Part II. The "Formula" for Business Success Now that you have discovered your true personality type, you may wonder why we do not want to directly point out the right occupation for you and guide you along your path. Well, the answer to this question is not so simple. It would be wrong to assume that

IMAGE OF A BUSINESS PERSON Etiquette is one of the main components of the image. The English word image means "image". Each person evokes a certain idea of ​​himself in others, that is, an image that can be called an individual image. But the image is also a social

Appearance and image of a business person Clothing is the “visiting card” of a business person, since when meeting, first of all, attention is paid to how he is dressed. The first impression remains in the memory of the people we meet for a long time. Therefore neglect

Basic rules for conducting a business meeting First of all, before the meeting, each leader must determine the main goals that he is going to achieve using this method of work. Meetings can be held to solve production problems,

DOCUMENTATION SUPPORT FOR BUSINESS COMMUNICATION The Federal Law of November 27, 1994 defines the concept of “document”: “A document is a material object that has legal (legal) significance with information recorded on it, intended for

2.1. Basic rules and requirements of a telephone conversation

A phone call is one of the tools of business communication. In addition, the peculiarities of telephone communication cause a number of common mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of business contact and impose additional requirements on its participants.

The main requirements of the culture of communication by telephone are brevity (conciseness), clarity and clarity not only in thoughts, but also in their presentation. The conversation should be conducted without long pauses, unnecessary words, turns and emotions.

Your interlocutor talking to you on the phone cannot appreciate what you are wearing, neither the expression of your face, nor the interior of the room where you are, nor other non-verbal aspects that help to judge the nature of communication. However, there are non-verbal stimuli that can be manipulated in telephone communication, these include: the moment chosen for the pause and its duration of silence, intonation expressing enthusiasm and agreement. John Yuger identified the most important principles of telephone communication ethics as follows 4:

if they do not know you where you are calling, it is appropriate for the secretary to ask you to introduce yourself and find out for what reason (question) you are calling. You need to identify yourself and briefly state the reason for the call.

if you call the person who asked you to call back, but he was not at the place or he cannot come, ask him to convey that you called. Then you need to call again or say when and where you can be found.

when the conversation is going to be long, schedule it for a time when you can be sure that your interlocutor has enough time for a conversation.

one should never speak with a full mouth on the phone with a business person or in general.

if the phone rings, and at that time you are talking on another device, then you need to try to finish the first conversation, and only then talk in detail with the second interlocutor. Usually you need to ask the second interlocutor on what issue he is calling and who to call.

There are other rules for talking on the phone:

When answering a phone call, be sure to state your last name, position, and the organization you represent;

You need to speak briefly and clearly so that you can be heard and understood;

Listen carefully and try not to interrupt what was said, do not interrupt the interlocutor in the middle of a phrase, do not show impatience in a conversation with him;

Have everything you need close at hand to record important information.

The following are the most common telephone conversation mistakes:

A vague chain of conversation;

Digression from the main topic and touching on the negotiations;

The most favorable time for the call is not set;

Aggressive call without apology, not prepared in advance;

There is no correct intonation of speech;

Too fast pace of conversation (the interlocutor can be sure that you are in a hurry);

monologue instead of dialogue, lack of feedback;

lack of final conclusions.

The effectiveness of business telephone communication depends on the emotional state of a person, on his mood.

You just need to pay attention to such "little things" during a telephone conversation. Try to speak evenly, restrain your emotions, do not try to interrupt the interlocutor's speech.

If your interlocutor shows a tendency to argue, expresses unfair reproaches in a sharp form, self-conceit sounds in his tone, then be patient and do not answer him in the same way. If possible, turn the conversation to a calm tone, partially admit that he is right, try to understand the motives of his behavior. Try to be brief and clear in your arguments. Your arguments must be correct in substance and correctly stated in form. In a conversation, try not to allow expressions like: "go", "good", "frets", "bye", etc. In a telephone conversation, it is also better not to use specific, professional expressions that may be incomprehensible to the interlocutor. 6

It must be remembered that the telephone exacerbates speech defects; fast or slow pronunciation of words makes it difficult to understand. Pay special attention to the pronunciation of numbers, proper names, consonants. If in a conversation there are names of cities, towns, proper names, surnames, etc., which are poorly perceived by ear, they must be pronounced in syllables or even spelled out.

