Answering back in a polite way

By ESTELLE SARNEY

Noq, when Maria Greig talks on the phone, she sits up straight, smiles, looks focused. She's learned that while the person she is talking to might not be able to see her, her body language will betray how she feels through her voice.

"If you can express that you're positive and confident about that call, then you can make the other person feel comfortable and positive too," says Greig.

This science of neuro-linguistic programming is one of the gems passed on to employees who attend telephone behaviour seminars run by Margaret Fleming.

Now working freelance after two years providing courses through the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Fleming runs one-day courses that anyone can attend, as well as going in-house to design customised programmes.

Greig's boss sent her to one of Fleming's courses after making her a sponsor/donor co-ordinator at the Tear Fund, which recruits sponsors for needy children overseas.

Employees' telephone behaviour can be a key competitive advantage in markets where the products sold by different companies are more or less the same, or where there are many organisations competing for donor dollars, says Fleming.

"Satisfied customers might tell up to five other people about good service, but dissatisfied customers will tell up to 10," she says.

Greig has found people responding better to her calls since putting into action Fleming's tips. Little things, like saying your name at the end of your introductory spiel rather than the beginning, so that it is more easily remembered, can make all the difference to how the person at the other end of the line feels about talking to you.

"I've had people call us angry that their accounts don't tally with ours," says Greig. "Now I stay calm, don't interrupt, let them talk, and at the end sum up for them what they want. Then I tell them how I will help."

Attending the course has had a ripple effect throughout her organisation, as Greig was able to pass on to her colleagues much of what she learned.

Fleming describes the content of her courses under three headings:

* Attitude: How to adopt and express a positive, can-do approach.

* Voice quality: How to speak at a speed at which people can absorb information, which is usually a lot slower than you think. How to speak clearly by pronouncing words correctly. How to lace your voice with the right inflexion and tone.

* Communication skills: The importance of focused listening, preferably without doing anything else at the same time. If you have to use a computer as you talk to someone, let them know you are doing so. How to ask open, leading questions rather than closed questions - eg, instead of "Were you satisfied with the products performance?" ask "How did the product perform well, or not perform well, for you?" How to develop a rapport by mirroring the other person's way of speaking, such as speaking at a similar speed, using similar language and responding with similar intensity.

"The public demands a more sophisticated response to phone calls these days," says Fleming. "I'm called in when businesses are concerned about the professionalism of staff who deal with customers by phone. Managers do get complaints about shoddy treatment."

Fleming's knowledge is also hankered after by organisations whose staff must deal with a lot of difficult calls, such as local government bodies whose staff become targets for ratepayers' ire over anything from water charges to road repairs. Courses are also run for a wide range of private companies which have sales and customer service teams.

"Staff at an IT company, for example, might have plenty of technical expertise but need brushing up on customer service skills," says Fleming.

Fleming's own background is in teaching, speech training and call centre work. She saw a need for a course in telephone behaviour and developed hers after liaising with organisations about what they needed and what she thought might be valuable.

* Fleming's next one-day course is on July 11 in Auckland. Book through Training Point.net on (09) 580 1470, or visit Chamber Training

The 'glad to' approach

* Express that you're glad they've called and have a positive attitude.

* Listen actively by asking open questions and repeating back information.

* Acknowledge the person by using their name.

* Determine exactly what they want.

* Tell them what you can do, not what you can't.

* Organise yourself, then take action.

* Call them back promptly to update them on progress.