Professionalism: Business Image on The Telephone

One of the most common ways our customers interface with employees is through the telephone.  Therefore, having an understanding of telephone etiquette will make a giant difference to your customers and your profits.  Your reputation for service depends on how well your staff handles incoming and outgoing calls.  86 percent of the message your customers receive on the telephone is through the tonality of the voice they hear.  Only 14 percent of the message they hear are the words used.  Our “Business Image on The Telephone” training helps your employees to develop and master the techniques that will enhance your company’s image.

Telephone etiquette is an effective public relations tool for creating a positive telephone experience for your customers.  This workshop includes dynamic trainee/trainer interactions and discussions, written and oral exercises, visual aids, and a proprietary workbook for each participant to take back to the workplace.

Audience: This program is designed for everyone who deals with customers by telephone – call center agents, customer service representatives and all customer-facing staff.

Overview

Manage your telephone impressions: A caller’s first impression with an organization is often over the telephone.  The caller’s expectations and their reality are examined.

Enhancing telephone impressions: How we answer a call, or how we transfer or put someone on hold creates an impression on the caller’s mind.  We demonstrate techniques for developing a pleasant telephone voice that will make the difference between a poor or excellent experience for the caller.  We explore the positive vocabulary that creates rapport with the caller.

Improving your listening skills: When customers call, two of their most important needs are to be listened to and to be respected.  We focus on what to do and what to avoid when we are listening to our customers to ensure we deliver to their expectations.

Dealing with difficult customers:  We provide solid tips on how to effectively handle complaints and how to keep your customers satisfied without experiencing frustrations, or needing to escalate the issue to a higher level.  We show how to diffuse situations without anger.

Topics

 We explore all the dynamics of how to make a winning first impression and maintain positive relationships on the telephone!  Your staff will acquire the fundamental skills for providing excellent customer service on the telephone.  Our half-day program includes the following topics.

• Assessing Your Communication Skills
• Understanding the Customer’s Perception
• Understanding how your “frame of mind” can help or hinder customer excellence
• Understanding the “frame of mind” of the client - empathy
•  Techniques that create a positive first and lasting impression
•  Nonverbal communication concerns: attitude, attention, posture, facial expressions
• Business etiquette: Addressing the client, making the client feel special
• Communicating when English is your second language
• Slang and phrases to avoid
•  Improving your listening skills
• Voice quality: Understanding pitch, inflection, rate, enunciation, speed and clarity
•  A strong Start: Selecting cheerful and appropriate greetings
• Positive and effective verbal communication
  • Using positive vocabulary
  • Words to use and which ones to avoid
  • Slang and phrases to avoid
  • Statements to avoid giving the wrong impression
• Preparing Yourself to Take Calls
  • The right techniques to ensure customer satisfaction
  • Taking accurate notes
• Building Rapport: Appropriate and effective ways to build rapport.
• Placing Callers On-Hold Techniques
• Effectively Transferring a Call
• Taking charge of the non-stop talkers
• Handling customer complaint calls
  • Take accurate notes
  • Empathize with angry or distressed customers
  • Take ownership of the problem and follow through
  • Rephrase the customer’s statement
  • Acknowledge the customer’s feelings
  • State the company’s position
  • Allow the customer choices
  • Find mutually acceptable solutions
• Handling multiple calls
• Closing the call techniques for creating strong last impressions
• Delivering negative information
• Handling irate or difficult customers
  • Empathizing with angry or distressed customers
  • Rephrase the customer’s statement
  • Acknowledge the customer’s feelings
  • State the company’s position
  • Allow the customer choices
  • Find mutually acceptable solutions
  • Taking ownership of the problem
• Taking clear messages
• Using voice mail effectively
• Practicing the Golden Rule
• Telephone Service Quiz
• Action Plan for Improvement

 We Guarantee Results: If you are not happy, we're not happy. Go back to work and apply the new techniques you learned in our seminar and if within 30 days you are not absolutely delighted with the results you achieve, write to us right away. We'll issue you a refund or arrange for you to attend another FIM training without paying another penny. That's our guarantee!

Dress Code
We suggest “Traditional Business” attire for all our public seminars/workshops.

Bring This Training To Your Organization
To maximize your training investment, we'll deliver our training on-site at your location.  If you are interested in learning more about what we can do for your organization or just want more information about our other services, please call 404.228.7541.

No refunds are given if you cancel your registration within 10 business days from the start of the program or for no-shows. At the discretion of FIM, a portion of the registration fee may be credited towards another seminar taken within 6 months of the original seminar date. There are no exceptions to this policy.

We are not responsible for plane tickets or other losses experienced as a result of a cancellation. Please consider this when making flight and accommodation arrangements. Therefore we suggest that you book your flight and hotel accommodation after you receive our e-mail, confirming the seminar 10 business days prior to the start date.

Notes: (1) All listed seminars are held in the Atlanta, GA area. 

Cancellation Policy
In the unlikely event that we do not have enough registrants to meet our minimum attendance, 24 students, we reserve the right to reschedule the seminar, as of 10 business days before the start date. In the case of a reschedule, you may choose to transfer into a different seminar or we will give you a refund. We will honor your registration for one year from the date you originally selected. Substitutions and transfers may be made at any time at no charge.

Change of Venue
We reserve the right to change the venue for reasons beyond our control. However we guarantee that the seminar shall take place in a training location of the same category as originally indicated.

SCHEDULED TIME: 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM. Our doors will be open at 1:00 PM, you will want to take the opportunity to meet other professionals and introduce yourself. You may meet a new friend. Plan to be registered and ready to go by 1:20 PM.

We begin promptly at 1:30 PM and wrap up at 4:30 PM.

FREE PARKING: Bring you parking ticket up with you to get it validated.

FREE LUNCH: A plated lunch will be provided in the City Club's dinning room from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.  Please be ready to join the group by 11:45 AM to ensure our start time of 12:00 PM.

America's Fortune 500 Companies Can't be Wrong

Comprehensive materials, top-notch trainers and our satisfaction guarantee ensures that a quality learning experience is in store at every FIM program. These are three of the reasons Fortune 500 ompanies have chosen us to train their people. We hope you will too. After all, when you need training, why settle for less than the best?