Own a Business? Answer Your Damn Phone

[amp0193]

I just wanted to share with you the head-banging frustration of this morning, which will show you just how much opportunity there is out there to destroy your competition... if you just answer the damn phone.


I have a product, and I need to get some required government testing done. The government website lists 20 labs that are certified to do this testing.

Of the 20 labs I called:

• 9 went to voicemail
  
• 3 said they would call me back (they didn't)
  
• 2 said to email them my inquiry, and they would email me back (they didn't)
• 1 said to email them my inquiry, and when they responded, they asked for the info that I already had included in the first email.
• 1 said to email them my inquiry, and someone responded 2 hours later saying that someone else would respond in 1-2 business days.
• 1 said to email them my inquiry, and someone would respond in 1-2 business days.
  
• 1 said to call back at a quarter past 1 because everyone was at lunch. (I didn't)
• 2 gave me a quote over the phone, and emailed me an application form within 5 minutes of phone call

Speed was my priority on this, and I was willing to throw $300-500 at any lab that would have just answered the phone, gave me a quote, and told me where to send my product. Only 2 out of 20 labs were able to do that.


This is the 80/20 principle in action.


Is your business in the 80% or the 20%?

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I marked this GOLD because the lesson here is priceless -- not just to answer the damn phone, but to respond to your customer emails in a prompt manner.

Think of it this way...

Look at emails and phone calls like this: When someone contacts you, don't look at it like WORK, look at it like someone saying, "We're thinking about giving you money, can you help us make sure we really want to?"

Such a strategy improves your value profile to the customer.

 

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[G-Man]

We picked up a 400 store chain 2 mos ago that contacted us through the "contact us" on our website. Answer.that.shit.

 

[Andy Black]

Nice rant. I'll add mine...


Own a local service business?

Make your primary call-to-action to phone you.

And then answer the damn phone.

People don't want to download your whitepaper on how to choose a locksmith in exchange for their email address and autoresponder series where you try and warm them up so they contact you... ffs... they already want to contact you. Stop getting in the way.

They want to talk to someone.

Guess what else? You'll convert phone enquiries better anyway. The ones that call are more motivated, you get to talk to them the moment they want to talk to you, *and* you can make the sale better when you engage them on the phone compared to emailing back and forth.


All that money spent on advertising and branding... and you fall over at the last hurdle.

 

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[Jonathan Polley]

You know, if there was one lesson above all else that anyone could take from the book. That seemingly very few businesses get right.

Make sure customer service is a priority.

It's not that hard is it?

I had pretty much exactly the same problem as you have had a few months back trying to get CD's pressed (non-fastlane venture) Most companies made the ordering process difficult, or didn't get back to me for quotes, or had hidden charges, or ridiculous turn around times.
In the end, I didn't go with the cheapest, but the company who gave the best customer service.

Have I recommended them since? YES.
Will I use them again? Yes.

Simply because they had their act together and offered great service.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Reminds me of trying to buy a house.

Yup, just had that happen yesterday. My agent called another agent because I wanted to see a house. Think they'd answer? Return the call within 2 hours?

Nope. No response.

This sadly isn't unusual. But it's great for us who know it gives us an advantage in business dealings.

 

[G-Man]

This sadly isn't unusual. But it's great for us who know it gives us an advantage in business dealings.

Which is why you can eat your competitor's face if you don't do it that way. Even when people leave us love on social media, we have a system to make sure they get a personalized response from the founder of the company.

How many people you think get responses from the guy that designed the product and they've seen on Shark Tank? F-ing nobody, and it's really not that hard. You just need to pay a girl $11/hr to sift through the emails.

A lot of it's just have about having some damned respect for the folks that want to give you their hard earned dollar.

 

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[theag]

I'm using sexy sounding virtual assistants to answer the phone and gave them strict instructions to tell customers to not bother us over the phone and instead use the ticket system. Works fine.

 

[JAJT]

Just called what looked like a major USA factory.

Forget answering the phone - their phone was in fact OUT OF SERVICE. Which would be fine if they responded by email. Which they also haven't done.

I think some companies just hate money.

 

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[Scot]

I immediately thought of this thread today. We just bought our first home yesterday and are in the process of making a few improvements to it before we move in.

