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Morning Minute – 3.24.26

Your Telephone – Ally or Enemy?

One of your most powerful tools—often used the wrong way.

It’s another day that ends in “Y.”

My phone rings. I answer,
“This is Larry Bonorato. How may I assist you?”

Then… silence.

​Six… seven… eight seconds pass.

Finally, I hear a click and a hesitant, “Hello?”

If this person called you—how would you respond?

We’ve all experienced calls like this—both good and bad. And it raises an important question:

Is your phone helping your business—or hurting it?

There are many ways to communicate. Emails and texts are convenient—but they rely on someone choosing to read, and choosing to respond.

A phone call is different.
It’s immediate. It’s personal. And when handled well—it’s powerful.

Yet, very few people are actually shown how to use it effectively.

Here are a few simple ways to strengthen your team members phone performance:

Before You Hire

• Try calling candidates unexpectedly. Notice how they answer, how they sound, and how they engage.
• During the interview, consider having them take a live call or place one. Would you feel confident with them representing you?

During Training

• Let them hear real calls. Ask what worked—and what could be improved.
• A few simple standards can make a big difference:
  • Be helpful and respectful
  • Avoid dead air—keep the conversation moving
  • Ask questions—the person asking questions guides the call
  • Be clear on the goal: appointment, referral, or next step

Ongoing Improvement

• Review great calls—what made them effective?
• Review missed opportunities—what could be done differently?
• Twice weekly, listen to some of their calls. You may be amazed at what you hear..

When your team strengthens how they use the phone, results tend to improve quickly.

If you’d like to explore ways to improve your team’s phone performance, let’s connect.

And remember:
“Information without transformation is wasted energy.”

Your Telephone – Ally or Enemy?

That is today’s Morning Minute.

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Here are some recent Morning Minutes you may have missed with actionable ideas, useful instruction, and step-by-step methods to help you, your family, and/or your team to be more, do more, and achieve more.

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​"Accept, Analyze, & Adapt!" We all need a process for handling unexpected things that we can't control. That process involves accepting the fact that we are not in control. We then must analyze what we are experiencing by asking questions like what? who? why? when and where? Then we can adapt in order to be ready next time. Sometimes life gives you a moment to practice all 3!

​"Perfection or Direction: Which Will You Choose?" Success often depends on knowing when to Refine and when to Begin. There is a time for perfection and a time for direction. Discover several examples of the difference with George McClellan and Steve Jobs using perfection, and Ulysses Grant, Jeff Bezos, and George Patton using direction. Learn how that effective leaders use both in their pursuit of success.

​"Who Are You Striving to Become?" Is who you are today, moving you closer to, or farther from, the person you want to be? Discover the 7 major attributes of winning leaders, coaches, and business owners. Learn how that those who possess these attributes can make the move from employee to employer. See how these apply to your successful career path.

​"The Return of Responsibility!" Are we witnessing a shift in the next generation? Discover how that they are slowly moving away from entitlement and self promotion to lives of service, responsibility, and discipline. Learn how that we, as adults, may effectively support their effort to improve by listening, setting a positive example, plus praying for and with them.

​"Under Extreme Pressure How Will You Respond?" Same Pressure - Different Posture - Different Results! Discover 2 different true stories of catastrophes: one with British Petroleum and the other with Johnson & Johnson. Learn how the manner in which these 2 leaders handled these 2 major losses created either failure or lasting success for their companies.

​"Serve More to Earn More!" Examine 2 examples that display how serving more is the key to selling more. Learn the relationship between selling clients what they want and giving them what they need! Discover how that Zig Ziglar describes this paradigm with one of his famous quotes. And, remember to keep it simple, since many times we make relationship selling too complicated.

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In these topsy-turvy turbulent times we need something to keep us grounded. May I suggest a book by Dennis Prager: If There is No God. This easy to read manuscript is done in the setting of Dennis as an instructor with a classroom of students. They discuss values, opinions, reason, standards, and the bible verses that apply to each. It is easy to read and full of the back and forth you would expect with an expert sharing information, logic, and the stories that describe each. This is a must read!

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May God bless you, your family and your team. And may He continue to bless the USA!

Larry A. Bonorato 864-630-2625 lab@larryonlearning.com​

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(published by the Bonorato Creative Group, LLC; all rights reserved)