Someone this week very kindly dragged me kicking and screaming into the century of the fruitbat! (As Mr T Pratchett would say!) “Blogging” huh? Fair enough, I’ll give it a go!
I was recently asked to develop a ‘telephone call script’ for a client, so they could get a member of their own staff to start making Credit Control calls. The member of staff didn’t know what to say, and otherwise generally didn’t feel comfortable ‘asking people for money’…so the plan was that the script would overcome these difficulties!
Now, I’m not a big fan of ‘scripts’! I hear them too often from people who call me, and clearly don’t have a clue if the call goes ‘off script’! Ad-libbing is not on the agenda!
Saying that – that’s what the client wants, that’s what the client gets! So I sat down, and started to develop the script, making me consciously go over what’s needed to make a Credit Control phone call effective (and this brought in other discussions on the same topic from the last few weeks)…
I thought I’d share the fruits of my labours with you…
A properly conducted telephone call is the most effective tool in Credit Control – why? Because:
- It allows you to engage with your customer, allowing you to maintain and “re-affirm” the relationship with your customer on a personal, human level…no machines here!
- It brings crucial information into your business – when money will be coming into the business/ why money won’t be!
1. Are You Sitting Comfortably…?
The person making the call needs to feel comfortable and confident in what they are doing. Make it natural…don’t use phrases or words that you wouldn’t normally use. Don’t slouch…it helps – really!
2. Preparation – Why we are here…
- The obvious bits first…allow time for the call, if you need to be somewhere else in two minutes’ time (even if it’s only the loo!); don’t call! Rushing through a phone call will be noticed by your customer, and will make them feel marginalised +/or secondary – not good!
- Before you pick up the phone – know who you are calling and why, if you have customer accounts software, spend a few seconds familiarising yourself with the account, the invoices you are going to speak to the customer about, and any previous call history (if you have that sort of information). Check the records to see if you have the name of the person you want to talk to, so you can ask for them directly. At very least have a copy of the invoice/s you are calling about to hand!
- Approach and Aim– the first call in the sequence should be based on the premise that you are expecting payment (if there’s something wrong with the invoice you shouldn’t be calling!). So your aim is to confirm when payment will be made.
- Focus! Remember to stay focused on the result you want to achieve, don’t get sidetracked, or allow yourself to be diverted from…keep your goal in mind…
3. Take a Deep Breath!
Allow yourself a second to relax…to be effective, someone making a Credit Control call needs to be friendly, yet professional at all times. It is NEVER personal! It’s a business call…remember to treat it as such! Then dial the number, and smile… (Friendly, remember?) It may sound daft, but having a smile on your face does affect how you sound!
4. Details, Details…
Keep a record of the date and time you make the call, the name of the person you spoke to (confirm you spelt their name correctly if need be), and what the outcome was. If the customer says they’ll send you a cheque, be sure you know when, get a day/date “later this month” is too vague, but “on the 15th” or “this Friday” you can work with!
On the other hand, if they tell you they’re not paying because there’s a query or problem, ask for all the details (the five “W’s” – Who/What/Where/When/Why). Find out what the problem is…the more information you can get the quicker and easier it is to resolve.
If you’re calling for your own small business, my advice is don’t ever answer a query there and then! You could say you need to go and check the original paperwork, or previous emails…find a reason that allows you to go away and think about it! Knee-jerk reactions rarely give the right answer, and you could more damage to the relationship with that customer than if you were to think about it for a while…
5. The Follow Up
You remember those annoying details you had to get before? Well, here’s where they pay off! Let’s go with the “cheque in the post this Friday” option…put a note in your diary (Outlook works well for this, or you could buy one, or just put a sticky/note somewhere where you’ll see it!) for the following Friday, so that you make sure the cheque actually did come in…If it didn’t, that cues the 2nd call to the person you spoke to before…”hello ***, we’ve not had that cheque you said you were sending, what happened?”
If the customer says “I haven’t spoken to you/don’t know what you’re talking about”, you can give them the details – date, time etc – from the previous calls, to refute that claim (a bit of personal additional info you might have got at the time also helps to ‘jog their memory’!) I like these ones, as most of the time you can almost hear the person on the other end cringing more and more, as you lay out chapter and verse from the last call!
More often, the response is “I know, sorry, director was not in Friday, but they were here on Monday, so we couldn’t send them until Tuesday” – you then allow a couple more days before following up again! The key is to keep following it up – the customer soon learns that you won’t be ignored or “fobbed off”!
To reprise the high points – remember…
Prepare… Deep Breath… Detail… Follow Up!
Ps – What happened with my script? We never used it! I sat with the member of staff, went through what I’ve talked about here…added some motivational / confidence building talks, and off they went! No script, but end result achieved nonetheless – staff member making Credit Control calls –
Job done!
I hope the above is helpful, if you wish to look at improving your own, or your teams’, telephone call techniques in more detail – or with specifically tailored training, there are a number of companies and organisations that offer training in this area.
August 15, 2009 at 9:42 am |
Welcome to the 21st Century Geoff. I must admit you had me worried when you started off talking about telephone scripts – you tease!
Brilliant first blog – only thing I would add is that I very often make phone calls standing up. I have no idea why but makes me feel more in control of the conversation.
(So when are you joining twitter then!)
Geoff
August 15, 2009 at 10:47 am |
Excellent post!! Seriously good practical advice for anyone making calls
August 15, 2009 at 12:08 pm |
Thank you Max + Geoff GRD Credit both!
Actually Geoff, I also frequently make calls while on my feet…I agree it does increase the sense of control, and also – for me – makes me feel more ‘animated’. I quite often walk around too, and I think the physical stimulus of movement acts as another trigger for the brain to keep it ‘firing on all available cylinders’ as it were!
The only cautionary note I’d add though is that if, like me, you tend to be naturally quite assertive, then you might need to bear in mind the extra “whoomph” standing gives! I sometimes have to sit myself down…by doing so I can more easily regulate my tone, volume, and the other control ‘factors’…
May 5, 2010 at 6:48 am |
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