Telephone Tact: Increase Sales With Good Telephone Etiquette.

There goes the phone, again. You've already got one person on hold and customers are lining up at the till. You're glad for all the business, but how well do callers to your tea and coffee store know that? Does the phone ring a dozen times before you answer it? Are you too rushed to be pleasant?

That ringing phone may be inconvenient for you, sometimes, but without it, you wouldn't be in business. Every call is a potential, or existing, long-term customer. The way you and your staff handle yourselves on the phone determines how well you can win new customers, develop a positive and ongoing rapport with them and existing customers, and increase sales.

You spend good money to get people to dial your phone number, thanks to your Yellow Pages listing, newspaper ads, and promotional mailings. "All that money is wasted if you don't make sure the caller's possible first contact with your store is favorable," says Dee Sanford, of Dee Sanford & Associates, a customer service consulting firm in San Diego, California. "So be careful who you let answer the phone. Choose employees who care about your business and can convey that to customers."

It may take some training. "Don't assume staff will be professional and courteous over the phone if you don't teach them how -- even if it takes only 10 minutes," says Nancy Friedman, president of The Telephone "Doctor"(R), a customer service training company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

Tips for Telephone Tact

"From the minute you answer the phone until you hang up, everything you say and do influences how the caller perceives your business," she continues. Therefore, make sure you:

1. Put on a happy face -- Before you answer, smile. Doing so either reinforces your already-positive mood or manufactures one for you. Remember, you're glad that person called, so let her know that. Make it easy for her to want to do business with you and your tea and coffee store.

2. Be prompt: When you answer the phone by the first or second ring, you communicate enthusiasm, efficiency, and professionalism. Sure, sometimes you're so busy you just can't jump to the phone, but don't let more than a few rings go by before somebody answers it.

3. Speak properly: Your voice is the only part of you from which the caller can form an impression about you and your tea and coffee store. Therefore, don't rush or mumble your words; speak slowly enough, and clearly. Also, put some life in your voice by varying the inflection, to avoid a monotonous tone.