Waking up on this Monday morning after my first weekend off in well over a year – I have to say I feel really refreshed and relaxed. I’m glad I decided to take my own advice and focus on something other than work for a few days.
But I’ve been away from my laptop for more than 30 hours and, I almost don’t know where to start. I know what I’m dreading the most, though. The phone. Why is it that EVERYONE has to call on a Monday? And why is it that it seems I have to make so many calls today? I’m not sure if I hate the phone because of my two years as a telephone representative, or if it’s the mere fact that I can’t muster up a unique conversation for the 13 people on my call list.
I’ve got my list of people to phone and of course I know why I’m calling. Yet, I’m either completely uninterested in making the calls or simply overwhelmed at the amount I have to make. I know that the best thing I can do is just start. But, have you ever just blindly started making phone calls and had someone keep you on the line for countless wasted minutes?
My solution: never make business calls on a Monday unless you have a confirmed phone appointment. Most people take the weekend off and spend their first day back in the office catching up. Monday phone calls will usually send you to voice mail, or catch your contact so off guard that she’ll wind up discussing her amazing weekend or asking you to call back.
Many of my copywriting clients are restaurant owners and small practice physicians who either close on Monday or use it as a late start day. If I want to be sent to voice mail – then this is a great time to call. Maybe I have a message to send that will sound better on their answering machine that it will through e-mail. Otherwise I save the down to business calls for Tuesday.
My phone will ring today, hopefully. Regardless of my phone standards — people will still call me to find out how close I am to finishing this or that. Or perhaps, I’ll even get a “good news” call. Your phone will ring too and you’d better answer it. We’re entrepreneurs and we’ve gotta take all the calls we possibly be can – until we retire (which is rare for the entrepreneurial at heart).
Just remember that when your phone rings today – you are in control. The guy on the other line is still reminiscing about his Saturday nap or Sunday Football game. Be kind and to the point and you’ll be able to get him off the phone in a fraction of his Tuesday time. He might be dreading the call too. But he called for a reason. Ask him what you can help him with today. I often tell people who ramble that I don’t want to keep them (even if they called me).
I try to get people off the phone in under 10 minutes. Positive action verbs actually help here too – thank you English 101. For example don’t say: oh um I was going to… say: I am … By saying I am, you eliminate the possibility that you are doubting yourself, and you eliminate the possibility of discussion. I’m not suggesting that you need to act as though you know everything. But you’re obviously quite good at what you do, right? Make them believe that.
Mondays are hard for us all — the guy on the other end of the line wants to get back to his work just as much as you do.
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Great advice. I just spent close to an hour on the phone with a client (and about 5 minutes reading this article
… We got a lot accomplished, but I felt as thought it could have been done in 15-20 minutes. I like to talk a lot and so does my client, so it’s a horrible combination. As an entrepreneur with a limited amount of hours in the day/week, I think following your “positive action verbs” suggestion is a wonderful idea.
Yeah, I know what you mean. But it’s more of an inverse relationship for me on Mondays: I’m the dude trying to “keep” people on the phone for various reasons, notably trying to explain my business(es) and how it can help them. Sometimes I wish people just had a few more seconds to listen…but most people aren’t patient and run away from the sight of change. Thanks, Gina.