How a Plumber can Secure Customers by Using Good Telephone Manners

Social graces make everyone feel good and make for a much more pleasant and profitable working environment for everyone. So, what has happened to good manners?

Or even what constitutes good manners? Well mannered people are few and far between today and are often remarked upon kindly when found. I think good manners is showing respect and caring for those around you but this is, of course, open to debate. The thing I think we could all agree on though is that we all feel good for having met them.

Whether we meet them in person or on the end of a phone, we seem to feel better for coming across them. And when people come across them because they have called a Plumber because they have a problem and that Plumber treats them with respect and understanding, it's not
too hard to guess who gets a big tick in the Yellow Pages where they have most likely been found.

These callers have a problem and they want the problem fixed as soon as possible AND they want the person on the end of the phone to sound as if they actually cared about their problem.
Believe it or not, but if the person answering their call for help sounds as if they really care, this is often enough for that Plumber to get the job ~ providing of course, that they can fix the problem ASAP.

If they can't come immediately or in the next 24 hours but then offers the caller an alternative Plumber to call, people remember that help and the next time they have a problem, they will call the first plumber back first.

Why? Because the first Plumber was helpful and they have put a big tick against that Plumber in the Yellow Pages book where they most likely got his name from in the first place. This is another reason why it's good to work with other Plumbers in your area. You all run your own Businesses as usual but you have made a deal with each other to be a point of referal for each other. This way you can be sure that when you recommend another Plumber to do an urgent job you can be certain of the level of expertise you are offering to your caller.

The ten things a Plumbing Contracting business can do to secure work
from phone calls are:

1) Sound friendly and caring

2) Answer all phone calls with a smile as this can be heard in your voice by the caller

3) Ask all the necessary questions in a friendly and caring manner to assess the urgency of the problem

4) If problem is not O.H & S related, give a time-frame in which a Plumber can be there.

5) If problem is O.H&S related, drop everything to attend immediately. There really are some problems that simply can't wait.

6) If the Plumber can't drop everything and go, recommend one or two other Plumbers that you have 'done a deal with' to call and remind the caller with the problem to call you back if unable to get someone immediately.

7) Don't let the caller hang-up without knowing that you are prepared to be a 'back-stop' if necessary

8) If the call is not O.H.&S related ask for as many details over the phone as possible so you take the right equipment / information products with you when you go to do the quote. If the caller is after a quote on a job that involves some new installations and you are a dealer in those products, this is a great opportunity to present your products as a value ad to your plumbing business. Also don't forget to get the caller's postcode when collecting job details. You can then use this postcode for marketing purposes and it lets you know where your ustomers are
coming from.

9) Always have the right equipment with you when asked to do a quote. If measurements will need to be taken, make sure you always use a tape measure. By getting all the right information off the initial phone call first, makes you look professional and safe enough to use if a well-manicured lawn has to be dug-up.

10) Always call the customer if you are going to be late for an appointment and always Smile, smile and smile again. Never lose the smile or caring in your voice because if you do, you will lose customers.

And we all know a Plumber works too darn hard to lose customers through bad phone manners.

So what does your Telephone manner say about you? Would you like to get someone just like you on the end of a phone call? If you answered "Yes" then so would we all like to call you. And if you are a Plumber, can I please have your number?

I hope this article is of interest to you and if you ever have a question, please email me to let me know. The only silly question is the one you never ask!

Here's the link to my first video effort:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1891703052

I just wanted to let you know that I'm getting closer to my goal ~ are you too?

Warmly,
Jan - ConstructingProfits
www.constructingprofits.com

Check this out!

This Device cannot Start You on your Listening Journey.... - But Audio Books FREE Download Pages to your CD, MP3 or iPod can!
Hi Everyone,

I have spent today updating www.books-that-talk.com and there are heaps of specials in there for you to choose from.

I have put many special offers in there related to marketing so you will no doubt only be left with the decision as to which ones to choose!

Let me know what you think of the photos too? My friend Lynn Shearer who is a "walk-about" artist and he took them on last years sojourn through the Simpson desert to Central Australia and all about on 'walk-about'.

Warmly,
Jan-ConstructingProfits
www.constructingprofits.com

Recommended Teleseminar!

Hudson, Ink - Teleseminar!

Hi Everyone,

I thoroughly recommend that if you possibly can, this would be an excellent teleseminar for you to attend. As many of you know, I attend many conferences, seminars and several webinars each and every week.

I do this because I always manage to learn something new. I find the information from these webinars is worth the internatiional call costs. And to all my wonderful cynical contractors out there ~ I don't have shares in Telstra, Optus, Skype or VoIP :-) ~ Just thought I'd get that in first before you have a go at me!

Seriously, I think many of you will learn heaps from this call. If you are concerned about the costs, I got my phone bill yesterday and I have been on 3x2hour seminars in the past 3 weeks and the highest cost I was charged for one call was AUD$15:00, so it was cheap learning, believe me. It would be even cheaper if I had used my Skype connection though. The only reason I didn't use it was because my computer had a bad case of the hiccups this week and spat the dummy.

This week I'm in the process of updating our site and putting up some video along with a HUGE list of marketing resource information for you to choose from so be sure to keep an eye out for the changes.

Also later this week I will get the coupon code out to you all via an email for this months audio book discount from www.books-that-talk.com and I will make the discount applicable for whatever type of audio book that you choose to use it for. You might have a child who's birthday is coming up and there's some really great kids story books in there and you could make it so the child understands that every time they listen to the story, it's from you so it may help counteract for some of the time that you have to spend away from them. A placebo, I know, but it would still be a connection for your child to you. I know that you have to spend a lot of precious time away from the kids and family because you are working hard to earn a good living for them all. More Kudos to you guys and I'm just trying to help.

Warmly,
Jan-ConstructingProfits
www.constructingprofits.com