Learn how phone answering is done professionally, sound like a receptionist, and impress your callers—every time!
It sounds like a bad dream. You’re at your business’s office and you’re short-staffed. Half the workforce isn’t available, including the person who usually handles the phone. You and the rest of the team are up for the challenge, but one question looms:
“Who’s going to answer the phone?”
Fear not! Our live virtual receptionists have your back. If you’re new to taking calls professionally, follow these five steps for flawless phone answering and customer service success:
Note: This article was first published in 2018. We updated it in October 2022.
1. Greet your caller graciously.
A receptionist is responsible for greeting callers professionally and leaving a positive impression. This involves beginning with a polite phrase, incorporating the company name, and ending with an offer of assistance. Following established greeting guidelines helps ensure consistent, welcoming interactions with every caller.
A greeting is an essential step to making that personal, meaningful connection with a caller—the kind of connection that leads to happy and loyal clients or customers. Discover the benefits of real meaningful connections in our free guide.
2. Mind your manners.
You may be new to the receptionist game, but if you’re nice, no one will notice.
Ask for information rather than demanding it, as in “May I say who is calling?” and “May I have your name?” Throw “please” and “thank you” in there as much as possible.
Remember, everyone loves to be treated with respect and the happier your callers are, the happier you’ll be!
3. Listen attentively.
It’s important to listen carefully when talking to customers or clients on the phone. Make sure you are not multitasking and remain focused on their needs so that you can provide an informed response. This will help create trust between the two parties and further strengthen customer relationships.
Get our comprehensive walkthrough for top-notch, completely unbeatable call handling!
4. Have a script.
Having a phone answering script will help you stay on track when communicating with customers or clients, ensuring that each conversation is relevant, efficient, and professional. The content should include an introduction to establish a connection with the caller, a brief explanation of your business and services, and directions for how to move forward.
5. Use a virtual receptionist service.
When it comes to phone answering, having a virtual receptionist service in place can help streamline the process and make it easier. Virtual receptionists are trained to handle phone calls from customers or clients in an efficient manner, providing quality customer service every time.
By implementing these phone answering best practices, you’ll be sure to provide excellent customer service each and every time a phone call is answered. With these tips in place, you can rest assured that your phone calls will be handled professionally and efficiently, leading to happier customers and increased business success.
We hope this guide has been useful in helping you develop phone answering strategies that work for your business. We are here to help you find the perfect phone answering solution for your business needs.
Don’t want to answer your own phone? The virtual receptionists at Ruby can handle calls for you.
