Business communication by phone

Currently, the phone is the most popular means of communication. It helps reduce the time needed to solve various issues, and save money on travel to other cities and countries. Modern business is greatly simplified thanks to telephone calls, which eliminate the need to conduct lengthy written correspondence in a businesslike style, and travel over long distances. In addition, the phone provides the ability to remotely conduct negotiations, present essential issues and inquire.

The success of each company directly depends on the correctness of telephone conversations., because it is enough to make one call to create a general impression about the company. If this impression turns out to be negative, it will be impossible to correct the situation. Therefore, it is important to know what constitutes competent business communication by phone.

What it is?

Business communication - the implementation of professional tasks or the establishment of business relationships. Business communication over the phone is a specific process to be carefully prepared for.

Before making a phone call, some basic points should be clarified.

Is this call really necessary?
Is knowledge of partner response important?
Is a personal meeting possible?

Having found out that talking on the phone is inevitable, it is necessary to tune in to it in advance and recall the rules, the observance of which will help to conduct telephone conversations at a high professional level.

Features and standards

The telephone conversation policy is quite simple and includes following stages:

greeting;
representation;
clarification of the availability of free time with the interlocutor;
description of the nature of the problem in brief;
questions and answers to them;
the end of the conversation.

The telephone conversation culture is one of the important components of business communication. The specificity of telephone communication is determined by the factor of remote communication and the use of only one information channel - the auditory one. Therefore, the observance of ethical standards governing telephone communication is an important factor determining the effectiveness of the enterprise’s activities and the development of relationships with partners.

The etiquette of a business telephone conversation for outgoing calls includes several rules.

Before dialing, you must check the correctness of the phone number. In the case of an error, do not ask too many questions. It is necessary to apologize to the subscriber, and after completing the call, once again check the number and call back.
Prerequisite is submission. After the greeting from the interlocutor, you need to answer using the greeting words, the name of the company, the position and the name of the employee making the call.
It is recommended to pre-make a plan that reveals the goal (in the form of a graph / scheme or in text form). It is necessary to have a description of tasks in front of your eyes so that you can record their implementation during a telephone conversation. Also, do not forget to note the problems that have arisen in the way of achieving a particular goal.

3-5 minutes is the average time spent on a business conversation. If this gap is not enough, a sensible decision would be to arrange a personal meeting.
You can not disturb people by calling early in the morning, during a lunch break or after the end of the working day.
In the case of a spontaneous call, which was not agreed with the partner in advance, it is imperative to clarify the availability of free time with the interlocutor and specify the approximate time required to resolve the question of the caller. If the interviewee is busy at the time of the call, you can specify another time or make an appointment.
Concluding the conversation, it is necessary to thank the interlocutor for their time or information received.

If the telephone conversation is interrupted, the one who initiated the call must call back.

The etiquette of telephone calls for incoming calls also includes several important points.

You must answer the call no later than the third beep.
When performing a response, you need to give a name or organization. In a large company, it is accepted to call not a company, but a department.
A call made by mistake should be answered politely, clarifying the situation.
The materials used for the work must be in sight, and the conversation plan must be in front of your eyes.
Multiple simultaneous connections should be avoided. Calls should be taken in turn.
Answering the call made to criticize the product / service or the work of the enterprise as a whole, it is necessary to try to understand the state of the interlocutor and take some of the responsibility.
Outside working hours it is recommended to include an answering machine. The message should indicate the latest information that will be useful to all customers.
If the employee who is asked is not in place, you must offer your assistance in transferring information to him.

You can highlight the general principles of business communication by phone.

It is necessary to prepare in advance for telephone conversations with customers, making a plan with the objectives, main points, the structure of the upcoming conversation and ways to resolve problems that may arise during the conversation.
You need to pick up the phone with your left hand (left-handers - right) after the first or second signal.
It is necessary to consider information relating to the subject of conversation.
The speech of the subscriber should be smooth and restrained. You must carefully listen to your partner and not interrupt him during the conversation. It is recommended to reinforce your own participation in the conversation with small remarks.
The duration of the telephone conversation should not exceed four to five minutes.

