Customer service is essential, so improving your business's call answering should be a priority task for your business.

Those of you on the wrong side of 40 will possibly remember the 80s and 90s when in some workplaces the phone had to be answered within 3 rings and or there would be all hell to pay.

Now that seems like a difficult task in our modern age when we have so much to do, and all seemingly at the same time, but thinking back to those days can you ever recall a company not answering their phone in business hours? Most likely not I would guess.

Why? It was an absolute given to answer the phone and was considered completely unacceptable not to.

So here are our tips call answering:

Tip one

Although it sounds obvious and is not technically an improvement as such, it is to check your missed call logs, and if they terrify you… ANSWER THE PHONE.

Some ‘modern’ companies have adopted a somewhat ‘Laissez-faire’ attitude towards call answering, but it’s the quickest way to blow your first impression by giving people thoughts that your structure may not be as professional as your website might suggest.

Did you know that around 72 to 80% of callers hang up when the call isn't picked up the first time?

Tip two

Make an effort to sound as professional as possible to the caller. Again, fairly obvious stuff but how often do we hear a gruff “Hello” answering the phone or even something even more.

Remember that first impressions count, so getting into the routine of sounding professional and friendly with your call answering is critical.

Tip three

Listen to what the caller is asking you. We have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in that ratio. Only when we listen do we really find out where the caller’s pain is coming from, and only then can we solve it with our product or service.

Don’t be over keen to spew out your service or product’s details all over the caller. Remember they called you.

Tip four

Consider being available in the early evening, early morning and at weekends. As the way, we communicate changes more business is being done outside of ‘normal’ business hours.

Not every company would want to be a 24/7 operation, but a 6 am – 8 pm operation Monday – Monday is much more modern and forward-thinking. You can even use an external call answering service to cover those hours for you.

Check out our blog post all about "Why should my business use call handling?"

Tip five

Always try to get the caller’s details so you can follow them up later. Don’t be afraid to ask if they mind you following up with them in a weeks’ time to see how they are getting on? Many people are grateful for that kind of service. On the phone, once they’re gone… they’re gone.

Hopefully, you have found these top 5 call answering tips helpful so that you can adapt them within your own businesses. If these seem a struggle or you can’t justify putting people on shift for your out-of-hours calls then maybe we can help you with either our call handling or incident handling services.

Thank you for reading.