The phone zone

“We are in the business to attract and retain customers,” said Margie Seyfer from Impact Presentations. “You need to make yourself memorable to customers.” Seyfer, whose family is in the auto parts business, presented at the Parts Plus convention in February and challenged store and shop owners to call their location to hear how their employees answered the phone.

“If we are going to spend this much time on the phone,” she said, “we might as well be awesome at it.” If a customer calls and doesn’t like what they hear on the other end, they won’t come in. “Use your phone as an image builder,” recommended Seyfer. “When you pick up the phone, you want to establish an emotional connection.” Here are some tips from Seyfer for mastering the almighty phone call:

1. Never let the phone ring more than three times.

2. Tape record yourself. Are you too fast? Sound dreary? Mean? Rushed?

3. Get rid of unnecessary words like “good afternoon,” “speaking” and “good morning.” Even “hello” has got to go, said Seyfer. Answer the phone by saying, for example, “Thank you for calling Parts Plus, I’m Bob. I can help you.” Service centers should say, “How can I help you?”

4. Talk with your hands — this puts energy in your voice.

5. Keep your greeting the same pace no matter how hectic your day gets.

6. Never tell a caller to hold; ask, “Are you willing to hold?” Customers want to be asked politely and also told why: “Do you mind holding while I finish up with another customer?”

7. Say, “Thanks for waiting,” after they hold and have a cut-off for how long someone should wait, like 30 seconds.

Seyfer’s three-hour workshops are tailored toward the parts and service sector. For more, call (303) 233-0836.