ProDougtions

Judging from the number of people who are sick these days it's that time of year again. The flu's, colds and sniffles are going around. Getting a little help around the office can be a challenge sometimes. I have a solution. Your on hold message . That's right, an on hold message never gets sick. For that matter, it never takes a break, never goes on vacation and you never have to pay overtime. The pluses don't stop there. Your on hold message only says what you want it to say and how you want to say it. There's never an "attitude." It's an up sell expert too. You have a slow moving item going on clearance, your on hold message never forgets to remind the caller about it. How about your new hours? The on hold message can mention that too. And you feel a little embarrassed telling everybody about that award the Chamber of Commerce gave you? Let your on hold message do it. If you can imagine it, your on hold message can say it. Now all you h...

I've been in radio for years. It's where I learned the skills to write, voice and produce on hold messages. You often hear people saying what a cool job it is. "Sitting around playing music, answering the phone, that's great" is s omething you hear a lot. Just for fun sometimes when someone says that I'll just start walking towards the door and tell the person, "When that song is done just start the next one for me..." Have you ever seen someone turn white in an instant? It happens under this scenario in a heartbeat. The "apprentice dj"starts to stammer and stumble and say things that are unintelligible for the most part. All of a sudden it's not so much fun I guess. The best story was one time a buddy of mine was on the air and the janitor came in to do his rounds and he had a guest or trainee with him. My friend overhears the guy say "See, he just listens to music and reads the paper". The point of all this is whe...

I guess this means there really is a month for everything. March is "National On Hold Month." What does this mean? Well, officially it's a month to recognize everyone who has been placed “on hold” after calling a place of business, and to honor those businesses who make this hold time more enjoyable by supplying informative messages and music for their waiting callers. One thing i would like to clarify, an on hold message and a phone tree are 2 different things. Sometimes I've heard them interchanged in conversation. What's the difference? An "on hold message" is a way for the business to let you know you are still on hold and have not been disconnected. At the same time many businesses use this time to tell you a little bit about their business, maybe some things you didn't know but would like to know. Where as a "phone tree" is that device where you get a myriad of options (sometimes they don't fit your situation) to help the...

If you're like most businesses you spend a lot of time and money making sure your business is professional. You do your best to be knowledgeable about whatever it is you do. Your showroom or shop or dining room is laid out to optimize every job or order or meal you deliver. The business cards and letterhead look sharp and the staff has been instructed on the proper way to address your customers. In all that attention did you remember your phone system? Beyond what is said when you answer the phone, what happens when you put a customer on hold. Is it silent? Is it the radio where they could hear about your competitor? Does it make the best use of that time informing that potential client about what you do? They may have called about one service you offer but didn't realize there is something else they might want to take advantage of but didn't think to ask. This is a great opportunity to tell them. An on hold message let's the caller know that they are still connect...

Silent hold i s a killer, a business killer. I did some surfing on that good old world wide web an d found some interesting research. AT&T found this in their study, 70% of business callers are put on hold, 60% of callers put on "silent" hold hang up , 30% of the first-time callers who ha ng up do n ot call back. And Teleconnect magazine learned that 93% of callers placed on "silent hold" estimated their on-hold time to be longer than it actually was, 88% of callers prefer on-hold messages versus dead silence or radio and 16-20% of callers made a purchasing decision based on information they heard while on-hold. Your phone is a powerful tool when it comes to adding value to your business. It's my mission to put an end to the silent killer, silent hold. improving your bottom line is just a plus. Learn more at www.prodougtions.com

it's a fairly common question. What does it take to get started with an on hold message for my business? It's easy really. Just about as easy as 1,2,3. First we get to know a little about your business, what products you offer, your services, how you position your business in the marketplace, how much phone traffic you get, those kinds of things. Next we put together a script incorporating all the things you've told us about your business. Once we've completed it we let you look it over to make sure it meets with your approval. Now, we get an idea of what you want your message to sound like, the feel, what kind of music you would like, etc. Remember, this is a custom message just for your business. Now we produce the message and get it installed and working on your system. Wasn't that easy?

Based on AT&T research: 70% of calls are placed "On-Hold" for 30 seconds or longer, leaving a caller on "Silence Hold" results in a staggering 75% call abandonment rate! majority of these callers will not call back again. 80% of callers with silence on-hold hang up within 1 minute. Callers with Music-on-Hold stay on-line up to five minutes longer 30% of callers purchased additional products or services as a result of something they heard on-hold 25% of callers make a purchase based on an on-hold sales suggestion Based on CNN Survey: "The average person spends 100 hours per year on-hold" "Without music or messages, 70% of those on-hold will hang up and 35% won't call back" Cellular Marketing Magazine: "Over 90% of callers prefer on-hold messages over silence" Telemarketing Magazine: "Surveys show that 25% to 40% of callers make purchases based on information they heard o...