We all do a lot of our work on the phone with clients and customers. Would you like to learn how to be more effective during those phone calls? I am very serious – everything you need to know about speaking with customers on the phone can be found by listening to four minutes of this You Tube clip. It features two of the smartest men I’ve ever heard on the radio – Ray Magliozzi and his late brother Tom. For many years they hosted a weekly show on NPR called Car Talk, and much of what I know about cars I learned from listening to them. They were also brilliant at speaking with people on the phone. You can listen to the entire 38 minutes if you want, but my point should be clear if you listen from the 3:04 mark until around the 7:22 mark:
I’ve spoken with a lot of you on the phone over the years. With every call, I try (with varying degrees of success) to emulate the way Ray and Tom spoke to callers. Note what they did here:
They repeatedly used the caller’s name. They even asked how it was spelled. I think most people can figure out on their own how to spell “Rick," but that’s not the point. When a caller hears the voice on the other end of the line use their name, they just naturally feel recognized as a person. That helps set them at ease.
They proactively set a relaxed tone. I know that when I have to call someone for tech support, I always feel at least a little tense. None of us like to appear to be ignorant or stupid, and when you have to ask someone for help, by definition it’s because you don’t know something. I can’t tell you how many Big I New York and Big I Connecticut members have called me over the years and started with the words “stupid question." This tells me that they’re a bit nervous about speaking with me (something the people who know me best would find laughable; my son’s golden doodle is more frightening than I am.)
So what do Ray and Tom do? They use a little humor to help the caller relax. Nothing to fear from these guys who have repaired literally thousands of cars. They don’t take themselves all that seriously. Listen to the tag line at the end of the show:
They take the caller and his question seriously. This isn’t a stupid question to him and they don’t treat it like one. They treat him with respect. Most of the time, that’s what callers really want – to be taken seriously and respected. Even if you can’t solve the problem right away (or at all,) the caller will hang up the phone feeling better for having spoken with you.
Think about how much time you and your staff spend representing your business over the phone. The impression delivered during those few moments can be critical to your agency’s reputation. More times than I care to count, I’ve called one of our members to hear the person answering the phone say, “Insurance," followed by, “Who’s calling?" At best, that is cold; at worst, it’s rude. I clearly remember returning a call to a member who had left a voice message for me without mentioning the issue. My conversation with the phone agent, who was very obviously screening my call, went something like this:
PHONE AGENT: “Can I help you?"
ME: “Hi, this is Tim Dodge at Big I New York in Syracuse. I’m returning Joe’s call."
PHONE AGENT: “What is this with regard to?"
ME: “I’m returning his call."
PHONE AGENT: “Yes, what is it with regard to?"
ME (not bothering to hide my irritation): “He called me. He didn’t say what it was with regard to."
Eventually, I got transferred to the member who was grateful for the return call. I guess I should count myself fortunate that the phone agent didn’t request a blood sample before deigning to connect me to the boss.
People can end a phone interaction with your agency smiling, neutral, grumbling, or cursing. Which reaction would you like to inspire?
Be like Ray and Tom. I try to; I don’t always hit the mark, but I try. Listen to them – about how to speak with phone callers and especially about the brake pads.