How to Make ’Em Happy They Called You

Brr-ing! No matter whether you hear the ring in the boardroom,

the bedroom, or the bathroom, self-styled telephone experts tell

you, "Smile before answering." Some pros even suggest you perch

a mirror right next to your phone to monitor your grin.

Been there, done that, doesn't work. One evening, in the middle of my weekly mud-pack facial, the phone rang. The horror of

seeing myself in the phone mirror made my voice as hideous as

my face. I immediately trashed the pro's advice along with the mirror. Who wants to sound like a dizzy Pollyanna? A no-brain

Cheshire cat? A lonely recluse whose life is so dull that the big

thrill of the day is a phone call? Any phone call? From anybody!

Big winners don't smile before answering. They put a smile in

their voices after they hear who is on the line. That's when it

counts. Answer the phone unemotionally, professionally. Say your

name or the name of your company. Then when you hear who is

on the line, the little trick is to let a big smile flood over your face.

"Oh Joe, [smile] how nice to hear from you!" "Sally, [smile]

how are you?" "Bill, [smile] I was hoping it would be you."

My friend Steve lives in Washington, D.C., and heads a major

trade association that lobbies on Capitol Hill. Whenever I call

Steve, I never know which of his dozens of assistants is going to

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answer. Nevertheless, whoever answers gives me the same warm

response.

First he or she says, "Cable Telecommunications Association,"

the individual's name, and "How may I direct your call?" No fake

friendliness. No prefab smiles in the voice. I am sure the assistant

is not beaming back at his- or herself in any mirror.

When I say "Is Mr. Effros available? This is Leil Lowndes calling," that's when the employee becomes superfriendly. "Oh yes,

Ms. Lowndes," he or she purrs. "Definitely! Let me put you right

through."

Wow, does that make me feel special! As I'm waiting for Steve

to come to the phone, I fantasize him sitting at the head of a long

mahogany table in his weekly staff meeting. I can just hear him

instructing his staff, "Now if the president or some higher-ups in

the White House call, put them right through. Oh, and of course,

if that important woman Leil Lowndes calls, put her right

through, too."

While visiting Washington last year, I had lunch with Steve.

I took the opportunity to tell him what a pleasure it was to call

his office and how I appreciated his staff 's warm phone reception.

I thanked him for familiarizing each with my name and mentioning I might be calling from time to time. Steve looked across

the table at me and blinked. "Leil," he said, "you teach telephone

skills. Haven't you caught on?"

"Huh?"

"Forgive me if I'm bursting a bubble," Steve said, "but everyone gets that reception, no matter who's calling."

"Oh!"

When a Pain in the Neck Calls

"But Steve," I protested when I'd recuperated from the initial disappointment that I was a victim of a technique and not a VIP,

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"what if the caller is unknown, a complete stranger? Surely your

staffers shouldn't fake they know the caller."

"Of course not, Leil. In that case, I instruct them to show

energy and enthusiasm over the reason they're calling. For example, suppose the caller is a cable operator wanting to join our association. The caller would get a smile and a sincere, 'Oh yes, Mr.

Smith, I'll put you right through.' "

"Yeah, but suppose the caller is selling office furniture?" I

challenged.

"Doesn't matter," Steve said. "The salesperson gets the same

reception after the staffer hears why he's calling. If my staffer says

warmly, 'Oh, office furniture!' the caller feels good. And I find the

salesperson is a lot easier to deal with later."

I told him, "OK, Steve, starting tomorrow morning, I'm going

to put that 'Oh wow, I'm so happy you called for that reason' attitude in my voice."

The next morning, the first call was my dentist's office. "Ms.

Lowndes, this call is to remind you you're overdue for your sixmonth checkup."

"Oh, of course, you're so right," I cooed. "I'm so glad you

called." The receptionist sounded surprised but very pleased at my

reaction. "I can't book an appointment right now," I continued,

"but I'll call you as soon as my schedule frees up." She didn't hassle me with her usual "Well, when do you expect that to be?" She

just hung up satisfied. (And I got what I wanted—no call from

my dentist's office for at least another six months.)

The second time the phone rang, it was a man who had

ordered my tape set calling to complain that one of the tapes

broke. "Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you told me about that," I

said with the enthusiasm of having won the lottery. The caller

sounded a little shocked but obviously pleased at my reaction. "Of

course, I'll get another set out to you and I hope you accept my

apologies." Caller hung up satisfied. (And I got what I wanted—

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his good will and word of mouth in spite of my tape duplicator's

blooper.)

The third call was tougher. This was from a vendor I had completely forgotten to pay. "Oh, I'm so glad you reminded me of that

bill," I lied. Again, shocked pleasure was the caller's reaction. (I

was probably the first creditor in history who ever sounded happy

she'd called.) "In the back of my mind I felt there was one bill I

had overlooked. I'm writing the check as we speak."

Then I got my reward. The dunner said, "By the way, don't

worry about the 2 percent per month late-payment charge. As long

as we get your check by the end of the week, it will be OK." She

hung up happy. (And I got a present—no finance charges in spite

of my oversight.)

And so it went throughout the rest of the day, the rest of the

week, and ever since. Try it. You'll find you get a lot more from anyone when you smile, after you find out who it is or why they're calling. Use the "Oh Wow, It's You!" technique on almost every call.

How to Make 'Em Happy They Called You 239

Technique #62

"Oh Wow, It's You!"

Don't answer the phone with an "I'm just sooo happy

all the time" attitude. Answer warmly, crisply, and

professionally. Then, after you hear who is calling, let a

huge smile of happiness engulf your entire face and

spill over into your voice. You make your caller feel as

though your giant warm fuzzy smile is reserved for him

or her.