Knowing that the first 30 seconds of a phone call set the tone for the entire call (and the last 30 seconds are critical for establishing lasting rapport), let's start at the very beginning.

1. First of all, answer promptly.

Within the third ring is a good standard. Otherwise, the call can get off to a bad start before anyone says a word. Not answering the phone promptly gives the impression that agency staff is harried and disorganized, or perhaps just not concerned with serving customers effectively.

If your phone isn't being answered by the third ring most of the time, find out why. If it's because the receptionist has been given too many other tasks, let her get back to her most important duty, which should be manning the phone. If the volume of incoming calls is more than one person can handle, you need an effective backup system with specifically assigned people (who are just as well-trained and conscious of good telephone manners) to support your receptionist. A caller-friendly automated backup system is also a possibility.

There may be extremely busy times when it's tempting to let the phone ring, but don't. It's a bad habit to get into.

2. Give a friendly greeting, and then, proper identification.

Once you've started on the right foot by answering the call quickly, it's time to slow down and offer an appropriate, friendly greeting. A simple "good morning" or "good afternoon" sets a warm, hospitable tone. Consider using a non-denominational holiday or seasonal greeting at certain times of the year. ("It's a beautiful summer day at Smith Insurance" would almost bowl people over with friendliness.)

Then, give the full agency name. It's a name you should be proud of. It's a name you want your customers to recognize and get to know, so say it clearly and plainly when you answer the phone.

You'd be surprised how many agencies simply answer the phone with "insurance." There's no greeting and no attempt to identify the agency. This might be efficient for the receptionist, but it doesn't convey a caring attitude. What would your reaction be if the businesses you called answered their phone with the type of the product they sell? "Hello, restaurant." "Videos." "Bank." Followed by silence.

Admittedly, some agency names are rather lengthy and a mouthful to say. If so, you probably have a shortened version you use within the office and perhaps in your advertising that would be acceptable when answering the phone. In other words, by what name do your clients know your agency? If you spend thousands of dollars advertising one version of your agency name it doesn't make much sense to answer the telephone with something else just because it's faster or shorter.

Giving a greeting and proper identification is just as important when the call is transferred by the receptionist to a staff person. Now proper identification means giving a friendly greeting, your name and a "may I help you?" or "how can I help you?" Example: "Good morning, this is Bill Evers. May I help you?" And when the receptionist tells you the name of your caller and/or why they're calling, you should use that in your greeting, too. Such as: "Good morning, John, this is Bill Evers. I understand you've got a homeowners claim."

3. Avoid the "who's calling" syndrome.

We all must have been taught that when we grow up and are part of the business world, we must ask every caller for their name. So many offices seem to do it. But, think about it. Do you really have to ask everyone "who's calling" and thereby offend 90% of the callers who don't offer their names first? Many enlightened agencies get along just fine by not asking for callers' names up front, and their clients like it that way.

"Who's calling" was originally invented to allow us to screen calls, and that's exactly how it makes most callers feel-screened. Even if your receptionist uses the more pleasing "May I tell him your name," you can still run into trouble if the receptionist doesn't transfer that name or if the staff person receiving the call doesn't acknowledge the name. Who's calling? can also backfire if someone on your staff has the bad habit of turning away calls at whim or leaving the office without letting the receptionist know. In such cases the caller can't help but feel that his call has simply been refused.

It's true that having the receptionist ask who's on the line can help you avoid office supply salesmen and nuisance calls, but ask yourself if this is worth the price of possibly offending your clients. Yes, you will get client service calls that you can't really handle and that will need to be transferred to someone else in the agency. But now you've had a personal contact with one of your insureds that you might not have had otherwise-a chance to touch base and let them know how much you appreciate their business.

Think about how your clients will feel when they call and ask for the agency principal, or for anyone else in the agency, and are connected with that person with no hassle and no questions asked.

But...if you still want your receptionist to find out who's on the line before you pick it up, then by all means do it the most courteous way possible. "Who's calling" is just not acceptable any more. "May I ask your name" is better, as is "Yes, Mr. Agency Owner is in. May I announce your name?" Then the receptionist should, indeed, announce the caller's name and Mr. Agency Owner should use it when he greets the caller.

4. When transferring a call, always say to whom and why.

Here's an off-putting telephone habit we've all encountered: you call a place of business, explain to the receptionist what you want, then all you hear is a loud click and you're left hanging. You're pretty sure you're being transferred to someone who can help you, but you're positive the receptionist (and possibly everyone else who works there) is rude and hates her job.

Certainly a "Just a moment please, I'll transfer your call" is needed. Better yet if the receptionist can tell the caller the name of the staff person who will take the call. "Certainly, sir. Marcia Enright can help you with that. I'll transfer you."

