Keep Me Hanging On The Telephone...

I work in sales. You can call it business development, new growth, or whatever, but my job is to sell a product. To do this I need to get a prospect's attention. I sell data, primarily to advertising agencies - specifically, to new business teams at ad firms. So I am a new business guy tracking down new business people. I use every possible resource my company provides me to get a decision maker's attention. The way I still acquire most of my pitches is over the telephone. It occurred to me many times while calling advertising agencies that if I were a potential client, the phone systems I came across at many agencies might actually drive me away. We are in a hyper-competitive advertising agency market with clients going in-house more and more. Right now, details count. People have less time than ever, so you need to make sure if they are on hold, they don't hang up. Here are some things that I noticed while dial blitzing hundreds of agencies that you may want to think about when your next potential client calls your shop.

Google Voice: No. Just don't do it. It's low brow. I understand you may be a small agency and work off your cell phones, but if you need to screen calls, just don't pick up the phone and let VM do its job. Better that than your next possible account asking, "why can't they afford a phone system?" You can say I am a snob, but Google Voice, FreeConferenceCall and things like that will make me wonder how under-resourced you may be. Perception is a big part of the game and if you are relying on freemium services, I have to wonder what resources or lack there-of you'll be bringing to the table for my brand.

Canned Hold Music: There are a handful of stock hold music options like Opus Number 1. Take a listen to that track and tell me if you haven't heard it a thousand times more than you ever wanted to. That said, agencies are selling creativity and creative solutions. Are you going to subject your prospects calling in to the same boring hold music that every other company on the planet uses? The best experiences I have had on hold have been hearing creative messages that keep me entertained while I wait. The options I loved the most were either humorous or included popular new tunes. Apple's agency TBWA/Chiat/Day made an art out of selecting the right breaking music to attach to that brand. Do the same for your agency's brand. Don't subject your prospects to some corny prefab soundtrack, or even worse, some piped in music service that plays Hotel California on perpetual loop.

Dead Air: I was on hold with an agency a few weeks back and the one thing I appreciated most about their phone system was that is stated, "There may be a brief silence while we put you on a short hold." Silence can be disconcerting when I don't know if I got cut off or in this era of mobile communication, if my cellphone call may have been dropped. Fill the gap, or at least warn people there may be an audio void for a spell.

Dial By Name Directories: These are great...if you set them up right. I called a company recently that no matter who's name I punched in, first name, last name, whatever, it took me nowhere. You may be saying to yourself that it serves me right for being a psycho-dialing sales drone that I should get my wheels spun, but again, what if I am the CMO of your next possible client? I'd have to ask myself, if your agency can't get a phone directory right, how are you going to execute my insanely intricate, integrated media plan in 60 markets across multiple platforms?

I Dunno: When it comes to receptionists, admins and gatekeepers I actually highly respect the ones that screen, qualify and sometimes shut down solicitation calls. That's part of their job. Here's the one I just don't get - when I call a firm, and the person on the other end sincerely doesn't know who handles new business. I know, sometimes there are temps picking up the phone, but my business education started with this one precept - everyone's job at any company is to make sure that company keeps revenue flowing and growing, and that starts at the person answering the horn. If someone called into my current employer for a demonstration of our capabilities, and whoever answered the phone at my company said they didn't know who to transfer that caller to, that person would get course corrected afterward. The words, "I don't know who handles new business," should NEVER exit a person's mouth answering that inquiry. "I'll take your info and have someone reach out," "I am not allowed to volunteer that," "We don't transfer unscheduled calls," and "I am sorry but I need a name for me to transfer you," are all acceptable policies, but a staffer spouting, "I don't know who keeps the lights on," isn't.

Test It: My last suggestion is after you have set up or changed your phone system, call it! Put yourself in the prospect's place and see if what you hear is at the very least, not annoying. Is the hold music too loud? Is it clear? Do the extensions match the people they are connected to? Is the voice mail system working correctly?

I know we don't think much about this stuff, but that phone system is the portal to your company, so the next time you are wondering why your last outbound drip campaign isn't getting you any incoming calls, check the phone logs. Are people hanging up before they get to you? If so ask why. That's my two cents folks. As always, do with it as you will or even better, give me your thoughts! I'd love to hear from you all.