Another one of those things I think I need to improve...the last week or so I got quite a few phone calls about lessons and they always seem to catch me at a bad moment! I'm often tired or in middle of something and despite all my internet ads saying I prefer to be contacted by email, I still get phone calls which really puts me on the spot.

Today I got defensive when a parent said 'tell me about yourself'. Now I'm ok with this if it's a job interview however I have very limited time to talk on the phone during the day and she was responding to an internet ad which basically has most of my cv in it. Apart from repeating my ad like a parrot, what can I say? My mistake was that I got annoyed and told her to look at my ad as everything's on there. I also thought she sounded partronising and didn't appreciate having an 'interview' style of conversation when she's just inquiring about piano lessons. I also got annoyed when she asked if I do home visits and ended up explaining at length why I don't want to do home visits. Later on I realized she was probably quite nervous and I might have been a bit too defensive.

I was also not on my best form with couple of inquiries last week when I should have been more friendly, more patient in explaining myself and trying to get students to book that first lesson. While I'm successful with new students if they come via email or word of mouth, I seem to have a real problem with dealing with new inquiries on the phone. How do the experienced members on this forum deal with new inquiries when it's over the phone?

Unless I'm feeling prepared and have plenty of time, I ask for their number and promise to call them back. That gives me time to feed the kids/ put them to bed/ generally sort myself out.

I always try to deal with phone enquiries on the spot. If I say I will call back, they invariably have found someone else in that time. I try and find out where they are coming from eg how old is the child, what experience have they/grade are they up to. I don't object to being asked things 'interview style' as they would be relying on you to do the best job for their child, just like an employer interviewing you. Do remember that it is equally your job to judge them in the same way, if not moreso.

I ask myself 'what would I look for in approaching a teacher'. I want someone patient, open to questions, someone I would get on with in other words.

Then the crunch. If we are both happy, I offer a free consultation (yes, consultation, not a lesson), to meet in person and talk further. Only then do we follow through.

Good luck with future enquiries Beagle. Hope you have more luck.

I had one of these yesterday. Just as I was going out to teach at lunch-time (why is it that people always want to talk at lunch-time which is when I teach. Grrr.). OH had answered the phone, so he took the number for me. I phoned back after teaching. As it happens I don't have any spaces, so the conversation was brief, but I didn't really like the sound of the prospective pupil, although she may well have been nervous.

I remember interviewing my son's trumpet teacher over the phone - I suppose I must have been the nightmare parent asking all sorts of questions. In the end he said to me "I am a good teacher" and gave me permission to phone the school he taught at. (Needless to say I followed through, and he is a good teacher).

In your position, I would be inclined to offer to phone back if the call is at an inconvenient time. You are your own public relations department, and word can spread, so it's important to make a good impression. I've given lots of free advice over the phone to worried parents looking for teachers, even though I can't take the child.

I tend to give minimal information and then invite them to come and "have a chat".

I think it's important to lead the conversation. I try to be the one asking all the questions, I think it makes the enquirer feel more at ease. The questions I ask are:

1. Have you got a *insert instrument here*? This is a straightforward question and makes the caller a bit more comfortable.

2. Have you got any experience with any other instruments or any musical background? This is fairly straightforward and gives you some helpful info.

3. Have you got a pen and paper handy? This prepares the caller for information and if they haven't got a pen and paper, makes them feel at ease to get one as a pose to them feeling stressed when you start giving out info willy nilly.

4. I have a few slots on *insert days and times here*. Does that work for you? This is a nice and friendly way of asking a simple question and also pretty much guarantees a visit from the prospective student. Usually I give them a couple of choices that best suit me to start off with and then if neither of the days are good for them I'll offer them another couple of choices.

5. Do you know where I'm based? Simple question, gets a simple answer. If no is the answer, give some directions, it's useful to have a standard set of simple directions that you can just give out off the top of your head, erming and ahing just confuse matters. Often I ask also if they have used online maps before and if so just give my postcode and house number.

6. Are you aware of my rates? Another simple question. If no is the answer, simply give the caller all relevant details in a clear and concise way.

