Three Telephone Tips Provide Exceptional Customer Service

To provide exceptional Customer Service, common sense and common courtesy should go hand in hand. The following telephone tips offer both.

First, help eliminate the biggest time waster in business communications.

When you leave a voice mail message, say your name and telephone number clearly and slowly at least two times. Depending on your message, you may want to say them three times.

If you do, you win! You will sound more professional and you will save time and get better results for yourself and the person you called.

Next, when dealing with customers on the phone, avoid multi-tasking. Yes, you are capable of doing a number of tasks while on the phone. But, to provide Exceptional Customer Service, you should use telephone time with customers as the one Exception to your multi-tasking tool box.

Exceptional Customer Service means total focus on your customers. Besides, unusual pauses, noises and comments tell the customer that you are distracted and not paying attention to them.

Finally, the telephone skill that seems to scream for common sense and common courtesy says, hang up last and gently.

For some reason, the number of customer contact people who throw, slam, or drop the telephone receiver on the cradle seems to be on the increase.

Even though we are in the age of cell phones, many businesses still use the conventional handset phone.

For this reason, customer contact people should be reminded to be sure customers hang up first. That ensures that the customers have completed their thoughts and are satisfied with the discussion.

But, as an added measure, customer contact people should return the handset to the cradle gently and softly. Slamming or dropping the handset sends a piercing sound through the wires and into the ears of customers who have not yet hung up.

The telephone is an extremely useful communication devise. Used properly, it becomes a powerful business tool.

FIVE RULES FOR USING VOICE MAIL CORRECTLY

Quickly! Name three things that drive you nuts about Voice Mail.

Let's see how close you came to my three.

1. People who ramble on and seldom get to the point

2. People who don't leave a message

3. People who mumble their telephone numbers so that I have to
play the message five times to get the number

I'm sure your list included little irritations such as:

1. People who do not leave their number

2. People who assume you know who is calling and don't identify
themselves

3. People who are not sure or clear why they called

But the message here is clear.

A lot of people are missing a great opportunity when they use
Voice Mail.

To ensure you never fall into one of the categories above, please
consider Five Rules for Using Voice Mail Correctly.

1. Approach Voice Mail with a positive attitude.

The chances are extremely high that when you call someone, you
will hear that person's Voice Mail message. Consider these
circumstances a great opportunity.

If you are making a business-to-business call, you should welcome
Voice Mail. This is your invitation to present a 30 second
commercial for yourself.

This is your chance to exhibit the true professionalism that
creates rapport, builds trust, and forms relationships. It is
your chance to show the person at the other end of the line that
you value and care about her or him.

When you commit one of the six sins mentioned above, you destroy
all sense of professionalism.

2. Expect to leave a message.

If you approach Voice Mail with a positive attitude, you will
save time. You will save yourself time and you will save time for
the person on the other end.

Let me explain. Before picking up the phone, prepare yourself for
the possibility of leaving a Voice Mail message by thinking
through or scripting out what you plan to say.

For example, if you are calling someone to ask them a question,
ask the question. Doing so can prevent a long game of telephone
tag because it allows the person at the other end to think
through or research the answer and then call you back.

That person may have to leave the answer on your Voice Mail, but
at least you now have an answer. That scenario is much better
than playing an endless game of telephone tag.

3. Do a Core Dump.

A Core Dump is a three step process I teach Business Writing
participants in my workshops that helps them organize their
thoughts before writing. It works equally well before picking up
the phone.

The three steps are:

a. On paper, dump all the thoughts you have running around in
your head about the reason you are about to call someone. You need to do this
to help you focus on your message.

You spend a lot of time multi-processing during the day. The Core
Dump will help you cut through everything going on in your
business and personal life to concentrate on what you need to say
to the person you are calling.

b. From everything you've dumped on that paper, select no more
than three things you need to tell or ask that person.

c. Rank those three things in the order in which you wish to
express them for maximum impact.

Now, you are ready to make the call. Now, you are ready to leave
a clear, concise, complete and conversational message.

4. Slow down; speak clearly; show respect.

You show respect for that person and that person's time by
clearly and slowly stating your name at least twice and repeating
your call back number at least twice. Remember, slowly and
clearly, twice.

5. Remember those two magical words.

I am embarrassed that I even have to remind you about this. But,
so many people neglect to say these words nowadays, I must end
this article with them.

Thank you.

Grammar Checkers Improve Business Writing

Someone once said, "There's no such thing as good writing, just good re-writing."

I prefer to say, "There's no such thing as good writing, just good editing."

In the hectic business world, finding time for editing and re-writing your business writing becomes a challenge. However, investing the time to run your business writing through grammar checkers pays huge dividends.

Many of the latest versions of word processors already come equipped with grammar checkers. Investing some time learning how to use this valuable tool will definitely help save you time, improve the quality of your writing, and eliminate the embarrassment of misspelled words, incorrect grammar or confusing writing styles.

