I've spent 20 years teaching people to communicate. Phone anxiety has never been worse. I see it most often among younger employees entering the workforce, and the issue is more complicated than it seems. Find out more.
phone sales
Think about the last call you hesitated to make. Not because you didn’t know the number, but because you weren’t sure what might happen once someone answered. Most people don’t fear the phone itself. They fear the unknown on the other end. Will the other person sound rushed? Will you … Read more
Why do some voicemail messages result in a return call and others don’t? While there are many reasons, one of the biggest contributors to the unreturned call is the detailed message. The role of a detailed message is threefold: To provide information to someone you already know or are already … Read more
“Why does every issue turn into a 40-message Slack thread when one phone call would solve it in five minutes?” This is a sentiment I hear often from business owners and executives. Despite the abundance of communication tools at our fingertips, too many organizations are slowing themselves down by avoiding … Read more
“Where there is no reciprocity, there is no need for listening.” — Ursula Franklin On a Friday evening years ago, I heard Franklin explain how technology can strip away reciprocity, the give-and-take that creates real communication. That idea still guides my work today. When we rely only on emails or … Read more
In my last post, The Truth About Scripting: Why Your First Sales Calls Should Be Shaky, I shared why those early, awkward calls aren’t a sign of failure but rather an essential part of finding the best possible script. Now, let’s talk about what happens next. Because while the first calls … Read more
Even after decades of cold calling, I still get stage fright. It doesn’t matter that I’ve designed the script, thoroughly researched the product or service, and have a solid list of qualified leads. The nerves are still there. My heart beats faster. My mind races with the unknowns. And I … Read more
This week’s blog post author is Jennifer Doherty, who provides her perspective on the connection between career growth and phone communication. Jennifer holds a Master’s in Industrial Relations and Human Resources from the University of Toronto and is the founder of JSD Human Resources. I’m delighted that she’s chosen this … Read more
Back in 2013, I answered a phone call from an intern at The Wall Street Journal. Anita Hofschneider was assigned a story on how phone calls had lost their value in the workplace. At the time, I was working onsite with a client, coaching their sales staff on the how … Read more
In the past year, I’ve been a prospect—and ultimately a purchaser—fairly often. I’ve been making some major home repairs, replacing important technology, and interviewing suppliers for things I plan to do in the near future. Throughout each meeting and conversation, my curiosity is fully engaged. My awareness is not only … Read more
Late on Wednesday afternoon, my business phone rang. Being “The Phone Lady”, I answered it. The person at the other end gave me their name, their company (one of Canada’s large telecoms), and verified my identity. My reply was immediate: “I’ll let you know right away that I’m not currently … Read more
Over the past 40 days, I’ve been hard at work completing a research project that’s very appropriate for The Phone Lady. It was inspired by a quick conversation last summer with a trusted colleague. We met on our neighbourhood trail in the early morning. Initially, he whizzed by me on … Read more
Following through on an idea, especially one that involves using unfamiliar skills or putting ourselves in the spotlight, is a tremendous challenge. The possibilities of failure, appearing foolish or wasting one’s time all conspire to create doubt and, perhaps, a bit of procrastination. I’m well acquainted with this scenario. These … Read more
In less than six weeks “The Phone Lady” will be 18 years old. For this, I am both amazed and constantly grateful. In the beginning, the work was all about sales, working with teams and individuals to enhance their phone skills and confidence. Over the years, this expanded to include … Read more
“So well said! That just blew my mind…” This appeared in Chat recently while delivering the final webinar in my seven-part proactive calling series. It definitely caught me off guard. I get a lot of positive reactions to the skills I share but I think this was the first time … Read more
In the summer before my last year of high school, I landed my first job that involved answering a telephone. It was in the administrative offices of an iron ore mine in Northern Ontario. This was 48 years ago, in 1975. It was a time when there were hard and … Read more
Long-standing clients are the best gift I receive from being The Phone Lady. Earlier this month I had the privilege of delivering a workshop with an organization that’s trusted me for more than a decade. So fun! As I was wrapping up the customer-service-focused afternoon, the supervising staff member said … Read more