7. Any questions? You've given them all the detail, this just leaves them thinking you're polite, and if they do have questions, just simply answer them however, I've found that the majority of the time, the caller has got all the info they need.

After all this I tend to round it off by saying "Look forward to seeing you on *whatever day you picked*." It's a nice, polite way to finish off a conversation.

You have to remember, no one remembers everything they see on a website. Some people prefer just to get a phone number and chat.

Yes. Friendly and Professional. As you would expect the teacher to be in a lesson. Who would want lessons with someone who wasn't friendly and professional?

tomfrankenburg's solution sounds perfect - a teacher has to lead when doing the job, so showing you can do so elsewhere is very good PR.
I'd be inclined to go with whatever suits you best - I hate the telephone, because I can't read the visual cues I rely on so heavily for communication, and voices are distorted by the phone so that subtle changes there can be misinterpreted: others like the medium for the safe distance it imposes, and find face-to-face communication more difficult. That means I need to feel very well prepared for telephone conversations - and the idea of phoning back can come into its own there - if you take responsibility for the call, it helps you in leading its contents too. Having your own shortlist handy of details you need to cover is an excellent idea, and having thought about what a prospective pupil or pupil's financial backer (!) might want to know, as you would do if preparing for an interview, is also common sense: yes, a teacher will want a pupil to be able to listen and be biddable, but equally well, the pupil is paying for a service, and wants to know that this will be reasonable outlay.
So - if you feel, after doing your "homework" about how calls should go, that you can tackle them on the hoof, do that, if not, it's okay to plead inconvenience and return the call . Good luck with recruiting.

That's precisely what I would ask (see an extract from my recent post below)! Your parent may not have seen your web site, but even if she had, she needs to suss out whether she likes the sound of you or not. I've often found with my own clients that the more they suss you out beforehand, the more loyal they are once they've committed to you. Finding out as much as possible beforehand shows that they're viewing it as a serious, long term commitment and they want to make the right decision, whether that's in the commercial sector or music lessons. I understand that teachers may not want to say too much over the phone in case it's a competitor, for instance, but my teacher neatly got round this by inviting me pretty quickly to come and have a chat about it - which she offered for free, and even though it subsequently turned into a 50 minute lesson, she still didn't charge. It all went to tell me what sort of person she was and how she viewed her students and the relationship. I very much appreciated her warmth and generosity, and I hope I've shown that appreciation.

To be honest, it has been years since I have been able to offer a place to someone when they phone up - so I tell them straight away that I have a waiting list and that I will understand if they want to go elsewhere. I will even recommend other teachers whose work I have knowledge of. If they still want to discuss things further and go on the waiting list I then tend to ask questions about them/their child, to get some idea if I want to teach them or not. I will ask many of the questions discussed above, such as do you have an instrument etc. I find that most of my work comes from word of mouth and so often there is an instant point of reference (i.e. I was given your number by Mrs Blogs). I have NEVER been asked "interview" style questions and NO ONE has ever asked about my qualifications - I think that having a long waiting list probably tells them that I am OK, and often I have been recommended to them, as I said above.

I agree that people ring at inconsiderate times of day. For this reason, I don't answer my landline at all nowadays, but just use it as a messaging service (it's even on silent ring all the time) - then I phone back people when it is convenient to talk. I highly recommend this if you teach from home - your friends and family can always get to you on you mobile after all.

I deal with calls in quite a similar way - if I know I don't have much time, I let them bounce to my answering machine and phone back. Much better than answering a phonecall in between two lessons (or other commitments) when you feel rushed. Most people leave a message these days, albeit not all - you obviously still get the kind that doesn't like to leave mesages, but you can't have it all I guess.

