You conduct 60% of your business over the phone-but how many of you actively practice phone courtesy and technique? Having worked with more than 400 agencies and spoken with probably 2,000 more agencies during seminars, I feel sure of the answer: Fewer than 3% of agencies actively engage in phone training.
Our living is largely dependent on the phone. 'Details win,' says Tom Peters, but no one works the phone detail. I did a survey to test how various agencies answer the phone. Here are some of the horror stories.
Answered in two rings. 'Insurance office.' Great. Here's a company that spent a lot of money for a name. They put it on their letterhead, business cards, policy labels, invoices, Yellow Pages, and other advertising-but now, when they have a chance to penetrate the callers' mind with their agency's name, they answer their phone saying, 'Insurance office.' Yuk. I was asked the number I dialed and was then transferred to voice mail for the person I wanted to call, which compounded the problem.
Answered in two rings. A real weird 'hello.' I was told to call back 'because Sondra was out to lunch.' I was given no other options-just silence. I asked, 'Are you sure Sondra is coming back?'
Message machine during lunch. Hmm-not very client centered. They want to work only during their time, not mine. I called back after 1 p.m., and was answered in one ring with 'Insurance agency.' Catchy. Then, when I asked for a quote on Homeowners insurance, they responded, 'We don't do Homeowners.'
Answered in one ring by the computer. Conversations with computers are a bit one-sided. I punched '0' for the operator, who answered after seven rings. 'All agents are out to lunch. Would you like to leave a voice message?'
You get the idea. These were real calls to agencies with which I was familiar. And these agencies are successful. Well, at least, they were successful. Two of them are now out of business.
Are you thinking, 'This doesn't describe my agency'? The principals of the agencies I've described thought the same thing. Take nothing for granted. Inspect what you expect. That's the mark of champions.
Like great athletes, receptionists shouldn't have to think when they need to react-so they must be trained. Train them one to three minutes every day on phone courtesy and phone service. If you don't, you might just end up with no one calling anymore.