201 GREAT IDEAS for Your SMALL BUSINESS, Third Edition

GREAT 175 IDEA: Listen to the Telephone Doctor

Nancy Friedman, known as the “Telephone Doctor,” is passionate about teaching people how to make the most of their most valuable business tool: the telephone.

Friedman is in demand as a speaker and consultant because too many employees take the telephone for granted. They don't make a fuss when a customer calls. They answer calls without enthusiasm, half-listen to what's being said, and take confusing, incomplete messages.

We may carry smartphones around and answer them day and night, but Friedman believes people rarely tap into the telephone's real power. Here are her best tips:

• Teaching your employees to answer the phone properly and make calls in a professional manner, will boost sales as well ...