I was at the butcher’s recently. It was a Saturday morning and they were busy. Super busy which was great to see as it’s one of those old school, keeping the high street alive, proper butcher shops.
So, the shop was busy and the queue was building. And then the phone started ringing. And ringing. And ringing. Almost everyone was busy serving customers in the shop, including the owner – and that’s the key.
Almost everyone.
There was one person available to answer the phone and they obviously didn’t want to (now that’s an issue for another time) but it was what the owner said next that stuck with me.
ANSWER THE PHONE! IT’S MONEY CALLING!
I’m not ashamed to say, I’ve stolen his catchphrase and it’s on the wall in the office.
Because he was right.
Every time the phone rings, it should be answered as though money itself wants to talk to you because 1) that’s what customers deserve and 2) the statistics for getting a customer whose call isn’t answered are frightening.
If you don’t answer your phone but you call back within 10 minutes you have a 92% chance of getting hold of the customer AND your conversion rate will be almost double. BUT. After half an hour, that chance of talking to the customer drops to 65% and after 2 hours it’s just 39%. And all the time, the likelihood of them finding someone else who does what you do AND who answers the phone increases.
Why take the risk? Getting and keeping customers is the life blood of any business, yet so many fail to act when a customer (a.k.a. actual money) takes the time to call them.
So, be the company that answers the phone every time. Even if it’s not you. Every member of staff can be trained to answer most questions or to take a message and reassure your customer or potential customer that they’ve called the right place, you can help, you value their business and you’ll call back within a specific time frame (preferably less than 10 minutes!)
And if you haven’t got any staff to answer the phone when you can’t, outsource. Find a reputable company, test them and then give them the tools to be you, when you can’t be. On the phone that is!