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Rangefinder
Magazine You Lost Me at “Hello!” by Cheri
Frost Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the December 2003 issue of WPPI Photography Monthly, the newsletter for the WPPI association, which is part of the Rangefinder Publishing family of companies. We are reprising the article here because of the great reader response and enthusiasm registered after was initially published. Have you ever thought about how much you could accomplish during the day if you didn’t have to constantly stop and answer the phone? Have you found yourself hurrying through phone calls in an attempt to get on to bigger and better things? If a ringing telephone has become a nuisance, disrupting your day and taking you away from other more important matters, then fear not. I’ve some helpful advice guaranteed to free up your work schedule and assure that little piece of molded plastic need never again cause you dismay. Pick up the phone on the first ring. No need to stop working; you can talk and work at the same time. This multi-tasking is actually preferable, as it keeps you from focusing completely on the caller. Do not keep paper and pen near the phone to write down information. Instead, ask the caller to repeat questions. This method works exceptionally well at discouraging callers from reserving appointment times. For example: Caller: “Hello, my name is Mary Smith, and I have three children I’d like photographed together and separately, and I need to get prices.” You: “Umm…how can I help you?” Caller: “What are your prices?” You: “What do you want photographed?” Caller: “My three children, together and separately.” You: “How many children do you have?” Caller: “Three” You: “Do you want them photographed together or separately?” Get the idea? It works like a charm. Next, locate the phone button that sends the caller into the oblivion we love to call “Hold” and rename it “Ignore.” Don’t ask them if they are able to hold and at no time offer to call them back with their requested information. Do so and run the risk of appearing to actually care about wasting your client’s time. Now, if you find yourself in the awkward position of actually knowing the information, then by all means, impart the information as quickly or as slowly as possible, depending on the speech pattern of the client. Do not elaborate. Only give the necessary information and leave it to the caller to fill in the blanks. Confusion and distrust are necessary components of a bungled call. Never use the words “please” and “thank you.” Sure, they’re the “magic” words, but nobody else in business uses them; why should you? Do not smile when speaking on the phone, even if you’re having a good day. A smile is the one facial expression that can be heard in the voice, and it becomes much more difficult to lose a client when they feel as though you are enjoying the conversation. Think instead about the traffic in which you drove to work, the bills you’ve yet to pay, the argument you had with your spouse that morning and all the things you could be doing if you weren’t on the darn phone. Channel that aggravation into your call, and, if done with excessive sighing and/or impatience, your client will pick up on it. With luck, the call will end soon. Select several key phrases such as: “I don’t know” and “We don’t do that,” and use them repeatedly. A few well placed “umms” followed by long, blank pauses sprinkled liberally through the conversation works amazingly well in conjuring a sense of inadequacy. If you’re a gum chewer, then by all means, chew away. In closing, remember, anybody can answer the phone. You don’t need training or special skills. Even a five-year-old can do it. Just get off the phone as quickly as possible, and the results are guaranteed. Eventually,
the ringing will stop altogether, and you can get on with your life.
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