Con­sid­ered com­mon sense and unnec­es­sary by many, tele­phone eti­quette train­ing is back in vogue. As many com­pa­nies strug­gle to ride the fierce waves of eco­nomic recov­ery, they are point­ing the fin­ger at cus­tomer ser­vice and start­ing from scratch.

What is tele­phone eti­quette training?

You want your employ­ees to present a pro­fes­sional and con­fi­dent impres­sion to callers – con­sis­tently. Phone eti­quette train­ing cov­ers every­thing from vocals skills train­ing and teach­ing appro­pri­ate tran­si­tions to gen­eral eti­quette guide­lines. Think its com­mon knowl­edge that agents should never eat or drink while on a call? Think again.

Four impor­tant phone eti­quette rules

1. Use for­mal greet­ings. When answer­ing calls always use a for­mal greet­ing. It is con­sid­ered best prac­tice to use sir or ma'am to address cus­tomers if names are unknown.
2. Speak clearly. Take the time to speak clearly and in a pos­i­tive, pro­fes­sional tone. Doing so will put the caller at ease and dif­fuse an upset customer.
3. Lis­ten & learn. Train your rep­re­sen­ta­tives to lis­ten care­fully to cus­tomers. Always allow cus­tomers time to fin­ish his/her thoughts with­out inter­rup­tion and ask ques­tions that clar­ify infor­ma­tion. Be sure to con­firm under­stand­ing with the caller before mov­ing forward.
4. No food or bev­er­ages. This may seem like com­mon sense, –but stress the impor­tance of this one. Rep­re­sen­ta­tives must refrain from con­sum­ing food or drink while tak­ing a call. Cus­tomers do not want to hear gulp­ing and chewing.

Why you need phone eti­quette training

We all know that sat­is­fied cus­tomers are loyal cus­tomers. And loyal cus­tomers are repeat pur­chasers and desired brand advo­cates. What is the eas­i­est way to cre­ate sat­is­fied cus­tomers? Con­fi­dent and knowl­edge­able call cen­ter agents. Tele­phone eti­quette train­ing imme­di­ately improves cus­tomer sat­is­fac­tion, increases sales and reduces esca­la­tions. On the other hand, rep­re­sen­ta­tives who do not have good phone eti­quette will lose sales and be a major con­trib­u­tor to cus­tomer defection.

Phone eti­quette train­ing increases employee satisfaction

Tele­phone eti­quette is an inte­gral part of cus­tomer ser­vice train­ing and a defin­ing ele­ment of cus­tomer sat­is­fac­tion. The added ben­e­fit is increased employee sat­is­fac­tion. Employ­ees who are able to quickly iden­tify and solve issues or sug­gest addi­tional prod­ucts and ser­vices with con­fi­dence and grace feel good about them­selves. They feel good about their jobs and their con­tri­bu­tion to the com­pa­nies’ suc­cess. Invest­ing in your employ­ees is invest­ing in your suc­cess. Start with the basics and watch your sales increase.

Rachel Miller has 10 years of e-commerce & e-marketing expe­ri­ence with a pas­sion for social media and all things vel­cro. A ded­i­cated cus­tomer ser­vice advo­cate Rachel believes that every job is a cus­tomer ser­vice job.

Rachel Miller

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