Before you call someone, remember: prolonged exposure to phone calls has a negative effect on the nervous system (therefore, try to pick up the phone as soon as you hear a call), unnecessary telephone conversations disrupt the working rhythm, interfere with the solution of complex issues that require in-depth analysis, discussion in calm conditions, i.e. interfere with the work of those who are nearby.

A home phone call to a business partner, a colleague for a business conversation can only be justified by a serious reason, no matter who you call - a boss or a subordinate. A well-mannered person will not call after 22:00 unless there is an urgent need for this or prior consent to this call has been obtained. 7

As the analysis shows, in a telephone conversation 30-40% is occupied by repetitions of words, phrases, unnecessary pauses and extra words. Therefore, you need to carefully prepare for a telephone conversation: pick up all the materials, documents in advance, have at hand the necessary phone numbers, addresses of organizations or the right people, a calendar, a pen, paper, etc.

Before you decide to dial a number, you should clearly define the purpose of the conversation and your tactics for conducting it. Make a plan of the conversation, write down the questions you want to solve or the information (data) you want to receive, consider the order in which the questions are asked. Clearly formulate them so that your interlocutor cannot ambiguously interpret them. Try to interest the interlocutor with the first phrase. Keep in mind the dates and numbers of documents, official materials related to the conversation, try to predict the counterarguments of the interlocutor and your answers to him. If you are discussing several issues, then sequentially finish the discussion of one issue and move on to the next. Using standard phrases, try to separate one question from another.

Conversation on each topic should end with a question that requires a clear answer.

When preparing for a business conversation on the phone, try to answer yourself the following questions:

1) what is the main goal you set for yourself in the upcoming telephone conversation;

2) can you do without this conversation at all;

3) whether the interlocutor is ready to discuss the proposed topic;

4) are you confident in the successful outcome of the conversation;

5) what questions you should ask;

6) what questions the interlocutor can ask you;

7) what outcome of the negotiations will suit (or not suit) you, him;

8) what methods of influence on the interlocutor you can use during the conversation;

9) how will you behave if your interlocutor:

resolutely object, move to a raised tone;

will not respond to your arguments;

will show distrust of your words, information.

To prepare for a business telephone conversation, especially long-distance and international, it is better to prepare a special form in which a future conversation is recorded taking into account the predicted answers.

At the end of a business phone call, spend 3-5 minutes reviewing the content and style of the conversation. Analyze your impressions. Find vulnerabilities in the conversation. Try to understand the reason for your mistakes.

2.2. Ethical standards of business telephone conversation

If a person is businesslike and purposeful, prudent, if he worries about his own authority, as well as the prestige of his company and is used to taking into account everything to the smallest detail, then the development of certain principles of behavior in telephone communication is simply necessary and irreplaceable. 8

Specialists in the problems of oral business communication suggest adhering to such rules for conducting a telephone conversation.

If you call:

first say hello, name the organization you represent, as well as your last name, first name and patronymic Usually the first words of a telephone conversation are perceived indistinctly, so say your name last - at least it will be heard;

when calling an institution or a stranger, you should ask for the last name, first name and patronymic of your interlocutor. You can also indicate who exactly you would like to talk to;

when calling on an important matter, ask first if your interlocutor has enough time for a conversation;

pre-write a list of questions that need to be clarified, and keep this list in front of your eyes throughout the conversation;

the caller always ends the call. When ending the conversation, be sure to say goodbye, remembering that it is tactless to hang up without waiting for the last words of your interlocutor;

in case of reaching important agreements - send confirmation by letter or fax message.