5. Part 1: When transferring a call, the receptionist should always relay all information (such as the caller's name if she knows it, and why they are calling).

Part 2: The person receiving the call then must act like he has received that information (Good morning, Mr. Paxton. This is Bill Manifold. Can I help you with a coverage question?).

This is one of the most important telephone rules, because your customer doesn't really want to have to start from the beginning when the receptionist hands him over to someone else in the agency. After all, your agency staff is supposed to work together as a team and communicate with one another for the benefit of its clients.

But it doesn't always seem that way over the telephone. Have you ever called a store, for instance, with a problem that took you a minute or two to explain, only to be put on hold and have the store manager come on the line and say only, "hello"? Now either the person answering the phone did not relay your problem to the manager, or the manager was told about your problem but he's going to make you say it again anyway.

That sort of caller frustration won't happen in your agency if everyone gets in the habit of passing on information when they pass phone calls, and acknowledging that information to the caller.

This technique is especially important when someone calls with a complaint. That person is probably already frustrated and likely to be on the lookout for how else your staff can mess up. This is a moment when telephone courtesy can go a long way in easing a tense situation. If you're the staff person receiving such a call, wouldn't you appreciate knowing the situation before you pick up the receiver?

6. Speak clearly and plainly.

No gum chewing, cigarette smoking, candy sucking, potato chip crunching or Coke slurping while you're on the phone, and go ahead and swallow that last bit of granola bar before you pick up the receiver.

Speaking clearly and plainly also means slowing down and taking your time. Don't rush your words or your thoughts, because if you do, your caller will feel rushed, too, or at least get the impression that you can't wait to end contact with him.

7. Be attentive to your caller.

Simply put, don't divide your attention between your caller and something/someone else. People can usually sense when you're trying to do two things at once and they won't appreciate the fact that you can't focus on them for a few minutes. Your caller can hear you whispering to your co-worker; he can hear you tapping on your keyboard and shuffling papers; he can sense that your mind is elsewhere.

When you do have to use your keyboard or take extensive notes during a conversation, why not let your caller know? For instance, you're taking information from a prospective client over the phone and keying it into the computer so you can rate a policy. In this case, tell the customer what you're doing so he will understand the keyboard sounds he hears and the short delays as you type and talk at the same time.

Don't let your attention be divided for you either. Make it a policy in your office that no one is to be interrupted when they're on the phone, except in emergencies. Don't let your secretary buzz you when you have another call holding. Very few of us would tolerate being interrupted during a face-to-face conversation between agent and insured, yet we often feel free to interrupt a phone call and forget (beep) call (beep) waiting (beep) altogether...please!

Being attentive also means listening to your caller and not assuming you know what the call is about after the first sentence or two. Let your caller say what he needs to say. It's especially tempting to pass callers quickly down the line after an event that generates a lot of claims...but don't. Insureds are particularly sensitive to how they're treated when they have a claim and they need assurance and attention from you more than ever. This may be your 87th claim today, but it might be your caller's first ever.

8. Don't give a bad impression.

Now, none of us would deliberately give a customer a bad impression, but we inadvertently do it over the telephone all the time.

One example: an insured calls at 10:00 a.m. and is told his agent is "not in yet." Or it's 3:30 in the afternoon and the agent is "gone for the day." See what we mean? What the customer imagines is that his agent is sleeping late or out playing golf. What's more likely is the agent is out making sales calls. So why not tell that to the client? Something like, "I'm sorry, Mr. Agent is making some sales calls this morning and will be in the office about 11:00." That leaves a good impression rather than a bad one.

Another example: an insured asks for Cathy and is told, "Cathy is busy right now." When the insured hears those words, they sound exactly like, "She's too busy to talk to you." Of course Cathy is busy; she's supposed to be when she's at work. More specifically, she's meeting with a client, or she's on another telephone line, or she's away from her desk in the file room. Tell that to the caller and you'll leave a much better impression than if you say, "She's busy." She's not just "out today" (oh dear, out sick again), she's attending a continuing education seminar.

Here's a frequent scenario that is both unfortunate and preventable: An insured calls for the agency principal, Jim. The receptionist asks for the caller's name, as she always does, and proceeds to transfer the call to Jim. Except he left the building five minutes ago and didn't tell the receptionist he was leaving or when he would be back. Now the receptionist must go back to the caller and explain that Jim is suddenly not there. Here's what the caller is likely to feel: Jim really is there, he just doesn't want to take the call because he knows it's me. If only Jim had bothered to check with the receptionist before he left.

