Pick up the phone - Telephone trade offs

October 23, 2025|Kim's Blog, Relationship Management, Selling|

At the recent MBL workshop on “Pick up the phone – client service and sale opportunities for professionals” we looked at the role of telephone calls in sales and service, managing inbound calls and making outbound calls. One theme that arose was the delicate balance to be achieved during a variety of decisions during a call. The telephone call is a vital part of the client experience. Pick up the phone – Telephone trade offs.

When so much is automated, many relish the opportunity to interact with another human being. Especially so on professional matters like legal, accountancy or property advice where the issue may be particularly stressful, urgent or complex. And a telephone conversation is an important first experience for the caller and may determine whether or not they appoint us. A telephone call is where the caller gets to “try before they buy” – obtaining an insight what your service feels like. So a telephone conversation is a critical part of the client experience and the embodiment of your firm’s brand promise.

Telephone trade off – Allow the client to talk vs. Keep the call short

We are all under time pressure. And taking calls is no exception. And we explored the delicate balance between allowing the client to talk compared to managing the call to keep it as short as possible. A balance of experience against efficiency.

Allowing clients time to talk means they:

Feel respected and listened to
Form a bond with the person taking their call
Share their story
Ask questions

Yet keeping the call as short as possible is efficient. It saves the firm time.

Telephone trade off – Convey the firm’s brand vs. Connect with your personal brand

Every encounter with a client is an opportunity to deliver the firm’s brand promise. To be the way you have positioned the firm to be.

Yet you are a person and an individual. And people will connect with that.

So to what extent do you behave in line with your firm’s values compared to your own style and approach? Ideally, you will be well aligned to your firm’s brand values. But you are an individual – representing your firm in this moment.

The caller is an individual and will connect with you. As a representative of the firm. You are setting the standard and managing expectations. They need to trust you – and the firm – and anyone else that you direct them to.

Telephone trade off – Natural conversation vs Scripted calls

A natural conversation is best for both the caller and the person managing the call.

In a natural conversation there is empathy, authenticity and trust. Humans infer expertise from consistent tone and pace.

However, you need a lot of training, experience and confidence to field calls from a diverse range of callers on a variety of different issues. And that level of expertise doesn’t come cheap.

So we can use scripts, guided prompts, workflow procedures and artificial intelligence (AI) to help human call handlers navigate such variety and complexity.

But with scripts or prompts, the caller may pick up that the handler isn’t focused on them. That the handler isn’t as familiar with their issues as they would like them to be. And this may reduce their confidence in the credibility of the handler – and his or her firm. It could cost the sale.

Telephone trade off – Trained call handler vs. The actual expert

Firms differ in the way they manage calls. Some have trained call handlers, some a rota for call handling amongst a team of administrators, some deploy business development professionals and some field the actual professionals who will do the work that the callers are seeking.

Some are trained in managing calls. Some are trained in doing the professional work.

The call professionals will likely manage the call in the optimum time. The professionals doing the work will be able to demonstrate their expertise – but their time is valuable and expensive.

The caller may feel less intimidated speaking to someone who isn’t the legal or financial expert. Yet the caller may prefer to speak to the person who is likely to manage their case.

Telephone Trade off – Explain now or Arrange a meeting

Sometimes we need to assess whether we are able to help the caller – whether they have the sort of problem we can solve, whether they have the means (money) to solve it and whether they are the sort of client we can accept. This is called call qualification.

By asking multiple questions, the handler will be able to qualify the caller more effectively. And identify the best person to whom the caller should be directed. But we may need to explain to the caller why we are seeking so much information, when they simply want to tell their story.

However, it may be best to qualify the caller in a different way. For example, by asking them to complete an online form that captures the relevant information. But this means that the opportunity to form a bond with the caller through interaction and increase their likelihood of instructing us is lost.

Some handlers will take the time to explain things during an initial call. Some might provide stories of similar clients and situations that enlighten or educate the caller. Stories can be used as a strategy to engage the caller. The caller will value this guidance. It also manages expectations about what may or may not be possible.

Others may fear that providing some free advice means that the client will try to do things themselves. And it could take time that is not rewarded in any way.

