Here’s a simple telephone tip that will always work for you. I learned this many years ago from telephone sales authority, David Allan Yoho. Are you ready?
Hang up last.
Isn’t it a lousy feeling when just a nanosecond after saying good-bye to someone, you hear that impersonal click? And, even if you don’t find it annoying, many people do.
More than just annoying, it gives most people the feeling that, “Hey, that person really wanted to get off the phone with me. I wonder why. Am I just another sale or number to them?”
To ensure that this doesn’t happen, make sure you give the other person time to hang up the phone first. If you feel that person, for whatever reason, is waiting for you to hang up first, just wait a few seconds and then gently, carefully, hang up the phone.
This takes practice to become a habit. In the years when I had an office outside my home and a small staff, I always let them know how important this was. I also found it was often necessary to remind them to make it a habit.
If I was walking past someone’s desk and heard him hang up quickly after saying goodbye, I questioned him about it. He might respond, “Oh, I was just talking to a friend, someone I know really well.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I would reply. “What we do as a bad habit in one context, we’ll tend to do all the time.” As T. Harv Eker says, “how you do anything is how you do everything.”
To make sure we get the full advantage of Dave’s helpful tip, we have to completely replace that old habit with this new and more positive habit.
It makes a difference.
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Hi Bob,
What a sensational tip for being mindful here.
It’s like staying the course, listening until the other party decides to hang up. The little moments of paying keen attention make all the difference in the world. Mindfulness matters, in a big way.
Waiting to hang up can make you really stand out in another person’s mind, since we live in a world of hurried acts and mindlessness.
Super cool tip here Bob…thanks for sharing and have a great week!
RB
Good morning Bob,
Thank you for the gentle club to the head. When we are on the phone so much sometimes we rush to get off so that we can get right back on with someone else, but at what potential cost? I also love your T Harv Eker reminder, “how you do anything is how you do everything.” Ouch! – Jary
I totally agree. I use the button on my phone to disconnect.
Ryan, thank you. Excellent commentary, as usual!
Jary, I was the worst at that before I learned that tip from David. Caused me to be a lot more mindful of the other person. I’ve found that, over the years, it’s made a world of difference. And, yes, I agree regarding T Harv Eker’s quote. That has become one of my favorites!
Stricco: As long as you wait to hang up before pushing that button… 😉
Thanks Bob,
The little things really do make the difference, and this is an awesome tip that I had never heard before. Not only is it an awesome tip to prevent the other person from being annoyed, but if we truly are authentic in our mindset to be adding value, this is another aspect. If it is about them, then we need to demonstrate it throughout the call – all the way to the very end!
Thanks Bob for putting this out there!
Bob,
I find that many of your tips are so simple and yet so powerful. For instance, the one on saying “my pleasure” in response to thank you…that one totally changed many things for me.
I am still laughing at this one though, it seems so simple and yet I can immediately think of calls that hanging up too quickly has embarrassed me. Those are the ones that I realized the mistake, I am sure there are others that the mistake cost me and I had no idea.
Thanks for another “simple” tip that I am confident is going to produce huge value.
Bob,
This is an awesome tip. I read that in your Book ( I guess it was ‘Endless Referrals’) as well. Your tips always save a lot of heartburn for sure when we implement it.
Thank you for sharing!
Regards,
Snigdha
Steve, that’s a great commentary and lesson. Thank you for sharing that!
Edie, thank you. I always appreciate the wisdom you provide us in your blogs. Thank you for your kind feedback on mine!
Thank you, Snigdha. Greatly appreciated!
It always comes down to those little niceties in life.
Thanks for that reminder.
My pleasure, Maria. Thank YOU.