Five Quirks That Irk Customers

Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 February 2010 17:50 Written by Michael McCann Thursday, 04 February 2010 00:00

Entrepreneurship

Although you think, as an entrepreneur, you are doing everything possible to sound courteous and professional to callers, you can unknowingly display a habit or mannerism that offends customers.

Here are five common ways an entrepreneur antagonizes callers and what you can do about them.

1. Talk too fast. An entrepreneur receives so many calls they may unintentionally speak quickly to hurry the call along.

If this is your quirk as an entrepreneur: Slow down your pace! People generally speak at an average speed of 126 words per minute. Time yourself to see what your average falls and strike a natural pace.

2. Hang up too quickly. In their zeal as an entrepreneur to get to the next call quickly, you sometimes hang up before the caller is ready.

If this is your quirk as an entrepreneur: “Remember, call beginnings and call endings are like bookends,” says Chicago-based consultant Lisa Shurer. “They support the rest of the call. A friendly closing tells the other person, ‘We’ve conducted business, and maybe even disagreed, but, in the end, we’re friendly, and we respect one another.’ People are social creatures, and we need that kind of affirmation.” Call endings need not be lengthy or complicated: A simple pleasantry like, “It was nice talking with you” will end the call on a positive note.

3. Sound too casual as an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur who doesn’t use language effectively sometimes clutters their speech with phrases such as “you know,” “like,” and “uh.”

If this is your quirk as an entrepreneur: Record your side of a phone conversation and play it back later, suggests Peter Guiliano, president of the Executive Communication Group, Inc. “Then force yourself to stop using the junk words and phrases that bring down the quality of your presentation.”

4. Sound distracted. An entrepreneur can be distracted by other customers, phone calls, or even employees. If you let distractions grab your attention, however, customers will pick up on it very quickly.

If this is your quirk as an entrepreneur: Don’t fake it. If another concern is so pressing that it can’t be put aside, quickly explain the situation, put the caller on hold, take care of the concern, and then return to pay undivided attention to the customer.

5. Sound exhausted. After a long day of busy phones and difficult customers, an entrepreneur can have difficulty keeping the oomph! in phones manners.

If this is your quirk as an entrepreneur: Close your eyes and visualize. “This approach at first may seem unorthodox,” admits Thomas McCafferty, director of production for Houston-based TeleCross Corporation. “But based on my experience, it works.”

Here’s what to do as an entrepreneur: Before taking your next call, close your eyes. Breathe slowly and deeply. Imagine that the phone rings and you’ve answered it smiling and full of energy and enthusiasm. Take another long breath. Now reach for the phone.