Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECTs:Using the Phone - Targeted Advertising The Internet 800 Directory - http://www.inter800.com The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter This issue is for Friday, February 01, 2002 Table of Contents 01. Using the Phone 02. Targeted Advertising *01 Using the Phone Using toll free numbers to expand marketing to a national level has proven to be a successful formula. Using today’s technology, you can communicate with someone in another state just as easily as with someone two blocks away. While the telephone has expanded a business’ reach, when using the phone to converse, common visual signals are lost. This makes listening skills even more important. Here are some basic principles that can improve your listening skills. - Mentally take part in the discussion. Focus on content, not delivery. You can think faster than the speaker can talk. Use the gap between their rate of speech and your rate of thought to mentally consider what you’ve heard. Try to avoid daydreaming. -Ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions elicit a lengthy response rather than just a couple of words. These types of questions will bring the other person into the conversation. It is very important not to speak until they answer the question. -Don’t butt in! Let the other person complete their ideas before you respond. For some of us, this requires great patience. -Avoid emotional involvement. When you are too emotionally involved you tend to hear what you want to hear, not what is actually being said. Try to remain objective and open-minded. This can be very difficult when dealing with unhappy customers. -Use silence. Don’t answer hastily. This is not easy to do because so many of us find silence uncomfortable. It’s amazing what customers will tell you when you shut up. -Give feedback. Restate in your own words what you’ve just heard. It helps you to draw conclusions and corroborate your understanding of what they said. Start your feedback with one of these: So, what you’re saying is,….
If I understand you correctly,….
Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter. If you have any
thought or ideas you would like to share with me, please send them to
Chuck Arning at chuck@inter800.com
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