Holy hell. Local businesses are ignorant.

I've called 6 dry wall guys today, 3 on word of mouth recommendation. One person answered his phone. He even laughed when I told him he was the only one "yeah, I get that a lot"

I even submitted 2 "request a quote" forms on some jenky old websites with no response.

Do these guys know how much business they're missing?? I'm not price shopping. If someone shows up today and their quote is affordable, they're hired.

Answer. Your. Damn. Phone.

 

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[Scot]

I find myself revisiting this thread way too much.

Want to know how to lose a customer?

Stupid processes.

I have been trying to contact Heinz (the ketchup dudes) to find a particular brand of Mayo they make to find out if they offer it in bulk sizes.

Website 404's out constantly. So I call Heinz directly.

"Do you offer this product in a gallon size or bigger?"

"Let me take down your name, number, email, zip code, business name, shoe size, grandfathers country of origin..."

And you know what the answer to the simple question was?

"I'm forwarding your information off to our Food Service department. You'll be contacted by a sales rep in.... 7-10 business days"

7-10 days to ask a simple yes or no question?!

I flat out told the guy, this is stupid and inconvenient. If I find someone today through their website or someone calls me back today, I'm buying their product. Expecting someone to wait 2 weeks to even start the process is absurd.

Takeaway lesson from this:
Don't put stupid processes into your business that slow your customers down. If someone wants to buy something from you, if you put even the slightest inconvenience in their path, they'll run.

 

[GPM]

I think 80/20 sounds about right.

I emailed at least 20-30 freight forwarding companies in Western Canada. I had about 4 email me back. One even went so far as to mention that she spoke Cantonese and would be happy to call my manufacturers to get exact details as I needed them. She got my business.

Oh, and funny enough. About a month after I emailed all these companies, one of them finally emailed me back and asked if I was still interested. No, no I was not still interested.

 

[jlwilliams]

Reminds me of trying to buy a house. You would think that when you call an agent and leave a message to the effect of "I'm trying to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars. Want some of it?" They would call back.

 

[G-Man]

Sometimes, not answering the phone is part of their business model. Especially with companies that work for the government. Having someone 'throw $400 at them' for a single test may cost them more than that just in setting up the new customer in their system. They're looking for $4,000,000 contracts.

A few companies I've worked with in the past that are pains-in-the-butt to deal with:
Ingram Micro
Curtis Wright (yeah from Wright Brothers fame...they're still around, selling stuff to the government)
Raytheon
Rockwell Automation

There are countless more. They've all been in business for decades, and they're not likely to go away anytime soon.

Very true, but I think this is aimed more at people with a new/young business.... given that that's most of us.

Ingram Micro has some of the worst exception handling for shipping/receiving errors I've ever experienced. The things you can do when you have a virtual monopoly on the supply of in-demand parts....

You get a mental toughness award for dealing with those guys and staying sane.

 

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[PaulRobert]

I marked this GOLD because the lesson here is priceless -- not just to answer the damn phone, but to respond to your customer emails in a prompt manner.

I don't care if it's 10 PM on Saturday night, I answer the email or message. The response is always WOW that was quick, your customer service is golden, etc.. This leads on to a great review, or even better... more business through word of mouth and referrals.

 

[JAJT]

I'm hunting for a factory right now on a new product idea.

Reached out a ton of different places over the last few days - almost all were not responded to. The only real good response I got was from someone who told me they weren't setup for it but would ask around for me anyway. That guy probably does good business.

On a related note. The most successful company I ever worked for as an employee siphoned market share like a fire hose from their major competitor because we answered the phone. We kept them because the product also worked but we SOLD them because we answered the phones.

Quit literally half the calls I answered went like this:

Me: "Hey there how are you? How can I help?"
Them: "Are you a real person?"
Me: "... yes"
Them: "Does this service work like (competitor)?"
Me: "Yup"
Them: "Sign me up".

There's another local company doing something similar and they are killing it in the independent Internet provider space. The two major reasons I love them:

1. When I call tech support they tell me outages BEFORE I talk to a person. No phone queue. No bullshit. No advertisement. Right out of the gate "oh hey, if you are in (area), (area) or (area) we're working on an issue". Shit. Well that saved me 30 minutes on hold. Love it.