“You’re trying to sell to Fortune 500 companies?? And you’re doing this all by yourself, with NO experience? WOW, I couldn’t imagine being thrown more into the deep end than that!” I was on a call with a sales professional I had connected with after reading his book, and he … Read more
Whether it’s part of your work in sales or customer service, or phone conversations are part of your job search strategy, you want to continually practice the skills for creating a great impression. You also want to know ways to deal with a wide variety of communication hazards, such as … Read more
Summer officially started this past Wednesday. There are very few places in the world as delightful as Atlantic Canada in the summer and I’m aiming to take full advantage. As I was thinking about the time I will spend with family and friends over the next two months, I was … Read more
In case you’d like to listen to this blog post, you can enjoy my audio version (I start at the 14 second mark.). – listen here. This past week I answered a call from an unfamiliar number in Ontario. There was a cheerful woman at the other end and the … Read more
Over the past 35 years, I’ve spent a lot of time reading resumes and interviewing candidates to fill proactive calling positions. It’s something my clients still ask me to do. And what was true in 1987 is still true today. Finding the right people is challenging because … the job … Read more
Both making and taking phone calls require skills. Whether you are managing a team responsible for these tasks, or you’re coaching yourself, you need to be able to distinguish between phone phobia/fear and phone anxiety. According to Harvard Health Publishing, a phobia is a persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an … Read more
Picking up the phone to contact and speak with customers or prospects is not “old-fashioned”. There are teams dedicated to this activity in industries that range from pharmaceuticals to finance, and from janitorial to consulting. Managing these teams, and producing the desired results (or exceeding them), can be challenging. It … Read more
It was January 2006 when I officially launched “The Phone Lady” brand. At that time, about 80% of my work was with sales teams, giving them the skills and confidence to pick up the phone and inspire great conversations. This work soon began to include customer service skills, how to … Read more
Between messages relating to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, my inbox has been very crowded. What have I done with all these emails? Likely the same thing as most of you. I put checkmarks in the little left-hand boxes and hit delete. Most of the companies that put time and … Read more
Recently, while working with a team of experienced salespeople on a new outbound campaign to CEOs, I realized something was missing. But I struggled to find the right words to describe this “something”. By listening to the calls, I knew that everyone was including all the pertinent details. They were … Read more
Forty years ago this month I made the decision to launch my own business. As a naïve 20-something there was so much I had to learn. The biggest lesson, and the most life-changing, was that I had to learn how to sell. When I look back on the very early … Read more
This spring has been busy. Steady demand for business communication skills has found me clicking from webinar to webinar, delivering 30-minute, one-hour and sometimes half-day sessions on both sales and customer service. In addition, I’ve enjoyed enlightening, inspiring and productive hours as a coach to both loyal teams and individuals. … Read more
How do we become really good at something? Whether it is baking or golf or Minecraft, we all improve our skills by doing, by practicing. The same is true of sales. And we don’t need a special time or place to practice our sales skills. We can do it anytime. … Read more
Recently a dear friend and colleague approached me looking for some sales advice. She was concerned about a potential client’s reaction – or lack of reaction – to a proposal she’d sent. She believed it was exactly what the potential client wanted, and needed. So why hadn’t an enthusiastic “yes” … Read more
To celebrate 20 years of The Phone Lady, we're revisiting what truly makes communication meaningful. Every second week, we'll share a bit of wisdom to remind us that small shifts in how we speak, listen, and connect make a big difference. (You'll also receive access to our Exclusive Resources, including 4 ebooks.)
Remember party lines? Switchboards? Yellow Pages? The traditional telephone is almost gone, but its cultural impact deserves a ringing endorsement. Mary Jane weighs in.
A fresh phone hell in the office: Younger workers who don’t say hello when they answer a call need to know it’s a problem. Mary Jane weighs in on generational phone challenges - read here.
Bosses and employees are wrestling over whether voice calls have a place in the hybrid era. The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to Mary Jane. Find out more here.
22 Minutes correspondent Brandon Hackett figures out which end is up on this thing called a telephone, with help from The Phone Lady. Watch Telephone Lessons for Millennials.