Thinking about your customer’s hot buttons is a great exercise.  Like the “keywords” that get your website found on Google, your customer’s hot buttons are the ideas, the problems, and the challenges that have motivated them to call you.  Our goal is to show your customer that you can solve their IT Support problems, and help you sell more.

Identifying your customer’s hot buttons and using them in your hold message script takes a bit more time than simply writing down a long list of your products or services.  But the investment will result in more profitable messages on hold for any business.

We recently installed new Informer Messages on hold for the local office of CMIT Solutions, an IT support company.  CMIT Solutions is a nationwide provider of information technology (IT) services and solutions for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). With more than 800 consultants and technicians, CMIT has expertise in all technologies and industries.

Everyone who has ever had a computer can probably give you some good ideas about the problems and challenges they have faced.  That’s a good start.  The next step is talking with the CMIT reps who actually answer their phones to find out exactly what their customers call about.  The exact language really helps.  Research shows that their callers often talked about their computers “holding them back,” trying to “save time,” and trying to fix problems by themselves.  They were looking for tips to accomplish more, and someone they could talk with right away when their computers weren’t working.

It would have been easy to just list CMIT’s IT Support services.  But creating a marketing tool that customers will be interested in and want to know more about results in hold messages that get the response that CMIT wanted: helping more customers, and selling more of their services.  It’s a process that should continue on a regular schedule.  We’ll keep talking with CMIT to continue to find more of their callers hot buttons, and use them in the best way to help CMIT reach more of their sales and marketing goals.

Going through this same process will make any marketing tool more effective.  It’s the process we go through for every client, every time we update their Informer Messages on hold.

If you have been looking for a marketing tool that will help you sell more of your IT Support Services to your existing customers, this is the best way to start.  Putting in a little work up front ends up paying you back in the long run.

Why a specialist? Think about your own experience as a customer… Where will you get the best service? Where will you get the best results? Whether it’s from a doctor, real estate lawyer, or financial advisor, you’ll choose the specialist if you can afford it. They “know their stuff” better. They’ve got experience with your specific problem. And their reputation is based on one thing they do best. That’s because you get better results.

When you want to accomplish more than you could with just music on hold, the difference is the script. The best script can help you sell more when it’s written from the customer’s point of view: what are your customers’ needs? Why did they call you today? What problem or concern got them to take action? And what are their “hot buttons?”

“Hot Buttons” are defined as the most important questions on your customer’s mind…the ones that your customer is most concerned with, and causes an emotional response.

It’s well known that the most effective hold messages are written in a series of short ideas, and separated by background music. The reason for this is that the time spent on-hold can be short (and attention spans can be shorter!) so telephone callers can lose focus if listening to a long complicated message. What if your caller has to wait on hold for a longer period? No problem. Your caller will hear several short messages. Some may not be of much interest, but if your on-hold strategy has been properly planned, other messages will get the response you want.

Most people who write on hold messages are good writers. They write articles, brochures, and radio commercials. But a specialist in writing on hold messages knows how you can get more response every time a caller has to wait on hold. Your specialist starts with a strategy, just like a website SEO designer does. Your script will capture the attention of your caller with a “hot button,” educate them about what you do, how you do it, and what makes you different from your competition, and give your caller a reason to ask for more information.

Every time you update your messages on hold (there are lots of reasons to update your script: seasonal demand, new products or services, new competition, or new customer needs) your hold message specialist should review your strategy, talk about the messages that have worked and those that didn’t get enough response, and then improve the script.

The best script gets the best results. If you’re not getting the results you want, it’s your hold message specialist’s job to come up with new ideas. It’s not always easy, but that’s what you pay for.

Is it worth hiring an on hold specialist? Can’t you just get a generic script, or use a “template” from a phone installer or DJ? Your success depends on the strategy and the script. It usually takes a specialist to help you sell more on every call.

Here’s an example: Plumbing and Heating Contractors. They deal with all the pipes, water, and the “hot water” part of your heating system. Old fashioned Heating Oil companies have joined the party by expanding from fuel into selling and installing the equipment that keeps your home warm.

