Claimstrainer Blog

 

A long time ago I I discovered  exceptional  telephone skills are the building blocks of every positive  claims experience . Many of the important experiences that your existing, new, and potential customers are having are based upon the level of customer service they are receiving from your employees while on the phone. What follows is 15 meaninfor telephone tips to help you achieve steler claims telephone experience. Top 15 Skills There are many tips and techniques available on the market to help your employees build great telephone skills; however, there are only 10 that can truly deliver. The following Top 10 skills have been gathered from the Telephone Training Program, an award winning resource that is entertaining and simple for any practice to use. 1. Who’s job is it - Telephone Responsibility - It is important to identify and clarify whose role it is to answer the phone to avoid confusion and chaos. 2. The approach -  - It is much more than a "hello" or "good morning." Use your greeting to warmly welcome existing and potential customers to your business. 3. Telephone Etiquette - It's not so much "what you say," but "how you say it," that truly matters to your customers - continue to provide important information but focus on the delivery. 4. Scheduling Appointments - Make sure you know how to schedule those appointments - don't take it for granted that they already know! 5. Properly Placing Callers on Hold - Establish a customer - friendly manner to place callers on hold without offending the customer. 6. Transferring Calls - Don't leave the caller hanging: let him or her know when and why you are transferring their call to another employee. 7. Leaving and Taking Messages - Identify what an appropriate message is to leave for a customer, as well as, how to gather all the necessary information when taking a message for other employees. 8. Conflict is good - Handling the Unhappy Caller - It is important that employees keep their own cool when talking with an unhappy caller and work towards a mutually acceptable answer to the caller's concern. 9. Handling Tough Questions - Recognize how much information is okay to provide and when it is time to seek the assistance of a more seasoned employee. 10.Personal Calls - There really is no time that is acceptable for employees to make and receive personal calls. This behavior communicates to the customer that their time is more valuable than the customer's - a big put-off! 11.Positive Tone Despite being one of the most obvious, it is also one of the most (if not the most!) important telephone skills. 12. Controlling the conversation Sales talks can be very tricky. On one side, you want them to be as casual as they can be, while on the other, you want to quickly close the sale. It’s hard to balance a sales talk and not to sound too casual and not too salesy. To properly control the conversation you need to first set the goal for the call. If it is making a sale, you have to make sure every part of the call takes you one step closer to making that sale. That being said, it doesn’t mean that you can’t exchange a few details about something more personal such as hobbies or recent events. What it means, is that you should never let the call drift away from its main purpose.Mastering this phone skill will help you close the call in a much quicker way with a lot less effort! 13. Handling tough questions Now, that’s one serious phone skill. Sooner or later (probably sooner) you’ll get a call from an unhappy caller. Whether it’s a customer who got a wrong order delivered or a lead who’s dissatisfied with the way he got treated on your customer service line, you’ll have to deal with tough questions and awkward calls. 13. Answering business calls I bet you know how important the first impression is. Obviously, it is even more important when you meet someone face-to-face but it works the same over the phone. The way you answer a business call will define how well (or bad!) the rest of the talk will go. Taking all of the above into account, you should strive to make your greetings as sharp as possible. The best way to achieve it is to use a three-part greeting. Such a greeting contains the welcoming words, company name, and your name. Including all of the three helps your caller identify that he’s making the right call to the right person that he intended to call. It’s important that the first words you say are pleasant and set the tone for the rest of the call. Let it be simple “Good morning” said in a cheerful tone. It can still make a lot of difference. Follow that simple framework to properly answer each of the calls! 14. active listening - Active listening refers to a pattern of listening that keeps you engaged with your conversation partner in a positive way. It is the process of listening attentively while someone else speaks, paraphrasing and reflecting back what is said, and withholding judgment and advice.     15. Summing up -  have I answered all of your questions? Have all your questions been answered? Is there anything I can do enhance your customer experience? Should you need me, the following Wys is how you can reach me. You can provide your employees with these necessary phone skills in your employee manual and through hands-on instruction. Consider adding a web-based front office and/or telephone training program to supplement your own training. This will ensure that you cover all bases and give your employees the best foundation possible. In Short... Do not ignore the significance of an employee that possesses great telephone training. Review the Top 10 skills with your employees on a regular basis and train a new employee as a part of their employee orientation. Your business will continue to thrive with every ring of the telephone.