How to Make Effective
Phone Calls*

*Written by 2003 USY Communications VP Jason Lustig for the Comm. section of the website.

So you're on the phone committee (or phone tree committee, or whatever your chapter calls it) - congratulations for stepping up to the task! Being on a phoning committee is one of the most important jobs in your chapter's communication. These are some tips on making phone calls that work:

• Be Personal!
  Remember, the most important thing is to become friends with your current members, and with potential members before recruiting them. One can always have more friends, right? And your first phone call to someone should never be about USY, but rather one where you get to know them, and for them to become comfortable with you. When you are calling them about USY, always start by really talking to them first, not getting right to business. Ask them how their day was, how any extra-curriculars are going; get involved in their life! This will increase your chances of getting them involved in your life, a.k.a. USY.
• Never start with USY!
  Don't start by saying, "I'm so and so from USY." This tells them that you are calling because you have to, not because you are their friend and you would enjoy them being there. You can say later in the call that there is a USY event, and you would like them to come. This is a better way for them to find out what organization is like planning the event.
• Allow them room to talk!
  Try to avoid dominating the conversation and talking down about other organizations such as BBYO or NFTY. This gives your potential members and current members a bad feeling for you, and if they are also members of those other groups, they might get mad and not come to USY events.
• Be enthusiastic!
  Your ruach about USY is contagious, even over a phone line, so always be enthusiastic and full of ruach!
• Also, make sure to end the call on an upbeat note!
  You don't want to make people depressed; you want to leave the call knowing that the USYer is psyched about the upcoming programs!
• Plan ahead!
  Ahead of time, write down the info you need to give and receive. That way you don't mess up in the call, or give people the wrong information. Also, you may way to say the information outloud a few times so that it's memorized in your head. Be prepared to give directions to get to wherever the program is taking place, whether it's at Temple, or at someone's house.
• Don't limit yourself!
  Introduce yourself and fully explain why you're calling, but don't let USY be the only thing you talk about. A twenty-minute phone call that gets your chapter a new member, or at least gets someone to come a program, is far better than a two-minute call where you just recite the info.
• Be persistent, but not annoying.
  Don't expect returned calls, so don't leave a message with all your information. Rather, call them back later, when you have time to have a real conversation with them. Also, if they say they'll call you back when they find out if they can come, call them back a couple of days later, rather than waiting for them, because odds are they won't get back to you.
• Solve problems ahead of time!
  Be prepared to offer solutions to objections (such as a ride for people who say they don't have one).