Look at advertising for Plumbing and Heating companies and you’ll probably be confused. Here’s information directly from the website of one company in my area:

We specialize in:

-General residential and business services

-Commercial construction and mechanical work

-High-end renovation work, according to your architect’s plans or our own design

-Troubleshooting

-Work on a variety of manufacturers’ equipment

-Hot/cold water cross connections

-Recurring heating problems

-Removing violations

That tells you a lot, right? They go on to say: Since 1976, J&L Plumbing and Heating has built a reputation as New York City and suburban New Jersey’s go-to plumbing and heating company. Homeowners, contractors, architects, designers, and engineers alike rely on us for the most dependable service, the highest value, and the utmost professionalism and skill in our trade.

They have ongoing training, apprentices, and master plumbers.

Get the idea? What company in their industry doesn’t say the exact same thing? Or show pictures of sinks, faucets, bathrooms and kitchens on their websites? Don’t they all do emergency repairs? Or accept “all major credit cards”?

Their other advertising does the same thing. Call them and they’ll put you on hold. Their hold messages sound just as generic as their other advertising.

So what can do if you’re in their industry? How about thinking about your customers and their problems? What are they concerned with? Think about your own experience: What about a 90 minute response time for emergencies? Or a service contract that protects against leaks and breakdowns, instead of just fixing them after you’ve had trouble? What about no-charge emergency response if you’re a service contract customer? How about Guaranteed repairs or you get a refund? Everybody says their trucks have spare parts, but what about backing this claim up with a discount if you don’t have the parts they need? Or Free 29 point plumbing check to pinpoint the most common problems that homeowners face? Have you ever been surprised by how much your plumber finally charged you? How about a guaranteed price quote in writing? (That would really be surprising!) Or giving you a free report on how you can save on your heating costs without buying anything extra?

I’m not a plumber or heating contractor. But I’d bet that if I talked with a real pro I could ask him a few questions and pinpoint differences that any consumer could recognize as advantages.

Take a look at your advertising and your website. And your competitor’s. Can you tell the difference? Can your customer? Probably not.

I made a phone call today, and was asked to wait on “hold.” I had to wait for about 30 seconds. The company I called had advertising playing on hold. The hold message that I heard made a classic mistake. It tried to simply list too many different services. It went something like this:

“Are you looking for (and then a list of services) x, y, z, a, b, c, or d?
Or e, f, or g?”

Sounds great, right? Sounds like an opportunity to make sure that your telephone caller knows about everything you do. So you can expect them to buy more and more from you. Right? Sorry, it doesn’t work.

Laundry lists of services only work on at your dry cleaners. They’re order forms, not marketing tools. They don’t sell anything, because they’re not designed to.

If you want to increase sales, you have to get the consumer interested. To raise the interest of your callers, or touch on their most pressing needs (hot buttons), focus on one idea at a time. Just giving a long “laundry list” of services may sound like you’re covering more, but it just doesn’t work. No one will be interested. In trying to accomplish too much, they end up accomplishing nothing. (Ever wonder why most messages on hold don’t work as well as you would have liked?)

So what’s the answer to giving telephone callers messages that help you sell more? It’s simple. The answer is “don’t be greedy.” Think about what’s most important to your consumers. And the products or services that your marketing plan lead to profitable and loyal customers in the long run. Accomplishing a reasonable amount is better than trying to hit a “home run” only to “strike out.”

Are you ready for messages on hold that work for you? The most important part of using hold messages is to think about your customer first. Think about your callers and why they’re calling you, and how you can solve their problems, Then offer several short messages, each about a different product or service, and each with a message that shows how you can help. Short messages are more effective because most callers’ attention span is short. But that works to your advantage: you can talk about lots of products in a short time if your messages are shorter. And you’ll be surprised at how much more effective they’ll be.

And leave the laundry list to your dry cleaner.

Who usually records a company’s greeting?  Not the boss. And the boss’ secretary usually fights off the task.  A phone installer friend (with a slight accent) told me that he’s usually the one whose stuck with the job, and he’s recorded hundreds of them.  Even he thinks this is a mistake.

