Common Sense Ideas for Becoming the Career Star You Are Meant to Be

The telephone is one way to make a positive personal impact.  In The Little Instruction Book of Business Etiquette, Valerie Sokolosky (vandc@onramp.net) presents some great ideas on how to use the telephone to help you make a positive personal impact.

Valerie Sokolosky’s Telephone Do’s and Taboos

• When you call someone, identify yourself and your company at the beginning of a conversation.
• Always ask if the person has time to discuss the business at hand.  If not, request a more convenient time.
• Analyze your telephone voice.  Practice it on your voice mail or answering machine to improve your pitch, speed, clarity, and general tone.
• Always keep a note pad by the phone to document the conversation and to summarize when closing the conversation.
• Avoid making business calls before 9:00 am or after 4:00 pm.  Allow people to begin and end their days uninterrupted.
• When you get someone’s voice mail, leave a brief message – including your name, the day and date, time, the purpose of your call and your telephone number.
• It is not polite to call and hang up several times without leaving a message.
• Answer and return calls promptly.  If possible, return calls the same day.
• Never put someone on hold without asking their permission.  Then, be brief.  Tell the person who has interrupted your conversation that you will call him or her back, and then back to the first caller quickly.
• Place your own calls; don’t have your assistant place them for you.
• Never hang up after dialing a wrong number with first apologizing.

These are some common sense tips on how to use the telephone to make a positive personal impact.  Use them, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a career super star.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blogs: www.CareerSuperStar.com for common sense advice on becoming the life and career star you are meant to be; and www.CommonSenseDay.com to learn more about Use Your Common Sense Day -- November 4, and to read stories of common sense in action.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.