Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/53564
54 • FEBRUARY 2012 • WORLD FENCE NEWS I've addressed this issue before, but it's an important subject that can have a major impact on the public's perception of your business: the way people in so many firms across so many walks of professional life are an- swering the telephone in a poor man- ner. (Even in these days of non-stop texting and e-mail, people still do in- teract over the telephone!) We are not singling out fence companies, but rather was pointing out just how widespread this problem is in our business lives. Here are some specifics; some of the points were ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ THE HUMAN LINK by Jim Lucci Management Motivational Associates Make the first impression a positive one grammatical and some were an appli- cation of business courtesy. An example: Caller: "May I speak with Jane Doe?" her." 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MADE IN THE U.S.A. ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ Benefits • Superior Strength • Superior Quality • Fast Delivery Benefits TaperEdge Ta White Tan Khaki Khaki Two Locations White Tan Edge ® "Faster & Easier Installation" aster& E& iEasier Insta lation EasierInsttalll atio • Unique Patented Designs ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Balusters / Spindles Balusters / Spindles Options • Custom Colors • Custom Lengths • Private Label & Designs AGGRESSIVE PRICING Incorrect: It should be "This is she." To know whether to use "her" or "she," turn the sentence around: "She is this" sounds better than "Her is this." (The same applies to the guys. It is "This is he" rather than "This is him.") As an aside, this example brings to mind the reply that "Ms. Doe is in the ladies room." That's just too much in- formation for a comfortable level of communication. And it does not serve to obtain the information which could assist Ms. Doe in returning the call and assisting the caller. I was asked to revisit some thoughts that we have mentioned from time to time in the past, to help rein- force the necessity to make sure that the person answering the phone in your workplace is putting his or her best foot forward in making a good "first" impression on behalf of the business. I think it might be helpful if we once again try to establish the proper mindset or framework for dealing with the telephone in the first place. To do this, we will look at the word as a "whole" and use the component letters T-E-L-E-P-H-O-N-E to help us visu- alize the framework. T=Time. A telephone is designed to reduce the time necessary to facili- tate communication between two or more (if via conference call) parties. Therefore, one has to be mindful of and respectful of just how important time can be to both the person(s) call- ing and to the person(s) answering the call. However, there is a balance that must be struck, and that leads to the second letter. E=Efficiency. If your phone per- son is too direct, it may appear to the caller as if he or she, and by extension you and the business, are over-screen- ing calls. But if your phone person says "I'll connect you. May I tell Mr. or Ms. Requested Party who is call- ing?" or "Whom may I say is calling?" a balance is thus created between too direct and too wordy and therefore is more efficient. On the other hand, this beats the answering machine message which I've heard which just says the name of the company. Is this efficient, or just plain impolite? The answer lies in something that translates much like beauty being in the eyes of the be- holder; it depends on the "beholder." The next letter is: L=Length. The length of time that is spent on the telephone becomes important in terms of recognizing how long it takes to convey the necessary information and to conclude the pur- pose of the call. There are no hard and fast rules dictating how long each call should take, but rather a "sense of ur- gency" should exist for both parties to accomplish the purpose of the call in a manner that is respectful to all con- cerned, demonstrating that each party's time is important and valuable. The fourth letter is: E=Effort. This demonstrates the practicing of the first three elements we've discussed, and demonstrates the critical and essential need for under- standing good communication skills. However, the practicing of these elements cannot possibly happen with- out a strong effort on the part of the person on the receiving end of the in- coming call. We can see this, first hand, when we receive a phone call during the business day from someone we know (other than family). If we are not careful, we could find ourselves straying from the purpose of the call, and it may even result in us forgetting what was the purpose of the call. (And we are not talking a pre-senior mo- ment, just a distracted busy person moment.) Remember that it takes practice and effort to become a consistently good phone communicator, which leads to the next letter. P=Personality. At one time or an- Patents & Patents Pending Tri Custom Manufacturing www.tricm.com Phone 435-563-0261 Toll Free 1-866-833-9589 other, all of us have days when we hate to be near a ringing phone or the need to handle the incoming call(s). This can happen for a variety of reasons, Shorty Shorty Orleans Belly Orleans Belly Princeton Princeton Twist Patent No. D512,165 Classic Classic Twist Patent No. D512,165 Patent Pending Parkway 1 Parkway 1 Ball y Ball Parkway 2 Ball VictorianVictorian Colonial 1 ¼" Colonial 1 ¼" Colonial 1 ½" 1 ½ Colonial 2" Colonial 2 Newel Post 4" x 4" x 48" Look f o r the K-D label at y our local supplier! contin ued on pa g e 60