Telephone trade off – Provide a fee quote or Wait for further information

Most callers will naturally want to know how much a service will cost. And of course we must provide this information.

But if we start talking about fees too early then we may deter the client from talking to us longer – and miss the opportunity to provide a more accurate fee estimate, explain why the fees are at this level and why the fee may be different to what other providers have suggested.

Yet if we postpone discussing fees, then we may invest a lot of time in the call only to learn that the caller is not in a position to pay and we have wasted both of our time.

To help with calls where fees were questioned at the outset, we use a process:

Engage
Explore
Explain
Earn

Telephone trade off – Wait to become a call expert vs. Start by being human

We looked at statistics about how people feel uncomfortable about using the phone. Particularly those in younger generations who are more used to digital forms of communication.

A call is about making a connection. Yes, with the firm. But also with another human being.

Yet the Spotlight effect – The Decision Lab means we are probably unnecessarily worried about how the caller perceives us (they are more likely concerned with how they are coming across!).

Firms have access to data about past calls – the volume, the value and the conversion rates. Firms will have research exploring the client experience through client journey mapping (Mapping the client journey in professional services – Kim Tasso). Firms may have deployed mystery shoppers to explore how calls are handled. Firms will have collated best practice on the most effective ways to manage, qualify and convert calls. Firms will have developed systems to support those taking calls to achieve the optimum outcome for the callers and the firm.

Preparation will reduce nervousness – and increase the chances of a productive call.

Confidence increases with practice.

Practice makes perfect!

So pick up the phone!

Delegate views

Delegate takeaways

Inside out characters (role of emotions)
People buy people
Make an emotional connection
Importance of emotional intelligence
Questions are a key part of selling
Adapt to different types of callers
Prepare more before making outbound calls
Importance of consistency
Build good rapport
Be proactive
Integrate win my next meeting with partners – consider all aspects of client connections
Encourage staff to follow up
Create a good template for follow up emails after the call
Research, prepare, execute and repeat
Be persistent

Delegate poll results

Your background:

20% Marketing
20% Business development and selling
20% Client or customer services
40% Fee-earner – delivering professional advice to clients

Which sector do you represent:

80% Legal
20% Management and consultancy (housing)

Have you had sales training:

60% No and I’ve no experience
20% No but I’m very experienced
20% Other (somewhat experienced)

How confident are you taking and making telephone calls

40% Average
40% High
20% Very high

Which topic is of most interest to you

20% Responding better to telephone enquiries (and improving conversion)
20% Improving client service on telephone calls
40% Using the telephone to reach people proactively (initiate or enhance relationships)
20% Something else
- improving client service across the board
- expand ideas for the wider team
- to reach people proactively
- possibly complaints handling
- responding better and improving conversion

How would you assess your emotional intelligence? An introduction to emotional intelligence (EQ) and empathy (Video)

80% High
20% Average

Do you think your personality is mostly: dog, cat and bear personalities – Better business relationships

75% Dog
25% Cat
0% Bear

Are you clear on your message (value proposition) when taking and making calls?

50% Yes, agreed before each campaign/call
50% No, I need to learn what the client needs first

How good is your technical “product/service” knowledge

75% Really good – I deliver the service
25% Good – I have training/experience

How well do you know stories that reflect different client challenges and how your firm has solved them? Video – The art of storytelling – Kim Tasso explains

67% I know a good range of stories
33% I know a few stories (we have case studies)

Are your marketing systems integrated with your sales plan and activities?

50% Yes, sort of
50% Something else

When making outbound calls, what information do you have (tick all that apply)

33% From marketing, contact details only
67% From marketing, indication of interest
33% From marketing, details of online activity/enquiry
33% Just a target list of names and contact details
33% Something else

When making cold calls, what is your primary goal?

25% Initiate a conversation
25% Find out more information
25% Qualify the prospect
25% Make the sale

How much time do you spend preparing and researching before making a call?

25% About an hour
50% About 10 – 15 minutes
25% No time to prepare or research

How confident do you feel now about taking and making telephone calls?

20% Average
20% High
60% Very high