9. Take a complete message, but before doing that, see if someone else can assist the caller.

If your agency does not use an automated voice mail system, then messages are taken by hand. All of us know to get a caller's name and telephone number. Few of us go to the trouble of getting the caller's business name, and almost no one asks when the best time to return the call would be and if they can relay in the written message what it is the caller needs. Are they looking for certain information? Do they have a specific question? Knowing this can be very helpful to the person who'll be returning the call. They can look up the file, check on coverage-or whatever the concern may be-before they call back and therefore be prepared to help the client quickly and effectively.

The receptionist isn't being nosy and doesn't have to sound like she is. "Is there something Mr. Agent can look up for you before he calls you back?" "Can I let Mr. Agent know what it is you need?" Wording something like that.

But first, try to avoid having to take a message at all. Make it a policy to always ask callers if someone else in the agency can help them. This seems quite logical, but you'd be surprised how many receptionists don't offer the caller this option (even after the nice touch of stating that Mr. Agent is out making sales calls). Chances are, another staff person can give the caller what he needs without making him wait for a return call. At least let the caller make that decision.

Also be sure the messages you take are accurate. If there's any doubt as to a phone number or address change or any information you're not sure you heard correctly, don't be shy about asking the caller to repeat it.

It's also handy, as part of E&O control, to keep a record of all the phone messages the agency takes by hand. An easy way to do that is to use the type of phone message pad/notebook that automatically makes an NCR copy of each message.

10. Make immediate note of the caller's name, and use it.

It's an old sales axiom that everyone likes the sound of his own name. It makes quite an impression when everyone in the agency, starting with the receptionist, uses the caller's name courteously and appropriately, especially when the caller himself demonstrates good telephone manners by offering his name up front.

So be ready to catch the caller's name (it's usually one of the first things said) and, because it's too easy to forget the name during the conversation, jot it down.

If your receptionist has been instructed to ask for each caller's name, it's especially important to make use of the information you just asked for. As we've discussed already, "Who's calling" gives the immediate impression that your agency screens calls; to ask for the name and then ignore it bolsters that impression.

11. If you must use hold, use it properly.

First, use hold only when really necessary.

Second, do actually use the hold button rather than just laying the receiver down on your desk. Telephone receivers are very sensitive to all the sounds and voices in your office and your caller has nothing else to do but listen to them while he's waiting for you to return. (I called my insurance agent once, and she put me on "hold." I heard her rustle all the papers on her desk before she said to someone in the room, "I can't find this woman's file." True story.)

When you must use hold, there are three steps to doing so effectively:

•  First of all, ask the caller if you can put him on hold, and tell him why (to pull a file, to get to your desk). He may actually prefer for you to call him back. According to the Communication Briefings survey mentioned earlier, using hold without asking was at the top of the list of most annoying telephone habits.

•  Check back frequently if it's a lengthy hold; at the very least let the caller know he might be on hold for more than a minute (which can seem like a very long time). Music on hold really does help, if you select your music carefully. (You might want to avoid radio stations and use taped music instead; it's possible your customers will hear an ad for a competing insurance agency while they're on hold with you. It has happened.)

• Thank them for holding when you return to the line. Callers really react favorably to this courtesy. "Thank you for holding, Mrs. Abernathy, I have your file now."

12. Avoid technical jargon.

Most likely your staff has worked hard on mastering the technicalities of insurance coverage and rating. But the language they casually use among themselves and with company underwriters probably isn't appropriate for most insureds. Just like doctors and car mechanics should do, your staff needs to know how to communicate to insureds the sometimes mysterious ways of insurance in a way that the uninitiated can understand. Even common insurance words like "binder" and "all risk coverage" mean something totally different to the man and woman in the street (a three-ring notebook and coverage that protects from literally all losses).

By all means, explain whatever needs to be explained to your clients. Just be aware of, and adjust your discussion down to (but not below), their level of understanding. They will appreciate it.

13. End each call properly. Remember the last 30 seconds of a telephone call are critical to establishing lasting rapport.

• First, thank the person for calling. This won't take but a second and it's a very nice touch. "Great to talk with you, Harry. Thanks for calling."

• Express sincere regrets, if appropriate. If your client has called with a problem or a complaint, let him know one more time that you're sorry he's been inconvenienced. "I appreciate your concern, Harry. Thanks for letting us know about the situation so we can take care of it. Good-bye."

• Let your caller hang up first. Hear their click before you put down your receiver. You've done wonderfully so far, but don't forget this last little courtesy. Don't get off the phone so quickly that you accidentally slam down the phone in your caller's ear. Make him think, that as busy as you are, you always have time for him.

These rules may seem like a lot to remember, but once you start using them everything will flow naturally. If it's too overwhelming, try starting with three or four of the techniques that come easiest for you. Once you begin to sense the favorable reactions of the people who call you, you'll want to add more and more of these guidelines to your growing list of good telephone habits.

Copyright 2000 by Phaze II Consulting, Inc. Used with permission.