Grammar Checkers are far from perfect. Sometimes they can be confusing and frustrating. But, so can kids and parents. You don't dismiss your kids or you don't ignore your parents because you sometimes don't understand or agree with them.

Let me share a few of the benefits of investing a little time learning your Grammar Checker and then using it.

1. Grammar Checkers can catch errors in grammar and writing style that you never knew or considered. That could mean the difference between readers not understanding your meaning and you getting results.

2. Grammar Checkers provide you with Readablity Statistics that show you how clear your business writing is and where to look to improve it.

Most Grammar checkers will provide you with the following two categories of information.

AVERAGES
Sentences per paragraph
Words per sentence
Characters per word

READABILITY
Passive Sentences
Flesch Reading Ease
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

Rather than explaining these categories in detail, let me offer guidelines for you to strive for.

AVERAGES
Sentences per paragraph -
Never write more than five sentences per paragraph-ever!

Words per sentence -
Average 18 words per sentence for paper documents and 15 words per sentence for emails

Characters per word
The general rule here is use shorter, more familiar words rather than longer academic or consultant words.

Use "use," not "utilize."
Use "pattern," "model," or "example," not "paradigm."
Use "problem," "challenge," "issue," or "puzzle, not "conundrum."

READABILITY
Passive Sentences
This should never exceed 20%

Flesch Reading Ease
This should be at last 80%

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
This should range between 6.0 and 10.0.

If your Reading Ease is lower than 80% and your Grade Level is higher than 10.0, that means your paragraphs are too long, your sentences have too many words, and your words have too many characters and syllables.

That last sentence shows how easily you can blow away your Reading Ease and Grade Level. The sentence had a Reading Ease of 6.3 and Grade Level of 13.1.

Why?

The sentence contained 38 words. It contained four words with more than two syllables.

To make this sentence easier to read, you can change it to read:

If your Reading Ease is lower than 80% and your Grade Level is higher than 10.0, you should check the following:

Are your paragraphs are too long?
Do your sentences have too many words?
Do your words have too many characters and syllables?

Now, the Reading Ease is 80.1 and the Grade Level is 3.8.

Notice how the use of bullets drives the Grade Level down significantly.

So, use shorter sentences, shorter paragraphs, and smaller words and you will reap big benefits. Use your Grammar Checker to measure your business wWriting and you will receive measurable rewards.

Fear of Public Speaking - Get Rid of the Fear

The chances are fairly high that most of you already know that public speaking or giving a presentation in front of a group is the Number One fear in the US.

Your presentation skills are an important part of you career path.

To take you career to the next level, you need to overcome that fear. You need to master the art and skill of speaking to others.

I'm a "Whys Guy."

Let me tell you "why" so many people fear speaking in front of a group.

I believe this fear started at a very early age. What do parents tell their children?

"Children should be seen and ..."

"Speak when ..."

"If I want your opinion, ..."

From an early age we've been taught that, "... is golden."

Then, when we entered the school system, we met classmates who make fun of us if we gave wrong answers.

Even worse, we faced teachers who chided us for not answering fast enough and ridiculed us for wrong answers.

All this negativity added up to a reluctance to offer answers or become involved in class discussions. This traveled with us through our formal education and became a handicap in the business world.

Do you offer comments or questions in meetings? For years, I kept my mouth shut in business meetings for fear I might "make a fool of myself."

Then I started to realize that what I was thinking or the questions I wanted to ask could have proven valuable in the discussion.

So, I started to contribute my thoughts and feelings at meetings.

Guess what? They were welcomed and sometimes actually acted upon. Not always. But if I never spoke up, none of my ideas would become known.

If you have ever experienced similar feelings, you are not alone. You are good people with good ideas. Let your ideas or questions be known.

And, lose your fear of speaking in front of a group or giving a presentation.

My friend, Mike McKinley's father used to tell him, "Nobody knows your script."

That's true. No one is going to know you made a "mistake" except you.

Think about it this way.

If your are giving a presentation, the chances are very high the people that attend your presentation are there because they are interested in you or your topic.

So, get rid of your fear. Welcome and even look for opportunities to speak in public or at meeting.

Watch your confidence and career grow.

The Next E-mail You Send Could Cost You Dearly!

Carelessness, emotional excess, and haste can result in e-mail disaster.

One town official learned this lesson the hard way. Check out this series of events.

On June 30, my wife e-mailed this municipal official with a request to have the town perform a specific service that was under his area of responsibility.

She received a prompt e-mail response that someone from his department would look into the situation.

On August 9, after not hearing from anyone in the town about the situation, my wife sent a second request for someone to review the situation. Again, she promptly received a promise from the official to check into the matter.

On August 25, after speaking with the official, she sent him a reminder e-mail as he had requested.

Again, on the same day, she received a response indicating the official understood the situation and would direct someone from his department to take care of it.

On September 20, concerned that the service had not yet been performed by the town, my wife sent another reminder e-mail to the official. With winter coming, the situation could get worse.