No matter who records the greeting that your customers hear, here are a few suggestions to make it less painful for them:

Suggestions for the best Greetings and Prompts

1. Automated Attendants and Telephone Answering Equipment were originally developed as a cost-saving measure.  But we all know what most people think of them! CallCenterMagazine and AT&T research have shown that the average call takes 2-3 times as long to be routed to the right place as when an operator answers the phone.

2. We believe that the cost savings of using an automated attendant aren’t the only benefit they offer.  Instead, consider how an automated attendant can actually improve your customer service levels.  How?
   1. Consider what the majority of your callers needs.  Then set up your greeting and prompts to help these callers as quickly as possible.
   2. Some companies give callers lots of different options about where they can go, and callers have lots of different levels of prompts to go through to get to the option they want.  That’s fine if you really do have multiple departments the callers go to, but if you don’t, why make the process longer?
   3. Caller information:  some sophisticated telephone systems require callers to enter information, such as telephone number or account number, only to be asked for the same information when they reach a rep.  Wouldn’t it be more efficient (cheaper) for you, and less frustrating for your caller (your customer) to find a way to route the information to your telephone service reps?  Ask your phone installer about how this could work.
   4. Keep each greeting brief.  Callers are busier and more impatient than ever.  So don’t waste their time.
   5. It’s easier for callers to follow directions if you put the “press 1” information at the end of the sentence.
   6. Night messages: if you offer the caller an opportunity to leave a message, make sure you return the call.  If you can’t follow up on all calls on your next business morning, don’t offer this option.
3. You only get one chance to make a great first impression.  If possible, us a professional voice.  Make sure that all pronunciations are correct.

Let’s talk about your specific application.  If callers spend time in a “queue” waiting to be answered after entering their choice, consider putting the time to use with Informer Messages on hold.

Think about your “target” audience.  Are you most likely to reach them in a national magazine? The local newspaper?  The local “shock jock” morning radio program?
Or are they actually the people who call you?

Think about it, and you’ll realize the simple truth.  Your callers are your best prospects.  They’re the ones you want to influence most.  Give them the reason to do business with you.  Help them buy.  They want to.

Informer Messages on hold is the best way to reach them.  Why?

Because even AT&T surveys show that 69% of business calls are put
on “hold”.    They spend 15% longer sitting on “hold” now than they
did just last year.

Because Informer Messages are proven effective at delivering your
message. They’ve been used by Citibank, Chemical Bank, Staples,
Hilton, Holiday Inn, Doubletree, Cadillac,Toyota, Cunard Cruise
Lines, Allstate, MetLife, and others.

So now its up to you.  Are you going to show your best prospects all the great ways you can help them?  Are you going to start to give them the information they want?  And to get them to ask more of the questions you want to answer?  Informer Messages are proven nationwide.   Because advertising doesn’t work, unless it  reaches the right people: your best prospects!

Do you? That’s a problem.  Because that’s the hardest way to increase sales.

Research proves, and successful salespeople know that it’s easier to concentrate on #2 and #3.

McDonald’s pioneered the most profitable question in business: “Do you want fries with that?” About 30% of customers simply say “yes”.

You’ve got similar opportunities to “upsell” and “cross sell” every time you talk with a customer.  The best time is when they want information, have questions or problems, or they’re ready to place an order.

Airlines are a prime example upselling:  One of the well known international airlines we work with just launched a new campaign to educate their passengers about the value of upgrading to Business or First Class for their transatlantic flight, with upgraded amenities, gourmet meals, luxury seating, and more.  They use their Informer Messages to do this, because they know that everyone who calls is calling about reservations: to make new one, change an existing one, or ask about one.  They’re the perfect “target market.”

Add-on sales are time tested.  If you’re buying bread, why not buy butter at the same time?  So when a many Informer clients add new products or services to their line, they announce it on their Informer Messages.  We’d all rather buy more from someone we like than go shopping for a new supplier!