If they call you:

try to pick up the phone as soon as possible and name the organization you represent;

if necessary, write down the name, surname and contact phone number of the interlocutor;

speak tactfully, politely demonstrate understanding of the nature of the caller's problems;

do not suddenly hang up, even if the conversation is uninteresting, boring and too long for you;

if you make a promise, try to keep your word and fulfill it as soon as possible If difficult questions arise, offer the interlocutor a meeting for a detailed discussion of the essence of the problem;

always briefly Summarize the conversation, list again the agreements you have reached

Regardless of who is calling:

be friendly, in no case show your dissatisfaction with something;

ask questions and listen carefully to the answers to them;

try to remain tactful and restrained, even if the conversation becomes very unpleasant for you;

sympathy for you will increase if you call the interlocutor by name and patronymic several times during the conversation;

special emphasis - if during a conversation you name some numbers, they should be repeated several times to avoid annoying misunderstandings;

try to use the lexical possibilities of the literary language as widely as possible (previously rich synonymy), but at the same time always speak briefly and accurately, in correctly constructed sentences;

A business conversation consists of the following steps:

1) the moment of establishing contact;

2) a statement of the essence of the matter (message of the purpose of the call, approach to the issue, discussion of the reported information);

3) end of conversation

It is tactless to give the subscriber incorrect information, to speak rudely if he has the wrong phone number. It is necessary to always try to be polite, because tact is, first of all, self-respect. Politeness should become the spiritual need of every person.

After establishing a connection, the information is presented clearly, concisely and to the point. It is such a conversation that characterizes a person as an experienced, businesslike person, does not abuse other people's time and attention, as a person who is fluent in telephone conversation etiquette.

Another extremely important condition for conducting a conversation is the consistency and consistency of expressing opinions. It is unacceptable for a conversation to be chaotic, because in this way the purpose of the call may remain incomprehensible to the interlocutor.

The initiative to end the conversation usually belongs to the one who called, sometimes called to the phone can politely say that for one reason or another he is in a hurry, wants to end the conversation. At the end of the conversation, be sure to say goodbye.

2.3. Ethical standards of telephone conversation on a mobile phone

There are some norms of talking on a mobile phone, which should not be forgotten. These are the rules of decency and etiquette that are directly related to the mobile phone. 9

At the table. If a person is at a table at a meal with his friends or strangers and expects an important call, he needs to put his mobile phone on silent mode using the "vibro" function. The mobile phone should not be on the table next to the plate. When calling, do not take off and rush to the conference. It is necessary to chew food, apologize to the neighbors and calmly leave the table to talk on the sidelines. If it is not possible to talk to the caller, apologize to the interlocutor with whom you have lunch, pick up the phone and answer that you will call back soon. So you will not offend either your neighbor or the person who calls you. By showing such a gesture of respect for both of your interlocutors.

To the cinema. If you did not have time to pay attention to the sign at the entrance to the cinema, which states that the use of a mobile phone during the screening is prohibited, then be polite, turn off your mobile phone in the room itself. When you go to the cinema, you come to watch a movie, just like your neighbors. Let yourself and your neighbors enjoy the story for a few hours and take a break from your electronic toy. Take a "phone break". Show your education. This process of carefully watching a movie will allow you to concentrate and discuss your favorite moments with your friends. Otherwise, you will feel the dissatisfaction of others.

Weak battery. This happens quite often if the conversation turns out to be very interesting, or you have something to tell your interlocutor, even if you are listening without answering the monotonous conversation of the person on the other end of the line, who decided to get rid of boredom in this way. In any case, you must warn the interlocutor in advance that it is possible that during your excellent conversation, your mobile phone may turn off due to a dead battery. You must always remain polite. An unfinished conversation always leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. And in case you do disconnect, call the person if possible and apologize.

"Hi, where are you?" A familiar famous phrase used by most people, especially among teenagers. Instead of saying hello, introducing yourself, asking “do you have the opportunity to talk? Am I distracting you? ”, We burst, thus, into life, at the other end of the wire. Another example of the phrase: “I will come for you, where are you?”. This is a sign of bad taste. We do not take into account the interests of the person with whom we communicate. We impose ourselves leaving no choice to our interlocutor.

“Subscriber is unreachable or out of range……” Every time we try to reach a person repeatedly, we get nervous. This is followed by a not always forest message in the direction of our subscriber: “how much can you freeze?”, “what can you do?”, “that you can’t turn on the phone?” etc. Each of us has the right to our own space. And when we cannot get through to this or that person, we need to think about it. And it will be enough for you to send an SMS message of the following nature: “Good afternoon. It's me. Please call when you can." After all, a person always has his own reasons in such situations. Several calls in a row. If you dial a person, but he does not pick up the phone and does not answer your calls, have patience. He can be busy with his own affairs, he can conduct parallel communication, he can forget his mobile phone at home. And in this case, as in the previous one, there are reasons. Don't be pushy. Show respect. Wait for a call back from the correspondent.