On that same day, my wife received the following response.

“Rudy, shoot me! Please put this pain in the ass on the schedule. Thanks”

Because this article focuses on e-mail etiquette and the proper use of e-mail, I will not go into the series of classical managerial blunders this official committed as a result of the above message.

My wife received the last e-mail because the city official hit “Reply,” which meant my wife got the message, not the municipal employee for whom the e-mail was intended.

LESSONS LEARNED

Before hitting the "Send" button, check your emotional temperature. If you're angry, frustrated, upset, or ready to explode, walk away from your computer.

After you create an e-mail that displays any emotion, save it, and look at it 24 hours later.

The chances are that 24 hours later you will probably revise your message.

Your image, your job, and maybe your career are riding on your communication skills.

The next e-mail you send could cost you dearly!

The Communication Skills of Albus Dumbledore

WHY HIS FAMOUS FOUR WORDS FAILED TO COMMUNICATE

Because this blog focuses on communications skills, this issue will focus on why many people stumble in their careers because of a "failure to communicate."

Many of you who read the first Harry Potter book or saw the first movie might remember the immortal words of Albus Dumbledore.

"I would like to say a few words. And here they are:

Nitwit
Blubber
Oddment
Tweal"

Hardly the words of a great communicator!

Oddly enough, many of us blubber on and sound like nitwits to others because we think we are communicating when we are not.

Many of you have probably learned that, in communication, you have a sender, a receiver, and feedback. Those are the components of communication, but that does not tell us what communication is.

And therein lies the problem.

How can we communicate successfully if we don't know what communication really is?

When I ask people what communication is, here is one answer I hear.

"Communication is the dissemination of information."

What do you think? Yuk!

Let me share another definition I get.

"Communication is the transfer of ideas"

Buy that? I don't.

I also get this answer.

"Communication is the exchange of information."

Still not close.

Pretend that two weeks ago, I sent each of you a letter after you signed up for one of my workshops. The first line of that letter said, "When you come to the workshop, please bring a paradigm of communication with you."

Trust me. I did not use the word "paradigm" to impress you.

But think about that. I sent you a letter and the first sentence asked you to bring a "paradigm" of communication.

The word "paradigm" in that context helps me prove two points.

First, far too many people who attend my workshops do not know or are not sure what that word means.

Second, those who know what it means may use the word to impress others who do not know what it means.

Pretend for a moment that you do not know what the word means.

When you read that first sentence of my letter asking you to bring a "paradigm," you will do one of four things.

The first thing you might do is throw it away.

In your mind you would say to yourself, "Who is this clown trying to impress?"

If you throw away the letter, I failed to get the results I was looking for.

If you don't throw the letter away, the second thing you might do is "assume." You would assume that reading the rest of the letter would explain what the word "paradigm" meant.

Or, you would assume that the word carried little value and that the remainder of the letter would explain the important information.

The third thing you might do is ask the next twelve people who walk by your desk, "What's a paradigm?"

They don't know either! That wastes time. Your goal when communicating should be to save time. You want to save time for you and the people with whom you communicate.

So, finally in total frustration, you resort to the last resort.

You look up the word in the dictionary or you "Google" it.

You read the definition, reread my letter, check the definition one more time to see if I used it properly, and you say to yourself, "I'm going to fix his wagon."

So, you write me a letter and you say, "We don't have any paradigms around here, but we have a lot of affamits."

I have no idea what an "affamit" is.

Check out what just happened.

We have just disseminated information.

We have just transferred ideas.

We have just exchanged information.

Has communication taken place? Not even close.

As far as I know, affamits don't exist.

We do have a thing called a paradigm. Before I tell you what a paradigm is, let me tell you what communication is.

The word "communication" comes from a Latin word that means "to share."

That's why everything today is ".com."

The concept of the Internet was to "share" information.

Before you share something with someone, one other condition must exist.

You must care. You must care enough that they understand what you've said. You don't have to like the person; you don't have to agree with the person to communicate.

If I looked at Janet and said, "Janet, this is the best writing program you'll ever attend."

Janet looks at me and says, "Borowski, you're full of canal water."

Are we communicating? Sure we are.

You don't have to like the person or agree with the person.

She understands what I'm saying and I understand what she's saying. At least, we are communicating.

Communication simply means caring enough to ensure people understand your words the same way you do.

That brings us back to the word, "paradigm."

Originally, the word was pronounced, "Paradim." And, it was defined as "a pattern, a model or an example by which you are supposed to learn something about the structure of the English language."

Today, those who think they know what it means pronounce the word "paradime," and to them it simply means "a pattern or a model."

If we apply the "caring" and "sharing" attitude to communication, we see how miscommunication takes place.

Using one pronunciation and meaning with a person who uses the other pronunciation and definition clearly causes a "failure to communicate."

So what is the solution? Do not assume you are communicating. Check back to ensure your messages are clear, correct and understood.