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Telephone skills are essential not only for receptionists and clerical workers, but also for business situations.
However, there are quite a few people who say, “I get nervous every time I answer the phone” or “I don’t know the etiquette of business calls, so I can’t handle them well.”
Therefore, this time, we will introduce basic phone manners for each of the three scenarios: “Receiving a call”, “Receiving a call”, and “Calling” .
Etiquette when answering business calls
First of all, I will introduce the etiquette when answering the phone. The etiquette when answering the phone is as follows.
- If you receive a call, answer within 3 calls
- Give your company name, department name, and name
- Repeat the other party’s company name, name and business
- Hang up the phone after the other party hangs up
Let’s look at each point.
If you receive a call, answer within 3 calls
It is common business etiquette to answer the phone within three calls.
Therefore, if you make more than 3 calls, the other party may feel “waiting”.
In addition, there are many people who hang up the phone because they are conscious of being kept waiting.
If you answer an incoming call after three or more calls have passed , let the other party know that you have kept them waiting .
Give your company name, department name, and name
When you receive a phone call, the first thing you should do is say, “Thank you for calling.” When answering phone calls in a business setting, the usual “hello” is not allowed.
Then, before the other party names himself/herself, state your company name, department name, and name.
Repeat the other party’s company name, name and business
If you give your company name, department name, and name, the other party will also tell you the company name and name.
The point here is to repeat the company name and name that the other person gave you. Don’t forget to leave a note.
This can prevent mishearing of names and mistakes in messages when relaying calls.
Hang up the phone after the other party hangs up
On business calls, it is considered common etiquette to hang up the person making the call first.
After confirming that the other party has hung up, gently hang up the phone.
There are also cases where the caller does not hang up the phone.
In this case, say “Thank you for calling.
If you still can’t hang up, tell the other party, “I’m sorry,” and then quietly put down the receiver and hang up.
How to refer to the person in charge
The following two patterns can be assumed when relaying telephone calls.
- Connect with a person in charge near you
- no one in charge
We will check the points for each intermediary correspondence.
When connecting to a person in charge nearby
If the other party tells you the name of the person in charge, such as “(Name of the person in charge) please,” it is necessary to relay the call.
At this time, it is important to repeat and reconfirm the name of the person in charge given by the other party along with the company name and name of the other party .
This will ensure that you do not get the wrong person (person in charge).
Also, if the person in charge is nearby, put it on hold before proceeding.
Points to note when the person in charge is absent
When the other party (person in charge) is absent, inform the other party that the person in charge is absent.
Make the other party feel at ease by telling them the reason for the absence of the person in charge and the time when they will be able to answer the phone .
Also, make sure to ask the other party whether or not you need to call back and when you would like to call back.
Etiquette when making business calls
When making a phone call to someone outside the company, make sure to prepare well in advance, such as confirming the official name of your company and department name, and summarizing the business and schedule.
The basic manners when making a phone call are as follows.
- Give your company name, department name, and name
- Keep the message brief, and if it becomes long, encourage the preparation of notes
- Tell the other party that you will change it when the other party is absent
- Hang up the phone here and hang up
We will check each point.
Give your company name, department name, and name
When the other person answers the phone, first greet them by saying, “I’m sorry to bother you.”
And tell them your company name, department name, and your name .
Keep the message brief, and if it becomes long, encourage the preparation of notes
To make it easy for the other party to understand, let’s summarize the requirements in advance.
I will tell you the matter concisely, but if the content is complicated or long, I will ask the other party to prepare a memo.
This prevents the other party from omitting the content.
Tell the other party that you will change it when the other party is absent
If the person you want to talk to (the person in charge of the other party) is not available, tell them that you will call them back.
However, if the content is simple or if the person answering the phone will give you a message, please convey the content concisely.
Hang up the phone here and hang up
As mentioned above, it is good etiquette for the caller to hang up first on business calls.
When you have finished talking , say hello and hang up the phone .
A convenient service where AI handles phone calls for you!
In many companies, the scene of relaying phone calls is increasing due to the recent trend of promoting telework.
In addition, it is not uncommon for the person in charge to miss a call or miss a message because the person in charge cannot answer the phone directly.
NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation (NEC), which supervises this article, provides a service called “Canario” in which AI takes over telephone calls .
Canario is a service recommended for companies who are concerned about improving the efficiency of telephone correspondence and improving the telephone environment.
For example, by telling the name of the person in charge according to the voice guidance, AI will recognize the name and automatically transfer it to the person in charge .
If you can’t respond on the spot, you can check the follow-up as recorded data or transcription data by linking with email or business chat tools .
Also, by introducing Canario, it is possible to eliminate troublesome walk-in sales calls and nuisance calls.
NEC Networks & System Integration will support your company’s telephone business efficiency, from the introduction of the telephone service Canario to the construction of the environment.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact NEC Networks & System Integration.
Article Summary
This time, we introduced the basic manners for answering the phone for each of the three scenarios: “receiving,” “receiving,” and “calling.”
Since telephone correspondence is a face-to-face interaction, it is necessary to understand proper manners before doing so.
Also, don’t forget that the impression of the company is determined by the quality of the response.
Please make sure to check the etiquette introduced in this article and make use of it in your daily phone calls.