15 minute marketing idea #1 - Phone Call Checklist

I work on this blog about one hour a week - not one consecutive hour, mind you - I work on it a few minutes here and there.

The phone rings, people come by my desk, my coffee cup gets empty, etc. I stop writing and get back to it later. Does this sound familiar?

With that in mind, I've decided to start a serious of articles called "15 Minute Marketing Ideas."Here's the first one: Phone Call Checklist.

15 Minute Marketing Idea #1
Phone Call Checklist

In the restaurant biz they call it a "rush." There are no customers for half an hour and then BOOM there's seven people in the store and the phone's ringing off the hook.

At times like that, it can be challenging to take a call from a non-diver with a lot of questions. Or perhaps you have a new employee who's not well-versed in taking customer inquiries. Regardless, if the customer doesn't get the answer they're looking for, it's a lost sale.

Take 15 minutes and jot down what staff should cover on every phone call. Post the list next to your phone for easy reference.

For example:

• Ask, "how did you hear about us?"
• Find out if the customer will be traveling
• Do they need to get certified by a certain date?
  
• Offer eLearning as well as your traditional classroom option
• Invite the customer to visit the store and describe your amenities
  
• Get contact information from the caller*

Asking for contact info is an often-overlooked but critical part of closing the sale. Collecting contact information allows you to provide follow up and track conversion. Otherwise, how will you know how many callers actually become customers?

Offer to email the customer more information about your classes or send a GO Dive DVD. If you're not comfortable asking for contact information for these reasons, you can also ask "may I get your number in case we get disconnected?"

You can email an overview of PADI's Open Water course directly from the webpage itself. Look for the "share it" icon. Click and then choose "email."

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