Doing business over the phone has been a part of retail and services for a long time. Nowadays, it might be somewhat less in favour compared to internet based solutions. However, for many industries, it is still a great way to be able to offer customers an easy avenue to make purchases. So, what makes you more effective at it? Being able to make the sale is important. But so is the security, abiding the law and being as clear in what you’re talking about as possible. Hopefully, the article below helps you be ready and able to do just that.
Getting those leads
For anyone running a business that relies on calling up people, you’re going to need to be able to find the right people to call. A huge part of this is starting off with building your list of leads. There are a few different ways to do this. Firstly, getting into referral agreements with other business owners. Providing useful content and getting in contact with people through it is another good way. As is doing your networking at trade shows and other business events. For the most effective calling strategies, you need to make sure the leads you generate have at least the potential to lead to sales.
Being transparent with customers
Any business that isn’t done face-to-face will sometimes require a bit of caution from first-time consumers. To guarantee a sale, you need to be able to confirm that validity of your business. This includes being precisely clear about the purpose of any call you make to your leads. It also means giving them all the details they need about the organisation, how to find it online or get in touch. In any way obfuscating these details, or even neglecting them accidentally, can hurt your chances of a good transaction. Being clear and honest is part of the promise any business makes to their customers.
Keeping data secure
When it comes to having secured said transaction, you still need to make sure that you’re operating not only on the good side of the law, but ethical business. Due to PCI DSS regulations, you should know that you’re not allowed record any authentication data your customers might use. No card details can be kept. This doesn’t mean that you’re unable to take card payments over the phone. There are a good variety of ways to make sure you take payments, while still recording the rest of the call. Switching off call recording, for example, or transferring them to an unrecorded automated service.
Develop excellent etiquette
The important thing about providing a good service over the phone is that you make sure the human element is as best as it can be. This means developing the very best in etiquette presented to customers. Not only in terms of sales, but the support that’s offered before and after the service. Running these things over the phone requires patience and customers are often concerned if they don’t fully understand certain processes. Make sure anyone who handles calls is well trained not only to win customers, but to make sure they’re satisfied with the process.
