Incoming telemarketing sales are very important to every business and each and every phone call that comes in is a potential customer. Customers will often call to ask questions and or compare prices. It is essential to treat these customers with respect and answer questions fully to their satisfaction.

Every company should train there front line staff and anybody who may potentially be answering the phone how to handle incoming telephone inquiries. Often customers will not ask the correct question and it is important to make sure they get the right answer so therefore it is important to ask customer questions and in doing so you can figure out exactly what they're trying to get at and what they're trying to get done.

If the customer asks the wrong question and you answer the wrong question with the correct answer then the customer is not well served. Instead the customer has got the right answer to the wrong question and still does not know what is going on. Customer education and when they ask question you must insure proper explanation of the products and services they are inquiring about.

It is essential to every business that each customer call is handled as they are potential customers, unless of course your competitor shopping you. Nevertheless it is essential that you answer the questions correctly and have full understanding of what your business does. New employees answering the phone can be problematic because they look stupid and cannot answer adequately the questions from the customer. I hope you'll consider all these items in each and every one of the employees you train and your entire staff to answer the phone into incoming telemarketing sales. Please think of us in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Currently Lance is retired at age 40 and is running an Online Think Tank Forum while traveling North America. Perhaps considering something extremely challenging to do that will exercise his mind and utilize all his experiences, observations and skills. Any ideas?