I have to admit though that I really like people who are a bit "inquisitive" and show genuine interest in my CV etc. What I absolutely hate though are the ones who phone, and the first sentence after "Hello" is: "How much do you charge?" I think these type of callers actually only have turned into business once or twice since I have been living here - it's usually the ones who think that music lessons are £5 per hour

What I also don't like is if people contact me through my webpage and ask all the details that are explained in plain language on my site (especially prices!). If they contact me through an ad or so, that's fine, then they don't know my webpage, and I am happy to explain things.
If they contact me through my webpage in the first place though, I would expect them to not just click the "Contact"-button, but also to read a bit. I find it quite annoying that they don't even take the time to read, because it is so much more convenient for them to ask something they could already know if they just spared a minute. And this IS a waste of my time, because most of these people don't leave a phone-number, but want a mail-reply - which basically requires me to type everything again.
I don't do this anymore these days and just send them a link. To be totally honest, maybe to put them off, because I cannot stand people who don't make the tiniest bit of an effort, and they usually don't turn into committed students either (speaking of experience here).

That is my preferred method, and it is better than the telephone interrogation, which after all works both ways!

I am exactly the same - although I am quite happy to chat on the phone, if I am not prepared then I get myself into a bit of a flap and talk complete nonsense...

To deal with this, I simply don't answer my phone if it is from an unknown caller. They always leave a message and then I can prepare what I am going to say and call them when I am ready. I find that this works much better!

I once answered the phone and spoke to a perspective parent - I got sooo confused and in a complete flap that I told them a completely random amount for the lesson...it worked out as 11.25 for half hour? I had to call back and explain that it wasn't this and they were not best pleased and cancelled the lessons! Answer Phone is definitely the way forward for me...!

Blow raspberries instead? Makes me feel good after I've put the phone down sometimes.

Have you got a few friends you could ask to phone you randomly 'pretending' to be potential clients. This way you could practise. After a few attempts, you'd start to have a mental script in mind, that you could draw on at other times.

Dealing with people on the phone is just like any skill... you have to learn it, and then practise it.

I've never lost a pupil to someone else because of calling them back half an hour or an hour later. Perhaps this is because I don't advertise any more - it's all word of mouth, so they're not necessarily sitting there with a list. I'm used to inquiries now, so am usually feeling prepared about what questions to ask, etc. I only call them back if I'm trying to put my 4- and 1- year old girls to bed, if one of them is crying (if they're playing together and I'm on the phone, one of them will usually start!), or if I'm teaching (in which case, it's my husband saying I'll call them back). I always find out the instrument and age first though, to check that they're not looking for something I can't offer! That way, I can either politely explain that I can't take them, or say, "I look forward to speaking to you later - I promise I will ring you back in an hour".

[
I don't generally answer the phone when I'm teaching because my husband does it for me but two days ago I did because he wasn't in. I said to the lady that I am teaching. promised to phone her back which I did and if she sorts out the piano problem (doesn't have one at present!) I will invite her to come and see me with the child for a short while to get a feel of the sitiuation -e.g. why the child wants to learn and what are their expectations etc. Only then will I decide if I have space for the child and will discuss the "ins and outs".
Hope this helps
Barbara

quote name='Beagle' date='Nov 10 2009, 09:23 PM' post='894081']
Another one of those things I think I need to improve...the last week or so I got quite a few phone calls about lessons and they always seem to catch me at a bad moment! I'm often tired or in middle of something and despite all my internet ads saying I prefer to be contacted by email, I still get phone calls which really puts me on the spot.

Today I got defensive when a parent said 'tell me about yourself'. Now I'm ok with this if it's a job interview however I have very limited time to talk on the phone during the day and she was responding to an internet ad which basically has most of my cv in it. Apart from repeating my ad like a parrot, what can I say? My mistake was that I got annoyed and told her to look at my ad as everything's on there. I also thought she sounded partronising and didn't appreciate having an 'interview' style of conversation when she's just inquiring about piano lessons. I also got annoyed when she asked if I do home visits and ended up explaining at length why I don't want to do home visits. Later on I realized she was probably quite nervous and I might have been a bit too defensive.

I was also not on my best form with couple of inquiries last week when I should have been more friendly, more patient in explaining myself and trying to get students to book that first lesson. While I'm successful with new students if they come via email or word of mouth, I seem to have a real problem with dealing with new inquiries on the phone. How do the experienced members on this forum deal with new inquiries when it's over the phone?
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