Have you ever participated in a conference call with a client that you felt was unproductive or frustrating? It’s safe to say if you’re in business, you’ve probably had at least one of these, and you know exactly what it feels like to end that call feeling like you’ve accomplished nothing.
Conference calls are a quick way to catch up with clients, introduce new products or services, or discuss the progress you’re making on their project. Having better conference calls is important for a few key reasons, which we’ll outline here. Keep reading to learn why you need to have better conference calls with our clients.
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Client Confidence
When you communicate well with your clients, they’ll trust you more. It’s that simple. Communication is an enormous part of trust, and for some reason, many businesses forget about this crucial piece of the client/business relationship. Your clients must trust you, or else you’ll have a rocky relationship at best and you can forget about a referral from them.
Regular conference calls say, “Hey, I value your business and want to keep you updated/ensure we’re providing excellent service.” Clients will appreciate updates on projects or services/products they’ve ordered (after all, who likes waiting for weeks or months with no updates?) and they’ll appreciate that you’ve taken time out of your day to provide an update.
This simple approach to customer service can actually vastly improve your service reputation and improve client confidence simultaneously. Using a cloud conferencing platform or online meeting tool will ensure they can join the call despite their geographic restrictions, so you can serve clients anywhere in the world.
Use An Agenda For Your Calls
When you’re planning a conference call with a client, it’s important that you show good planning skills and organization by using a meeting agenda. Imagine entering a call with a new client and having no plan for how the call should go or what you’re trying to achieve. Your client may feel you’ve wasted their time, and you may feel that you’ve wasted your own time by not having a plan.
Agendas are simple tools for improving your conference calls, and even something as simple as a hand-written list can be effective at steering your conference calls in the right direction.
You could also opt for an online meeting agenda, which can help organize your ideas in a more polished way as opposed to a hand-written list. The advantage of the digital agenda is that you can also share it with your client(s) via email or your conference platform.
Clients Don’t Want To Spend Hours On A Call
No one wants to spend more than an hour on a conference call, and your clients certainly don’t. It’s crucial that you take conference calls seriously and do your best to streamline them for the sake of the client; and for you, because let’s be honest, you don’t want to sit in a call all day, either.
Here are a few tips for more streamlined calls:
- Ask the right questions
- Avoid personal questions/topics
- Set a time limit and stick to it
- Review what’s been decided/discussed at the end
- Provide accurate dial-in information/links
- Create a “next-steps” plan (what comes after the call?)
- BE ON TIME
- Troubleshoot tech beforehand
This last tip is especially important. Nothing is more unprofessional than trying to troubleshoot your mic and other tech during the conference call! Make sure everything works beforehand, even if you have to join the call a half-hour before it’s scheduled to start. Your clients will be grateful for your efforts!
Better Customer Service Means More Business
The short and sweet of why you should strive for better conference calls with clients is that it improves your customer service, which means more business. Your clients will appreciate streamlined and effective conference calls that provide them with valuable information in a short period of time.
The better your customer service reputation is, the more referrals you’ll have; it’s that simple. Now more than ever, customers want better customer service and will choose a company with a better customer service record. In fact, 86% of buyers are willing to pay for better customer service. That’s a statistic that no modern business can afford to ignore.
The Bottom Line
Improving those conference calls will help save both you and your clients time, effort, and plenty of frustration. Be sure to troubleshoot tech before the call takes place, and use an agenda for a more streamlined and concise conference call.
When you improve your conference calls, you’re improving your customer service, and there’s simply no price on better customer service. Try out an online conferencing call tool for more effective conferences and better connectivity for your long-distance clients.
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