Telephone Management On Two-Way Calls
Telephone management is important because the telephone is still the primary communications tool for most small businesses. Instead of communicating purely business details with business people, sometimes conversation is taken up, with the latest news and trifle banter. This is why telephone management is vital, as employees fritter away money and time talking to friends, family, machines, playing endless rounds of telephone tag.
Telephone management for outgoing calls
For clients you call regularly, program the numbers into your telephone. It is astonishing, the amount of individuals, who do not do this, but time saved, when you’re not looking up numbers and dialling them, is equally astonishing. When calling someone, entered into your contacts database, have all the information relating to this person, in front of you, when you call. This is a great memory jog and allows one the choice, of making notes, during the call, saving even more money and time.
Whether they’re suppliers, regular clients, or customers, many individuals call the same folk repeatedly. Update your contact information, with time-saving details, to avoid trying to reach people, who aren’t available. Someone who takes a regular lunch break, for instance, from 1 to 2 pm, do not waste money and time trying to contact them, during this time period.
Before calling, plan the calls, jot down main topics for discussion and key points, requiring coverage. This will help keep you on track and ensure you cover everything you should cover, avoiding a repeat call, because of something you missed.
Telephone management for incoming calls
Incoming phone calls are time consuming and seriously decrease productivity, by drawing you away from other tasks. There are means of handling incoming phone calls, which shorten the time of speaking on the phone.
Answer your telephone with a proper business phone greeting, by first stating the company name, followed by your name. Then ask how may I assist you? This caller knows, right away, that they are where they want to be. This puts the onus on them, to answer the question, saving time and idle chatter.
Sometimes techniques are required, to keep phone calls on track. Some individuals will want to chat and stray from the details. Keep them on track by continually referring back to the points under discussion, this will prove helpful, as nobody can chat with someone, who refuses to be chatty.
Be helpful
But remember, always be helpful, polite and respectful. Make a habit of closing each phone call with a short review, of the route you and the caller have agreed to take.
While this will only take seconds, it can save time and money, by avoiding errors and the need to double-check. Now that’s telephone management.
5) Of course, if you want to make notes during a call (or do anything else while you’re speaking on the telephone), a good speakerphone is essential. Freeing your hands can free up a lot of time.
Continue on to the next page of this article to read more time management tips for handling outgoing telephone calls.
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