Ringtones. How often, especially among the rising younger generation, we hear the tearing ringtone of his favorite tune. This annoys us. These situations also apply to adults. For example, if you work in an office where there are at least 15-20 people, and your mobile phone constantly plays this or that song in full volume, you show your disrespect for your colleagues. 10 Musical tastes are different for everyone. What you like may annoy your neighbors. When choosing a ringtone for your mobile phone, choose a neutral option and set the playback volume to medium. Be attentive to the calmness of your neighbors, they will appreciate your attitude.

How to talk on the phone during business communication.

• Business communication is impossible to imagine without telephone conversations. Partners, officials, customers find out most of the questions using the phone. The same is true for business contacts.
• How to use the possibilities of telephone communication effectively and competently, so that precious time is not wasted and business contacts are increased? Knowledge of telephone etiquette will help to create the image of a person who knows the specifics of his work in a business environment.

Telephone etiquette or basic rules of behavior during a telephone conversation: a list

If you, by occupation, call on behalf of a company or organization that receives incoming calls or forwards customer calls to other persons, then you definitely need to familiarize yourself with the basic rules of telephone etiquette. This will help you establish yourself in a professional environment as a competent specialist, as well as among clients.

The norms of telephone etiquette dictate their terms to modern companies that systematically care about their reputation. Knowledge of telephone etiquette is one of them.

Which of the company's employees should know by heart and put into practice the rules of telephone etiquette:

• the person who receives incoming calls
• person who calls on behalf of the organization
• who receives customer calls forwarded to him

What does it mean to follow the rules of telephone etiquette:

• When talking on the phone, it is important to maintain an even intonation of your own voice and not give vent to emotions. Since during a telephone conversation one of the three channels that allow people to communicate is activated (they include “sign language”, intonation and words), the interlocutor, losing one of the channels, begins to perceive the meaning of the message in a somewhat abbreviated form.
• The meaning of what was said over the phone is conveyed as follows: the absence of "sign language" leads to the fact that the remaining two channels (intonation and words) account for 100% of the meaning of what was said, more precisely, 86% is allocated to intonation, and only 14% to words.
• The voice of the interlocutor conveys the emotional coloring of the message. The interlocutor develops his own impression of who called him. Therefore, by communicating any information to the interlocutor by phone, you can not only influence its initial perception, but also be able to create a mood for the interlocutor.

• Smiling during telephone conversations is also necessary. You should not think that, deprived of the opportunity to see you, the interlocutor will be able to catch the confidential notes you need and a positive attitude in the absence of a smile. Try to convey your enthusiasm with intonation.
• When talking on the phone, do not fall apart in a chair, do not stretch your legs on the table. In a semi-recumbent or semi-sitting position, the angle of the diaphragm shifts, which changes the timbre of the voice. At the other end of the wire, they will definitely guess that at that moment you are lying. The only thing that you can convey to a client or an employee of another organization with the help of a phone call in this way is your disinterest and complete indifference.
• When answering a phone call, remember to greet the caller. However, for different times of the day, use the appropriate greeting: “Good morning! Good afternoon Good evening!".
• When you greet the person who dialed your organization's phone number, you show how important this call is to you and that you enjoy the conversation, no matter what information you hear. But even if your personal attitude towards the person from whom you need to find out some information over the phone has a negative connotation, then on the other end of the wire they should not guess about it.

There is a category of people who, picking up the phone, say invariably and without any intonation "Hello!", "Yes!", "I'm listening!", "Company (name)!", "At the machine!". You should not be likened to such "telephone dinosaurs", because the caller after such a "greeting" is unlikely to express a desire to continue the conversation. Most likely, he will also dryly report the necessary information and end the conversation.

A telephone conversation after the greeting includes the name of the organization. When receiving outside calls, remember to give the full name of the firm or institution you work for.

