New clients are the lifeblood of your business model. It goes without saying that securing new clients is of the utmost importance! If your front-desk staff doesn’t engage personally with the potential clients who are calling your business, your revenue is suffering. Read on to find out more about the importance of engagement over the phone during new client calls.
The Personal Touch
Without a personal connection to your establishment, a potential client has no reason to consider your business above anyone else’s. Remember: customers are trusting you to take care of their needs, and if they feel that they aren’t going to be treated as anything more than a time slot in the day’s schedule, they’re likely to take their business elsewhere!
Make sure that your front-desk staff are smiling when they answer the phone for new client calls, even though the client can’t see them. You can even put a small mirror on the desk for staff to check themselves! Front-desk staff should be excited that a potential client is calling, not bored or uninterested—project warmth and positivity, and you’ll receive the same in return.
Establishing Rapport
Once the initial welcome is completed in a positive way, it’s time to establish a rapport with your new client. Ask how the client first heard of your business. Gather your client’s information in a fun way; make sure to ask the client’s name, and ask the client to tell you a little bit about themselves. Continue to use their name throughout the call.
Steps like these start to form a relationship between the client and your business. If your front-desk staff are engaged and excited to meet new clients, the client on the phone will be focused on that relationship, rather than on bottom-line price alone. Even if your services aren’t the cheapest out there, most customers would rather spend more for a team or service that they’re comfortable with!
Ending the Call
When it comes to wrapping up the new client call, it’s essential that you build in an element of scarcity—make your client feel as though they’re getting something valuable, and that they’re lucky to be getting it in the first place! Try: “Let me see if we have anything available…” or “You’re in luck, we do have an opening at 3:00…” Phrases like these make it appear that you don’t have a wide-open schedule, and that means your customer is much more likely to keep their appointment.
Engaging with new clients over the phone isn’t just a good rule of thumb—it’s an absolute necessity to keep your business thriving. Start implementing the above steps with your front-desk staff, and it won’t be long before your new-client numbers start to multiply!
The Definitive Salon Receptionist Duties Checklist
How Using a Script Boosts Your Dental Office’s Appointment Numbers
