Five things that are making you lose clients when you answer the phone
We have been providing digital marketing for our clients for years; many of those clients are in the home services industry, like roofing companies, general contractors, tree services, etc. By doing this, we have an excellent opportunity to see how our clients handle their leads, how they answer the phone and follow up, and who does a good job closing deals with the business leads we send them monthly.
Users of our marketing services receive any number of leads from 20 to a couple of hundreds per month; Sadly, not all leads are correctly handled. After the effort to generate a call with a new client, sometimes, the business owner “drops the ball,” lets the call go to voice mail, never returns the call of the client, or mishandles the communication, failing to provide an estimate on time or failing to follow up after sending the estimate.
Here, I’m presenting you with five mistakes you should avoid if you want to close more sales when answering the phone.
- Low energy when answering the phone
If you sound like you would rather be doing anything other than talking to the person on the other end of the phone, they will pick up on it. This is not the first impression you want to make! Instead, try to sound warm and enthusiastic, answer the phone knowing that the potential client on the other side of the line has an urgency and has already decided to CALL YOU, among all the other companies offering your same services.
You have to speak clearly, with a strong voice, and be very confident; they are calling you because you are a professional, you know what you are doing, and they are looking for your guidance.
If you are bilingual or English is your second language, make sure you have practiced and that your pronunciation is as clear as possible. Don’t worry about your accent; one of the most beautiful things about the USA is that everybody is used to listening to many different accents.
2 Failing to identify the company first.
The first thing you should do when you answer the phone is to identify the company. This way, the potential client will know they have reached the right place, and it will help build trust from the beginning. After all, the person is calling a business.
A very effective formula is this one:
“Thank you for calling {name of your company} this is {your name} speaking, how can I help you?”
This is the formula that we follow for our incoming calls; in my case, “Thank you for calling Busines Fitness Digital Marketing; this is Yuban speaking; how can I help you?” Notice that here, I’m polite first, identify the company, letting them know that they called the right place, and identify myself, so they know who they are talking with.
3 Failing to pay attention to the client’s needs
This is a big one. You must be attentive to what the client on the other side of the phone is saying, or you will likely lose them. If they feel you are not listening or understanding their needs, they will hang up and call another company. So, make sure you are paying attention and let them know you can help them.
Pay close attention to their questions because they only care about your answers, and if you answer with the correct information, you will have a chance to do business with them.
4 Failing to capture their information, phone and address
If you are running a home services business, it is essential to make sure you get the potential client’s information so that you can follow up with them.
The best way to do this is to ask for their name, phone number, and address. Be sure to follow up with a text message, and ask them to reply with their address; that way, you will avoid getting the wrong address by mistake or the wrong date for an appointment.
5 Failing to follow up
This is probably the most important one. If you fail to follow up with a potential client, you lose them. You need to make sure you are following up with a text message, email, or phone call.
The best way to do this is to have a system in place to track your leads and ensure you are following up with them. You can use a simple excel spreadsheet or be very organized with a notepad, but if you are getting more than 20 leads per month, that will get very difficult very quickly. The best way to do it is by using a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM). This is software that will help you track and follow up with your leads, so you don’t have to worry about it.
If you want to avoid losing clients, ensure you are mindful of how you answer the phone. Speak clearly and confidently, identify the company and yourself, pay attention to the client’s needs, capture their information, and follow up with them.
By following these simple tips, you will be well on your way to building a strong sales pipeline to grow your business.
If you need help generating more leads and business opportunities, just send me a message, and we can show you what is possible and help you increase sales.
Yuban Taborda
@yuban001
