Bad telephone etiquette can send wrong message

In the nonprofit world, anyone who calls your office is a potential donor. That means treating every caller like a valued customer. Here are five common telephone mistakes that send the message that your donor doesn't count.

Preoccupation Patty

Shuffling papers, checking e-mail or typing while on the phone takes you out of the present moment. Speakerphones might seem like a convenient way to multitask, but in the end they create a sense of distance and harm relationships. (You don't want your potential donor to feel like you're talking from Uranus!)

The message received is "you are not that important" and "you are an interruption to my day."

Take a deep breath, step away from the computer and be fully present when you talk to someone on the phone. Custo-mers, i.e. donors, should feel as if you are in the room with them, not shouting from another planet.

No Clue Cathie

Donors need to know that staff is knowledgeable and up-to-date. If there is a special event coming up, the person who answers the phone should be able to give information that is succinct, orderly and correct.

There should never be an instance where a staff member says, "I'm not sure. I'm not the one in charge of fund raising, I'm just answering the phone."

The purpose of answering the phone is to give out pertinent information and es-tablish relationships with potential donors.

One way to accomplish this is to make a presentation notebook with tabs dividing the pertinent information. This can be used as a cheat-sheet for the person answering the phone.

When someone inquires about your upcoming fund raiser, the person who answers the phone can pick up the notebook, flip to the tab that says fund raisers, and find a page with all the information. This information can then be faxed to the person inquiring.

Hold-on Harry

Answering the phone with "hello-hold" is disrespectful: The caller doesn't have a chance to respond or represent his or her request. Instead of "hello-hold," take their name, number and request, and give them a callback time.

Another option is to get call waiting, where the caller can leave a message even if you are on the phone. Your voice mail message should let them know the hours you make return calls, as well as giving information about receiving information via Web site and e-mail options. Caution: only give out e-mails if you are prompt in answering.

Failure-to-Follow-up Fred

Being busy is the national excuse for follow-up failures. Failure to return calls or follow up makes a person feel invisible and discounted.

Two choices offer solutions: Return the call and set an appointment to finish the business, or arrive at the office early and return calls that can be answered by leaving a message on their machine.

Keep a running list of calls to be an-swered and check them off when you have called them back.

Depressed Daphne

Excitement and enthusiasm is contagious. So is depression and despair.

Callers want to feel like you are happy to hear from them instead of feeling that you are rushed, bored or down in the dumps. What if you get a long-winded person on the other end? Say, "I am so glad you called and I hate to cut this short. Do you want me to return this call so we can finish?" Most people get the hint.

If not, direct them to someone who will finish the business or tell them you will "carve out 10 minutes" and then set the appointment for later in the week. They will get the message that you consider the phone call to be "an appointment."

Another technique is to say, "Listen I've enjoyed talking with you and I've kept you longer than I intended. I'll let you go and I'd better get back to work myself. Have a great day."

This is a way to let them save face as you save time!

(Marlene Chism is the president of ICARE Presentations.)