In case of a discussion, it is necessary to take the emerging emotions under control. Despite the injustice of the statements and heightened tone on the part of the partner, one should be patient and try to calmly resolve the dispute.
During the entire conversation, it is necessary to monitor the intonation and tone of voice.
It is unacceptable to interrupt the conversation by answering other phone calls. As a last resort, it is necessary to apologize to the subscriber for having to interrupt the conversation, and only after that answer the second call.
There must be a paper and a pen on the table so that the necessary information can be recorded in time.
End the conversation can the caller. If you need to stop the conversation in the next few minutes, then you should end it politely. It is necessary to apologize to the interlocutor and say goodbye, having thanked in advance for their attention.

After the end of a business conversation, some time should be devoted to analyzing its style and content, identifying errors made in the conversation.

Stages

As already noted, business communication over the phone does not require much time. According to the rules, such a telephone conversation can take no more than 4-5 minutes. This is the optimal period of time allowing to solve all the questions.

In the course of business communication on the office phone, you must follow the sequence of stages that make up the structure of the call.

Greeting with special phrases that correspond to the time of day during which the call is made.
The message to the virtual interlocutor of the name and position of the employee making the call, as well as the name of his organization.
Notification about the availability of the interlocutor free time.
Concise summary of basic information. At this stage, it is required to identify the essence of the problem in one or two phrases.
Questions and answers to them. It is necessary to show interest in the questions of the interlocutor. Answers to them should be clear and provide accurate information. If the employee who answered the call is not competent in the question in question, you should invite someone who can give an exact answer to the phone.
End the conversation. A telephone conversation is terminated by its initiator. It can also be done by a senior officer, age and woman.

The phrases that conclude the conversation are words of gratitude for the call and good luck.

To improve the efficiency of a mobile phone conversation, you should follow the general recommendations:

pre-prepare the necessary correspondence;
positive attitude to the conversation;
state your thoughts clearly, while keeping calm;
fix meaningful words;
avoid monotony by changing the pace of the conversation;
make pauses at the right moments of the conversation;
reproduce information to be memorized;
do not use harsh expressions;
When receiving a refusal, one should maintain friendliness and show respect for the interlocutor.

Dialogue Examples

The following examples of telephone conversations will help you understand the essence of business communication. Dialogues clearly show how to talk with a customer or business partner by phone to avoid misunderstandings.

An example of telephone dialogue number 1.

Hotel Administrator - Good Morning! Hotel "Progress", reservation department, Olga, I listen to you.
Guest - Hello! This is Maria Ivanova, representative of the company "Fairy Tale". I would like to make changes to the reservation.
A - Yes, of course. What would you like to change?
G - Is it possible to change the date of arrival and departure?
A - Yes, of course.
D - The period of residence will not be from September 1 to 7, but from 3 to 10.
A - Ok, reservation is changed. We are waiting for you in our hotel on September 3.
G - Thank you very much. Goodbye!
A - All the best to you. Goodbye!

An example of a telephone dialogue number 2.

Secretary - Hello. Firm "Holiday".
Partner - Good afternoon. This is Elena Petrova, representative of the creative team of “Flight of Fantasy”. Can I talk to your director?
S - Unfortunately, he is not in the office now - he is in a meeting. May I help you? Can he pass on something?
P - Yes, tell me, please, when will it be in place?
S - He will return only at three o'clock in the afternoon.
P - Thank you, I'll call you back then. Goodbye!
S - Goodbye!

Ethics not only controls the business relations of partners in business and establishes links with competitors, but is also a means of properly organizing a telephone conversation. Compliance with the rules of business communication over the phone, involving a thorough study of each item, provides an effective result and long-term partnership.