|
Archived Tips:
January Tip of the Month-- Troubleshooting
when your phones aren’t working by Rob Michael:
December Tip of the Month - Time Management for Incoming calls by Robert Michael
November Tip of the Month- Service Level Agreements. Do you need one? By Randy Berlin
January Tip of the Month-- Troubleshooting
when your phones aren’t working by Rob Michael:
Phone service; it’s a critical part of doing business. However, we often
take it for granted when our phones are working properly. Then a problem occurs
(you can't make or receive a call), and your business comes to a grinding halt.
Don't panic! Follow these steps when phone service problems occur. It may help you
avoid a potentially costly visit by your phone repairman.
If you are having a problem with your phone service, try these
steps first:
1 – Make sure the problem exists on all phones. If it is just on one
phone, then it’s most likely an internal problem, perhaps an issue with the phone
and/or wiring. At this point, consider making a call to your phone vendor, if you
have one, such as DiscountCall.
2 – If you have a phone system and the issue appears on all of your phones,
check the phone display (if you have one). If it is blank or doesn’t look normal,
it may be an issue with the phone system. Try rebooting your system first. If you
don’t know how to reboot your system, call your vendor and they should be able to
walk you through the process.
3 – If you have rebooted your system and the issue still exists, try
calling your main phone number from a cell phone. Write down a description of what
you hear when you call. Now its time to call for help. If you are a customer of
DiscountCall, call us. If not, call your carrier. Describe
to them exactly what you did while troubleshooting as well as what happens when
you dial the number.
Back to Top
December Tip of the Month - Time Management
for Incoming calls by Robert Michael:
Incoming telephone calls can seriously decrease productivity by pulling
you away from other tasks and eating up a lot of your precious time. Just like there
are ways to handle outbound calls, there are ways of handling inbound calls that
improve time management.
1.) Answer your phone with a proper business opening. Example: “DiscountCall,
this is Robert, how may I help you?” This not only lets the caller know that they
reached a business, but also puts the ball in their corner because they need to
answer your question. This gets rid of exploratory questions like, “Is this DiscountCall?”
and idle conversation.
2.) Think and prioritize as you speak. Does this call need to be handled now or
later? Some calls are inquiries that can be answered quickly, while others are more
complex and require time consuming answers. If the latter is the case, then explain
that to the caller and set up a time when you can call them back to go over their
issues.
3.) Keep a pad and pen by the phone to write down important notes or details of
the call.
4.) Give your clients/customers the email option. Many of them will use email to
contact you rather than calling. Make sure that your email address is on your business
cards, as well as your website. You may even want to send an email to your existing
client base to let them know about the email option, presenting it as a way to improve
business communications.
5.) Use technology to manage the time you spend answering the phone. As a minimum
your business should have voicemail. Set up your voicemail with the appropriate
business greetings to answer your calls while you are out of the office or when
you want to work uninterrupted. Also gain valuable time by grouping your calls together
and setting a certain part of the day to respond to voice mail.
6.) Summarize your calls. Get in the habit of ending each call by summarizing the
call and letting the caller know what the next agreed upon action. For example:
“Great. So I’ll meet with you this Thursday at your office at 10:00 a.m. to go over
the proposal together.” This will help avoid confusion about the conversation or
having to double check at a later time.
Remember that the telephone is supposed to be a business tool, not a vicious tyrant
that rules your day. Handling your incoming calls with these tips will help you
better manage your business time and make you more productive.
Back to Top
November
Tip of the Month- Service Level Agreements. Do you need one? By Randy Berlin
If you have a critical dependency on a particular service it is important that you
have an agreement to define the obligations of both parties. Phone lines and Internet
access are critical to your business; so in terms of these services you need a Service
Level Agreement.
The Service Level Agreement (SLA) defines the parameters of the service rendered.
The SLA takes on its greatest importance when defining the levels of availability
and response in emergency situations. All carriers are protected by "Acts of God"
and most offer minimal compensation for downtime. The amount of compensation usually
doesn’t make up for revenues lost during that period. The key is to make sure there
is a provision in your contract that allows you to get “out” of the contract if
the carrier is at fault. It keeps the playing field fair. If you are allowed to
take your business elsewhere, carriers will guard themselves against making future
mistakes.
Therefore, the SLA is a very important document and as with other important items,
it should be carefully understood and given due consideration.
Back to Top
|
