewing and speaking skills. Regardless if you are a business owner, an employee, or someone looking for a new job, this course provides you with everything you need to banish phone fear and become phone fabulous!

All the information, including registration, is here: http://www.nscc.ca/learning_programs/coned/Course.aspx?I=690

May 5 – Halifax – Launch for Anthology Untying the Apron Strings

At The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road http://www.themusicroom.ca 2 to 4 pm

June 5 – Halifax – Phone Fear to Phone Fabulous - Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED)

June 7 – Halifax – Powerful Conversations – Editors Association of Canada

October 2 – Halifax – Exceed Your Quota: Get More Appointments – Close More Sales!

Reasons Not To Call

The Phone Lady — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:28:58 +0000

During a brainstorming session this week I found myself saying “Phone calls are not the right approach for this project.” What! There was certainly a lot of laughter over The Phone Lady saying this.

Yes, I do strongly advocate for everyone to recognize and use the telephone to connect and build relationships. But there are indeed some situations when it’s not the best choice.

For example, my dearest friend has owned a voiceover business for the past seven years through a sound studio in her home. This was a choice she made so that she could be available to her young children. She has built this business up through her website, job sites, social media, email and bi-annual direct mail to a reliable and substantial annual revenue – all the while volunteering at her children’s school, picking them up at the bus stop, managing all the household “stuff”, etc. Her income is exactly what she set out to achieve and … she’s never picked up the phone to call a prospective customer! At the moment, there’s no reason for her to do so.

For any given project or business, consider these questions before you commit to a full-scale phone campaign:

How many people do you need to reach in order to achieve your goal? It’s so important to know this number. In some cases the number may be small enough that you will be able to achieve your goal through face-to-face networking. And in some cases, the number will be too large to reach through phone calls. There’s a formula I use to determine this number; you can find it in this post: http://www.thephonelady.ca/call-into-fall-the-formula/

Do you have a specific deadline? It’s possible that the combination of your goal and your deadline mean the telephone is not the best tool to use. I’ve always monitored my own calls and, on average, I am able to make ten calls an hour. Obviously, if I reach someone and inspire a detailed conversation, I make a lot fewer calls. You also have to consider that to reach one person will require multiple messages. If you were to ask me to reach 100 people by phone, I would request a minimum of 40 hours to complete the project – roughly two weeks if I did nothing else but dial.

Who do you want to reach? There are professions and industries that are harder to reach by phone than others. For example, getting a dentist or a doctor on the telephone is extremely difficult. They are better served when you are able to communicate your message through their office manager. And a recent project that involved calling small and mid-sized trucking companies taught me that the owners are most often available between 8 and 9 am. Other than that … you’re out of luck. So imagine how long it would take to reach 100 of them!

What is the purpose of your call? In other words, can you accomplish your task without the real-time conversation. For example, if part of what you are doing is educating your audience about an issue, product or service, perhaps a well-crafted email, and a social media and traditional media campaign will produce a better result than leaving multiple voicemail messages.

Can you get things started with voicemail? When sending an unexpected email to a prospect, letting them know about it will increase the impact. Leave a precise message for someone along with the phrase “I’m going to take the liberty of sending you information to (such and such email address) …” . We all receive too much email and, as a consequence, can be quick with the delete button. Leaving the message above will not only prevent your information from hitting the trash, but also draw attention to it. For more details on this approach, view this post: http://www.thephonelady.ca/sample-pitch-1/

I’m sure there are other questions that can be added to this list. What do you think? I encourage you to share by adding a comment to this post.

THE PHONE LADY NEWS & EVENTS

Many thanks to Chelsea Hill and the Centre for Women in Business for this wonderful profile in the April issue of BizBeat: http://www.centreforwomeninbusiness.ca/en/home/aboutus/bizbeat/feature.aspx

April 25 – Halifax - Grow Your Business

10 am until noon

May 2, 9 and 16 – Halifax – PhoneWork: The Art (and Science) of Effective Telephone Communication

At NSCC, Institute of Technology Campus, 6 to 9 pm Thursday evenings

All the information, including registration, is here: http://www.nscc.ca/learning_programs/coned/Course.aspx?I=690

May 5 – Halifax – Launch for Anthology Untying the Apron Strings

At The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road http://www.themusicroom.ca 2 to 4 pm

June 5 – Halifax – Phone Fear to Phone Fabulous - Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED)

June 7 – Halifax – Powerful Conversations – Editors Association of Canada

October 2 – Halifax – Exceed Your Quota: Get More Appointments – Close More Sales!

Making Connections

The Phone Lady — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:07:20 +0000

I was recently interviewed for an article in a local newsletter. The young woman asked great questions and our conversation took us in many directions, including her relationship with the telephone.

She comes from the generation for whom the phone is more about text and email than it is about conversation. But as we talked about my work as The Phone Lady she had a realization.

“One of my friends that I rarely see because we are both so busy with jobs and school, we do make a point to call each other whenever we can and we’ll talk on the phone for two hours at a time. With my other friends where I never really talk to them on the phone and we only text or email, when I see them it feels like there’s been a loss of connection, like its been awhile. But when I get together with the friend I talk to on the phone all the time, its like there hasn’t even been a day between us.”

Exactly! There is an intimacy to phone communication that cannot be replicated in print. To build and expand relationships with our customers, potential customers, family and friends … we need to pick up the phone.

Now no matter how polished our phone skills, when we contact someone who is not in our target market, it is unlikely we’ll make a connection. Here’s an embarrassing but funny story to serve as illustration:

Last week I had the honour of working with the sales staff at the Toronto Downtown Eaton Centre Marriott. I flew in the day before and enjoyed a fabulous night’s sleep in a gorgeous room. I got on the elevator in the morning very energized and excited about spending the day with the team.

(I should share with you that Toronto is “home” to me. I lived there for 20 years. It’s the place where I did most of my growing up and where I began my life as an entrepreneur. But I’ve been in Halifax 16 years now, and over the years when I return to Toronto it has become harder and harder to “put on” my big city demeanor.)

Anyway, back to the elevator. At the fifth floor the doors open and a business woman is standing there with her suitcase. I should have taken in that she was a bit tired and stressed; I should have remembered that I was in Toronto. But I didn’t. The door opened and I said – with way too much enthusiasm – “Good Morning. How are you? ”

The woman walked into the elevator pulling her luggage behind her. Her response, said with the utmost of sarcasm, was “Living the dream, thanks.”

And me? I missed the sarcasm completely. Instead, because it was how I felt in that moment, I said “That’s great. So am I.”.

She looked at me briefly and I realized she believed me to be completely crazy.

She was definitely not my target market and I definitely didn’t engage her in conversation. But the memory of this encounter continues to make me laugh. Too, too funny!

Happy dialing everyone.

Here’s some upcoming opportunities to connect with me in Halifax:

PhoneWork: The Art (and Science) of Effective Telephone Communication

**New Dates Takes place three Thursday evenings (May 2, 9 and 16) at NSCC, Institute of Technology Campus, Halifax

All the information, including registration, is here: http://www.nscc.ca/learning_programs/coned/Course.aspx?I=690

Grow Your Business

Thursday April 25, 10 am until noon, Halifax

Exceed Your Quota: Get More Appointments – Close More Sales!

Wednesday October 2nd 2013, Halifax