There are two options for an official greeting, which are carried out over the phone:

Option 1: with a minimal approach.

The caller greets the caller and names the organization. An example of such a greeting: “Good evening! The editors of the magazine "Rocket".

Option 2: with the maximum approach.

This option implies a greeting, the name of the organization, the name of the person who answers the call. An example of such a greeting: “Good morning! The editors of the magazine "Rocket", Nadezhda Viktorovna is listening!

Whichever option you like best, use that one. Both options help create the impression of a professional person answering the phone. The caller will have the same opinion about the organization.

Answer an incoming call after the 2nd or 3rd ring

• One of the main laws of business telephone communication is that you need to answer an incoming call after the 2nd or 3rd ring. The “telephone” personnel who are responsible for answering telephone calls (telephone operators, company secretaries, hotline workers) learn this rule as the most important thing.
• Why is it not recommended to pick up the phone after the first ring? Everything is explained very simply: the caller may think that the employee of the organization was bored before, not knowing what to do, waiting for the next call. In the few seconds that you have before the second or third call, you will be distracted from the business that you were busy with before and fully focus on the incoming call.
• Answering incoming calls after the 4th or even 5th ring is not recommended for the simple reason that the caller may become impatient while waiting for an answer on the phone. During this short period of time, the caller will have time to form a "certain" opinion regarding the company's interest in customers and the ability to quickly respond to their needs and problems.

Who should introduce themselves on the phone first?

• Having dialed the phone number you need, do not repeat the mistakes of those who start the conversation with the phrase: "You are worried about (name of organization)" or "You are worried about the issue." This is how insecure people or those who want to appear polite begin a telephone conversation. Why are these phrases unsuccessful? If you “disturb (disturb)” the person on the other end of the wire, then from the very first minutes of the conversation he has a negative attitude towards the caller and the call itself.
• This will automatically cause a feeling of anxiety, and thereby, as if you yourself give a reason to treat your call as unwanted, which only distracts you from important matters.
• Do not create uncomfortable moments for yourself and the interlocutor with phrases that sound like "I have to disturb you and violate your comfort, because I need to clarify some questions."

With what phrase to start a conversation? Say hello and introduce yourself. For example, it might sound like this: “Good afternoon! Gennady Pavlovich is calling you from the printing house.”

Video: Business phone etiquette

How to properly introduce yourself on the phone when making an outgoing call in a company, office, home call?

• When making an outgoing call, be sure to ask if your interlocutor can talk to you. After all, he can have his own to-do list or plan meetings, meetings. Most likely, before picking up the phone, he was busy with something and you tore him away from this activity. Keep this in mind when making a call to a mobile phone.
• After you've introduced yourself, don't rush to jump right into the question that prompted you to call him. Find out if the interlocutor has time to listen to you, and only if the answer is yes, get down to business. So you show that you value his time and position yourself in the eyes of the interlocutor as a professional. This cannot but inspire respect for you and the organization you represent.

Option 1: Introduce yourself first. After that, ask the interlocutor if he has time to listen to you, while voicing the purpose of the call.

Option 2: Introduce yourself, name the purpose of the call, and only after that ask if the interlocutor will be able to devote time to you.

How to greet a client on the phone during a business conversation?

If you are not the initiator of the conversation:

• "Art Center Leonardo, good evening, administrator Olga, I'm listening to you."
• If you consider such a phrase too long, then you can limit yourself to an abbreviated greeting: “Leonardo Art Center, good evening!”.
• Very often you can hear such a greeting: "Hello!". However, it is permissible to say hello in a personal meeting, and in business communication such free phrases are unacceptable.

If you are the caller:

Introduce yourself, state your organization or company name, and ask if your interlocutor has time to

Video: Correctly introduce ourselves to the client on the phone

How to use the phone correctly: telephone etiquette phrases

The following phrases will be the key to proper business communication over the phone:

• If it's not hard for you
• Thank you for your time
• Do you have time to wait for a response? Will I need to contact the supply department?
• I will verify this information and call you back.
• Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule for this conversation.
• Thank you for taking the time to talk despite your busy schedule.

The following questions will help you clarify your information:

• Can you hear me well?
• Sorry, I didn't hear. Please repeat.