2. If I want to speak with someone I can get someone quickly and they don't "script read". They talk to you like a human being. I've had them say things like "Wow, well clearly you know what you're doing here so I'll skip over the obvious stuff and we can try something different". Wait, what? I'm sorry... was that... discretion and independent thought? Holy shit.

Amp is 100% correct. The phone is money.

 

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[G-Man]

Holy hell. Local businesses are ignorant.

I wish I was rich enough that when someone is shoving $3,000 cash in my face I can shrug and ignore them.

Unfortunately, the problem is that often the calls/voicemails/contact us messages go to an employee. That's why they don't get responded to. To your average employee, even in a small business, a new customer doesn't represent more money, just more work. It's one of the most fundamental examples of the disconnect between the selfish incentives of a business and employees.

How do I know this? I witness our receptionist and supply chain manager get annoyed with customers trying to make orders on nearly a daily basis. I know for a fact that one of the ladies that works for one of our vendors does everything she can to ignore me when I try to put in a PO just because she doesn't want to be bothered with it.

For a lot of these folks, it's probably a broken human resource system, and the owner may be blissfully unaware of how much money walks out the door every day.

 

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[Scot]

Eh, Im doomed then I guess. Screw the phone. Im way better replying via email then I am on the phone. Can just get my thoughts out in a more clear manner. I dont even give phone as a option. Just make sure to have emails answered quickly.

It depends on your business. If you're a web development firm, email is cool.

If I'm calling you because a pipe burst in my bathroom and I need a plumber, I expect to talk to a live person.

If your business is the type that relies on phone calls, suck it up buttercup.

 

[Azure]

I've emailed a literal ton of potential suppliers through their "contact us" forms on the website. I'm convinced no one actually looks at that inbox. I've begun tracking down actual names of people there and emailing them directly. I've had much better results.

 

[Jon L]

Sometimes, not answering the phone is part of their business model. Especially with companies that work for the government. Having someone 'throw $400 at them' for a single test may cost them more than that just in setting up the new customer in their system. They're looking for $4,000,000 contracts.

A few companies I've worked with in the past that are pains-in-the-butt to deal with:
Ingram Micro
Curtis Wright (yeah from Wright Brothers fame...they're still around, selling stuff to the government)
Raytheon
Rockwell Automation

There are countless more. They've all been in business for decades, and they're not likely to go away anytime soon.

 

[amp0193]

Do these guys know how much business they're missing??

85% of small businesses fail. It must be because it's hard to start a business.

Or maybe it's because 85% of businesses don't ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE.

 

[Ecom man]

I've experienced small business owners not calling back a lot when trying to do remodels. What it has come down to is they really don't want your business. There is such a lack of people to do the trades that those who do a good job can charge whatever they want and still be swamped in more business than they can handle. We have had far better luck with people returning calls in Arizona then we ever did in the Midwest so it possibly depends on where you are at and the amount of businesses in the location.

 

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[G-Man]

This concept just blows my mind. I get that there's a shortage of skilled workers out there, but I feel like the good ones just have a complete lack of business sense.

I have an Uncle that's a painter/wallpaperer that's 60+ and still has more work than he has time for. There's a couple dynamics here:

• For tradespeople, there's an almost endless supply of pickup truck handyman types willing to work for nothing that drop the bottom out of the market - unless you're an artisan type.
• For employees, you end up getting the bottom of the barrel, so you end up with an operation that isn't iterative because you can't hire any more people than you can literally personally supervise, and then you end up having no shows when their car breaks down or they end up in the drunk tank.

The way he's partially gotten around the first problem is that he no longer does residential work. Businesses are willing to spend money to have their shit done fast and right. Everyone thinks they can paint/ hang wallpaper and these folks drop the bottom out of a lot of the residential market (except developers with new construction), so if you call him wanting your living room wallpapered, he's not going to even call you back, because there's no point.

The second problem: He clearly hasn't solved or he wouldn't be his age and still working like he does.

EDIT: This is all in the context of the depressed Midwest.

