Business phone systems are everywhere. They are taken for granted by all from the managing director down to the office junior. However, in a great many cases they are poorly set up or badly used. This can have an adverse effect on the firm’s profitability! Rubbish you might say – but it is certainly true! By picking up a ringing phone without thinking about how you are to greet the person on the other end is unprofessional. Doing it with your mouth full of dinner-time sandwich is plainly bad manners and asking for the Purchasing Manager and being asked “is this a cold call?” doesn’t get you very far!

The “Who Is This” website offers you some tips that can dramatically improve your personal and the company’s effectiveness using your business phone systems. These are simple suggestions from having a pen readily to hand to doing your research before dialling.

When your phone rings at home you really don’t have a clue who’s calling like you do on your mobile unless you have the latest SIP telephone line. The lines for business phone systems come in different flavours such as analogue, Broadband, ISDN2 and ISDN30. The latter deliver information that the phone systems can utilise to display a name on your handset or pop the caller’s database record on your computer screen before you lift the receiver. This allows you to formulate your greeting. Clever business phone systems divert the caller to the credit controllers instead of you if the client has an outstanding debt saving you the embarrassment of raising the subject of payment!

For sales teams setting up appointments with prospective clients means getting through the gate keeper to the decision maker. The www.whoisthis.co.uk site guides you effectively to do some homework before you dial the number so you can be put through with the minimum of fuss.

The recommendations have been created by directors and managers who have learned by numerous years in business what works and what doesn’t. There are twenty in all – half on answering, and the rest on making, calls. They are frank and easy to read. By reading one-a-day, then putting it into practice, will transform how you communicate within one month. What’s more there’s no charge – just help yourself – paste it on your favourites bar and then pass it round to your colleagues.

This FREE list of techniques explains the optimum way to develop professionalism for your business.

Here’s your first hint on Preparation.

Sandra Thompson is the author of this article on Telephone Systems. Find more information on Telephone System here.