Phrases of phone etiquette

How to end a business call?

End the conversation with a standard question that requires a clear answer:

• So, are we in agreement on this issue?
• May I take it that we have reached an agreement on this matter?
• As I understand you (in this matter), can we count on your support?

How to answer phone calls in the office and at home?

Video: How to answer a phone call?

Telephone etiquette: rules and regulations

Consider the norms of telephone etiquette, which are followed today by progressive companies that care about their image. If you strive to look like a professional in the eyes of partners and clients, then the implementation of the laws outlined below is simply mandatory for you.

The norm is the observance of telephone etiquette by each employee of the organization who:

answers incoming calls;

makes phone calls on behalf of the company;

to which the client's call can be forwarded.

1. Pay attention to the tone of your voice

• Intonation - 86%;
• Words - 14%.

The voice conveys to your interlocutor information about what kind of person you are. With your voice, you not only influence the perception, but often create the mood of the interlocutor. When talking on the phone, smile, be full of energy and enthusiasm. A smile and a positive attitude are heard in intonation.

Don't slouch in a chair or put your feet on a table when talking on the phone. When a person lies or half-sitting, the angle of the diaphragm changes and the timbre of his voice changes. Therefore, the interlocutor, even without seeing you, will “hear” that you are lying. And this is unacceptable, because the voice of a person in this position seems uninterested and full of indifference.

2. Greet the caller

Greeting the caller, you show that his call is important to you and you are happy for him (if this is not the case, then he should not know about it).

Don't be like the "telephone dinosaurs" who pick up the phone and say:

3. Introduce yourself on the phone

After greeting the caller, introduce yourself to him, name your organization. When receiving external calls, two approaches are used, the so-called "minimum" and "maximum":

Minimum approach: Salutation + organization name. Here's how it sounds: "Good afternoon, Publishing House "Fortochka!"

Approach "maximum": "minimum" + the name of the person who picked up the phone. Here's how it sounds: "Good afternoon, Publishing House "Fortochka", Marina is listening!"

Which approach to choose and use, decide for yourself. Following any of these will show callers that you and your organization are professionals.

I remember once I called one firm, and they answered: "Hello." I ask: “Tell me, is this ABC?”, And the answer is: “Who are you?”. I say: “Maybe I am your potential client”, to which I was assured: “Our clients know us!” ... and hung up.

4. Answer incoming calls after the 2nd, maximum after the 3rd ring

If you pick up the phone after the 1st ring, then the caller gets the impression that we have nothing to do, and we were bored waiting for someone to call us at last.

Do not pick up the phone after the first call, the few seconds you have left will allow you to distract yourself from what you were doing and focus on the phone call.

If you give the phone the opportunity to ring 4, 5 or more times, then, firstly, the caller will become nervous (it has been proven that people lose patience very quickly while waiting for an answer on the phone), and secondly, he will form a completely “certain” opinion about our interest in him and in customers in general. Subsequently, he will no longer believe in our ability to quickly respond to his needs and problems.

5. When calling, do not say "You are worried about ..." or "You are worried about ..."

You force him to be wary, and you yourself ask him to treat your call as an unwanted distraction from business. Why create trouble for yourself and tell your interlocutor, they say, “I disturbed you, violated your comfort and now I will pester you with my questions”?

Say simply: “Good morning (Hello), Marina (Marina Shestakova) from the Fortochka publishing house is calling you.

6. When calling, ask if the client can speak to you

Having introduced yourself, do not go straight to the point, first ask if the interlocutor can talk to you. By asking this question, we show the interlocutor that we are brought up and that we value his time. Thus, we position ourselves in his eyes as a professional and inspire respect for ourselves.

Introduce yourself + ask about the opportunity to devote time + state the purpose of the call.

Introduce yourself + name the purpose of the call + ask about the opportunity to devote time.

7. Get to the heart of your call as quickly as possible

Well, how do you like this heat in the city?

What do you think of today's statement by our prime minister?

Did you see yesterday on the news...?

Have you heard the latest news about Iraq?

When talking on the phone, business people tend to be concise and stay on topic. Don't annoy them by talking about this and that, state the purpose of your call and start a business conversation.