 

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[rollerskates]

I want to add something to this--if you use an answering service for your business, MAKE SURE THEY ARE NOT IDIOTS. I had to call an emergency repair company yesterday. They use an answering service at nights and on weekends. It is a small family owned business that I've used several times and they do a very good job. I will be calling tomorrow during business hours to complain about their answering service. It is not the answering service's job to judge whether you have an emergency and it is not their place to tell you "oh, I don't pass along all messages". Yes, yes you do. Because THAT is your job. I suppose it's good that particular lady does not work for a doctor's answering service. She did pass along my message and I got prompt service, but sheesh!

On the plus side, there is a winery out there that's just a little richer this weekend, because I decided wine was called for.

 

[Jon L]

Very true, but I think this is aimed more at people with a new/young business.... given that that's most of us.

Ingram Micro has some of the worst exception handling for shipping/receiving errors I've ever experienced. The things you can do when you have a virtual monopoly on the supply of in-demand parts....

You get a mental toughness award for dealing with those guys and staying sane.

An interesting note on the mental toughness part of dealing with those companies. My job was to track down hard to find items from these companies. I was able to mark up an item by quite a bit when it was hard to find, so I actually relished wading through the morass of idiots, jerks and lazy people to find the part I was looking for.

 

[ZF Lee]

Not only the phone is useful for customer engagement.
I spend a bit of time on Quora discussing, asking and answering questions on my niche. Quora's like an Q&A online, with every topic from wealth to poverty, businesses to careers and politics to science. Quora's excellent because

1. It's much cleaner than Reddit. Seriously. Of course there are some people coming in who want spoonfeeding or value-stealing, but they pretty much get downvoted or dissed off by real experts on the concerned fields.
2. REAL MILLIONAIRE founders sometimes get it to answer questions. I've seen vice-presidents of companies, startup veterans from India (they have a lot of work there and their answers are quite good), and even icons like Altucher, the founder of Wikipedia (I forgot his name....), authors like John Green and all the lot.

Upon half an hour worth of interaction, I found a bunch of startup enthusiasts (who do more work than I do!), a young kid who's making a hobby networking website (and he's not even 16!) and lots of trends to monitor! Quora's a good place to show that you are an expert in your field....expert enough to help solve their problems and bring their worries to rest. Building trust and showing them the way is an effective way to win people over for those sales!

Reminds me of Jordan Belfort. He may have been a crook, but he sold his 'products' way better than even legal salespeople today! Shame, really. I got hold of his Straight Line materials and here's two things that really stood out:
1. Position yourself as an expert.

2.Salespeople must be educators. Yes, @MJ DeMarco 's right. It's not just about the phone. It's about quality time, where you not only fulfill needs, but educate people so that they know THEY need you.

It's like dating a girl. I meet the girl and talk to her to educate to her that I know what she needs, and I will be there to provide for her.

Now to think of it, business isn't that inhumane and cutthroat after all.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

So true. We land clients lots with last minute service requests "Hey can you repair this machine overnight". We gladly do so at double our regular rate, they gladly pay it, and we land a client for life for saving their a$$.

 

[Scot]

85% of small businesses fail. It must be because it's hard to start a business.

Or maybe it's because 85% of businesses don't ANSWER THE DAMN PHONE.

I wish I was rich enough that when someone is shoving $3,000 cash in my face I can shrug and ignore them.

 

[amp0193]

Unfortunately, the problem is that often the calls/voicemails/contact us messages go to an employee. That's why they don't get responded to. To your average employee, even in a small business, a new customer doesn't represent more money, just more work. It's one of the most fundamental examples of the disconnect between the selfish incentives of a business and employees.

Now there is a great point. I had never even thought about my calls creating more work for an employee.

For a lot of these folks, it's probably a broken human resource system, and the owner may be blissfully unaware of how much money walks out the door every day.

This sounds like a problem with a fastlane solution waiting to happen.

Phone software that tracks inbound calls. Tracks if it was answered. Connects to a CRM system where employee must type the name of the customer and the summary of the call. Owner can review the logs once a week, and see if someone is being lazy.

 

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[Paul Thomas]

Came in for Gold post. Left with mayonnaise knowledge.