Proper business phone etiquette is often a neglected area these days. But it is an absolutely crucial part of doing business – particularly for companies that do a lot of consumer service work. As a matter of fact, I’ve worked with clients who lost a great deal of money due to improper phone etiquette for business before they even realize that it was a problem. No one had really given business telephone etiquette any consideration. They assumed that, as responsible adults, their employees all knew how to talk on the phone with customers. They did not realize that there was more to it than that.
The biggest problem that they faced was a lack of formality, cordiality and proper business telephone etiquette. A lot of their secretaries were very comfortable being completely informal with all of their clients. Although this works for a lot of American clients, it is not a good general strategy – particularly when dealing with people outside the United States. Europeans, Japanese, and clients from many other countries tend to take proper business telephone etiquette more formally. They believe – quite correctly, I’d say – that you should not talk to someone in an informal tone unless you know them very well and are on equal footing with them.
Fortunately, it is very easy to fix problems with proper business telephone etiquette. There are a number of short courses, guidebooks, and other tools available to educate your employees on the rules of business. Proper telephone manners mostly involve assuming a set of rules. You call everyone, “Sir” or “Madame” until you have reason to do otherwise. You avoid colloquialisms or idiomatic language. And you always do your best to satisfy the demands of a customer. They are pretty straightforward, but it is a mistake to view the rules of proper business telephone etiquette as common sense. If you do, you risk having employees who don’t know the rules.
One of the best ways to prepare your employees for telephone etiquette in business – or for anything to do with business manners – is to use role-playing. By doing short meetings with employees several times, you can keep the rules of business etiquette fresh in their minds. You may have to remind them a few times because it is hard to break bad habits. So be patient at first. Eventually they will get it. Once they do, it will give your business a more professional appearance. It is worth the effort, and great for business in the the long run.