It is worth adding that an exception to this rule is telephone communication with clients with whom, over the years of working together, you have developed warm friendly or even friendly relations.

8. Using the "hold" function

This function allows, if necessary, to “hang up” the interlocutor on the line without disconnecting the connection. It is used every time during a conversation you need to put down the handset and isolate the interlocutor from what is happening in your room (from conversations, discussions, jokes, anecdotes of your colleagues). For example, in order to:

go to the next office for the information necessary for the interlocutor;

print the required document;

call the right person to the phone;

clarify something with a colleague.

By pressing the corresponding button on your phone and activating "hold", you do not give the interlocutor the opportunity to hear what is happening in your room. If the telephone set is connected to the telephone exchange, then during the "hold" it plays the programmed melody to your interlocutor.

There are several rules associated with setting and removing the interlocutor from the "hold":

When staging, ask if the other person can wait, and explain the reason for the need to wait.

For example: “Can you wait as I need to contact the accounting department to answer your question?”

When removing - thank the interlocutor for waiting. This step allows you to dissipate the tension and nervousness that arises in anyone who is waiting. We also show the person that he is important to us and we are grateful to him for not hanging up.

If you know that you will have to wait more than one minute, then do not leave it on "hold". Say that you will call him back after clarifying the information of interest to him. When waiting on the phone, even one minute seems like a few, do not give the interlocutor another reason to be nervous and angry.

9. If they ask a person who is absent

After reporting the absence of the right person, make two attempts to keep the caller. Offer your help. For example: “Can I help you with something?” or "Can someone else help you?"

If the caller does not agree to the proposed assistance, then ask to leave a message.

It sounds like this:

What should I tell (to an absent colleague)? Who called?

Let me leave a message (for an absent colleague) that you called. Introduce youreself.

10. Finishing the conversation, say goodbye to the interlocutor

How many times has this happened to me: you call the organization and ask the person who answered the phone a question, for example: “Tell me, do you work on Saturday?”. The answer is "Yes" or "No", and the conversation ends. Once I did call back again and asked: “Why are you hanging up, do I still have a question for you?” The answer was simply brilliant: “We must speak faster!”.

In a situation similar to the one described above, before saying goodbye to the caller, ask: “Can I answer one more question?”, And only after receiving a negative answer, end the conversation. Before hanging up, say goodbye to the person, tell him everything just a simple "goodbye".

11. Adjust to the speed of the interlocutor's speech

A person who speaks quickly or very quickly grasps thoughts on the fly and makes decisions without much thought, perhaps even hastily. He is annoyed by slowness and slowness, he is impatient and craves action. Speed ​​up the pace of your speech when talking to such people.

Change the pace of your speech, just do not cross the line beyond which the parody begins.

12. Don't chew, drink or smoke while talking on the phone

Once I called a client, from whose answer it became clear to me that he was chewing. I tell him: “Bon appetit”, and he answered me: “Do you hear?”.

Put aside your chewing gum (patty, cigarette).

13. Do not apologize to the interlocutor for taking up his time

he lost his time communicating with you;

your time is worth nothing;

you are not sure of yourself;

you feel guilty.

Instead of an apology, you can thank the interlocutor:

Thank you for taking the opportunity to meet (talk) with me.

I understand your busy schedule, thank you for the time allotted for our meeting.

You show that you value him and his time, but do not make yourself out to be a "guilty petitioner."

14. Using the speakerphone (speakerphone)

Someone is listening to us.

15. Communication with secretaries

Do not insult, humiliate or underestimate them. These people often have a lot of power. They can become either your supporters or enemies, it all depends on you. Show them respect and reverence, and they will repay you in kind.

Treat them the same way you treat your customers. Secretaries are also your customers, they influence the opinion of their management about you, about your company and your product. If they wish, they can present your call (fax, letter) as "another trick of an annoying idiot from a stupid company." They can make it so that your letters, faxes and e-mail "will not reach" the recipient. Considering this...

Build relationships with them. It doesn't matter if you do it with bouquets, chocolates, or through your respectful attitude. Remember one thing: by winning the favor of the secretary, you get your supporter in the client's organization. In addition, no one knows what direction and in what company this person will become tomorrow.