You can also sell to each customer more frequently when you give them new or different ways to use your product or service, or you give them more ideas about how you can help them.

One of our clients uses a “Frequent Shopper” program similar to what the airlines do.  They know that promoting this to the general public offers little or no payback.  But when they offer it to their existing customers, visits to their store goes up!  Another client, this one in the wholesale food business, talks about menu ideas and pairings of the newly arrived crops.  Chefs have reacted well to this, and increased orders.

How can you start the conversations that lead to more sales?

Give your callers the information you want them to have, with Informer Messages on hold.  Informer Messages take the frustrating time that your customers now waste on “hold”, and make it a marketing opportunity.  You can tell every caller about the best reasons to try something better or something new.  You can tell them…or your competition will.

I told him about an 87 year old business that just closed it’s doors. They lost out to a competitor who hadn’t been around as long, didn’t have decades long relationships, and didn’t wait for long time customers to place orders.

The competitor innovated. They found out what problems their customers had and tried to come up with solutions. They used every opportunity to inform their customers and prospects about what they do that’s different from their competition, about how they could make their customers’ lives easier. (You might notice that cutting prices wasn’t part of the strategy)

They’re still in business, and selling more.

If you’re still in business that’s great. How do you do it? It is just that your business is 100 years old and so you expect it to last another hundred? Or you’ve still got some momentum left? Or are you innovating, solving problems, and helping in ways your competition doesn’t?

For monthly ideas on how to innovate, solve problems, and help people in ways your competition doesn’t send me an email with “Send me ideas” in the subject line.

1. Your call is very important to us (my personal favorite)
2. Please hold on
3. The next available representative will…
4. Our experienced staff..
5. Your success is our success
6. …the lowest price…
7. Thank you for calling
8. We’ll be with you momentarily
9. Founded in 1492 (or what ever year you want to use)
10. We know that putting you on hold doesn’t help us…
11. …the leader in our field…
12. The best quality…
13. The best service
14. Our friendly staff
15. Thanks for your patience
16. Please hold on the line
17. Please continue to hold
18. We try to give every caller personal attention you deserve
19. We appreciate your call
20. We’re sorry you have to hold…
21. Thank you for calling.  Someone will be right with you.
22. For more information visit our website…
23. Our highly trained and knowledgeable sales staff
24. Conveniently located at…
25. Please listen closely as our prompts have recently changed
26. To serve you better
27. Our goal is…
28. We take pride in…

Why do you hear them so much?  Because most
hold scripts are just a template with blanks left to “insert company name
here”…

What’s your favorite over-used phrase?  Let us know and we’ll add it to the (growing) list on our website.  Email me your suggestion at hart@informermessages.com

Lost in all the distractions are our goals and resolutions for 2011.  How far have you gotten on achieving your goals?  If you’re like me, you’re not ¼ of the way there.  No where near it.

One of the things I worked on last year was goals.  Like many, I set goals.  It was nice.  Either I reached them, or not.  And that was the extent of it.

But I learned that goal setting is only the first step.  The easy step.  Next comes figuring out why you haven’t reached them yet.  List all the road blocks.  All the barriers.  If you can’t think of any, you’re not trying hard enough…because something is holding you back from achieving them.

On a fresh piece of paper, or even in an Excel Spreadsheet, make a list of the road blocks.  Try for 10, or 20.  Don’t think about them too much.  You can go back and reconsider them later.  The goal is to identify as many as possible.

In the next column, start listing potential solutions.  Again, list as many as possible.  If you come up with enough of them, you’ve got a better chance that you’ll have identified some good ones.

Now its time to decide on what you’re going to do, and when you’re going to do it.  Make a “to do list,” again with lots of steps.  (They’re more fun if you get to check off more of them).  Assign a deadline to do these steps. Without a deadline, you can put them off again and again.

Using this model, you have a vastly improved chance of achieving your goals.  Try it with any goal.  Because for goal setting to work for you, you’ve got to work on them. 

You can find a helpful goal planning sheet that can help you at www.informermessages.com/goals.html