Hands up if you've ever called a business and been immediately turned off by the way the phone was answered.
Here's the situation: You want to get some tradeswork done around the home. You contact 3 or 4 tradies that you found in a Google search. Some of them list mobiles, some a landline and some have a 1300 number. The following scenarios are my own actual experiences:
- The landline is answered by a child or teenager who tells you that Mum or Dad is out and asks if you can call back later. You still don't know if it was Joe's Plumbing that you called.
- The mobile is answered by the tradie's flustered wife, right in the middle of a school pickup. She asks you twice what your phone number is, because she can't hear you over the kids talking in the back seat of her car. She calls back 5 days later to see if you still need that urgent job done.
- The mobile rings out or goes to a message bank asking you to leave a short, ten second message. Now you're flustered by having to think quickly, but you manage to leave your name and half of your phone number before the message bank cuts out.
- The telephone (landline, mobile or 1300 number) is answered by a professional-sounding receptionist, who provides you with an idea of the pricing of the job that you require. She either books you in there and then or arranges for a tradesperson to follow up with you to provide a more comprehensive quote.
Ask yourself: Which of these businesses leave you feeling confident you can get the work done quickly and professionally?
Now ask yourself: Which of these scenarios represents the experience of callers to your business?
If a customer has any reason to doubt that they have your immediate attention when they call, there's a very good chance they'll move to the next business on their list. Skimp on that first impression and you risk having your precious enquiry going elsewhere. Who can afford that in this day and age?
If your first impression is not up to scratch, then book a call with the Sohovian team now to discuss your needs