Put me back on hold
Put me back on hold." Ever hear that from a calling customer? Want to?
Being put on hold, and being forced to listen to a rude, dumb or obnoxious message bugs me. How about you? Why do you think businesses do it? Don't get me started. Here's the solution.
How can the right on-hold message be used to increase sales? Here's how to begin the success process:
Make people think. Be new and innovative with the information you present. People spend one hour a week on hold. In order to make an impact, you'd better differentiate yourself with content that generates thought. What are they thinking when they get put on hold? What were you thinking when you created the message?
Create a pending need. Ask your caller thought-provoking questions that lead them down a road ending with an investment in your product.
Show off in an unobnoxious way. Eliminate the FUD factor fear, uncertainty and doubt by boasting of your company's accomplishments through the testimonials of satisfied customers.
Ha, ha, ha, ha. Make me laugh and you can make me buy. Create a happy mood when you begin to talk by providing humor on hold.
Change it monthly. That's right, the same people call. You want them to see you as a fresh, new, state-of-the-art company, don't you? Change your message to reflect that.
Get the idea?
Here's more detail about message content and format:
A personal message from the chief executive officer something cool, not maudlin or an order of pabulum. Something that makes me think and respect you for taking the time to make me do so.
Real-sounding voice like conversation, not a death knell. Use one employee or several, but make sure they're people who sound real. If you want to hire a professional voice, that's OK, but have him sound like he's talking, not reading.
Value presented in 30-second bites or less Tips they can use; ideas they may find interesting; and valuable information that makes them value you for giving it.
Live testimonials from customers Have an on-hold message that has actual customer quotes or the customers themselves bragging about what a wonderful job your company has done for them: 30 seconds of testimonial professionally edited down from a five-minute interview.
A cool on-hold message is a big advantage to small businesses. Fortune 500 companies have no prayer of responding quickly to anything, especially an on-hold message. A small business can make a recording on Monday, buy the equipment the same day and have a new image Tuesday morning. A big business has to have 50 meetings to figure out who will requisition the tapes and when the script is done, and six months later, all that's left to do is "run it by legal."
"To differentiate yourself from your competitors who make the same claims you do, you must give value to the listener (the customer)," says on-hold expert Andy Dinkin, president of North Carolina-based Tegra Telephone Systems. "It engages their mind about you in a positive way while they wait for you. It also generates positive talk after the experience."
The universal on-hold goal: Be creative enough to make a message so great that your callers want to be put back on hold to hear more of it.
What we just did: We bought a machine that digitally loads and plays 12 minutes of information on an endless loop. We downloaded a sales tape I recorded offering telephone and telemarketing sales tips and techniques.
What happened: We started to put people on hold for the heck of it, just to get their reaction. Unreal. Smash hit. Home run. People are saying, "Hey, hey, put me back on hold." Yes!
Add a wow: So here's what we decided to do. We're having a few hundred copies made of our on-hold tape. Any time someone gives us a positive comment, or asks to be put back on hold (which happens a lot now) we're going to mail them the tape as a surprise gift not say anything to them on the phone just mail it to them.
Your challenge is your opportunity: Revolutionize the on-hold message and afford the leaders (those who take action) a chance to crush their competition with creativity. I'm challenging you to do something (say something) of value on hold before your competition does.
Your test for success: How many callers a day ask to be put back on hold?
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of "The Sales Bible," and "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless." He can be e-mailed at salesman@gitomer.com (mailto:salesman@gitomer.com)
