I’ve posted lots of actual call examples over the years, and those of you who have been in my live training have experienced many others as well. They always are instructive, and quite often entertaining. As I say, you just can’t make up this stuff.

Today’s example fits that description. Take a listen.

So, what are your thoughts? Please do share them in the comments section of that page. I will share mine about the call content in next’s week email. I’m guessing that many of you will say exactly what I will next week.

What I do want to comment on now is another pet peeve of mine: Sound quality on phone calls. The recording here distorted my end of the call a bit, and his end actually sounded worse live. I had a very difficult time understanding the caller. Granted, he had an accent, but when I could hear him he seemed to articulate fairly clearly so that wasn’t the main problem.

The problem is with the equipment used to convey the message. It is beyond me how anyone whose livelihood and income relies on the messages they communicate would not ensure that message is delivered crystal-clearly.

I don’t know if this guy had a bad VOIP line, or a crappy phone or headset, but these are all variables that are in your control, or your company’s. (And the quality of this call was actually better than some I receive. Unbelievable.)

A few quick tips on my rant here:

• Don’t use a cell phone for business calls. Smart phones are great for everything but talking to people.  Unless you must make a brief call from your car, or wherever, do whatever it takes to call from a landline. Yes, a landline.  If you’re working from home, wow, what does it cost? Under $50 a month maybe?
• Invest in the best headset available. All of the old objections for not using headsets are gone with today’s design and technology. This is the vehicle that will be transmitting your message to your listener… do be a cheapo here. Would Adele get her microphone at Staples? Would a highly-paid voiceover artist get his mic at Best Buy? I use and recommend the best in the industry, Sennheiser. Audiophiles out there are familiar with the brand. I only use the OfficeRunner. In fact my friends at Headsets.com want to give you one to test drive free for 60 days. Check out my video below for how you can do that.

Ok, let’s see your comments below on this call. What did he do, not do…what should he have done differently?