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The Building Block Of Outsourced Call Center Services: What Makes a Good Contact Center Agent?

The Building Block Of Outsourced Call Center Services: What Makes a Good Contact Center Agent?

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In this technology-dependent BPO industry, outsourced call center services have instrumental role in business marketing strategy. This is especially true in expanding and progressing businesses. With today’s highly competitive business set-up, it’s safe to say having an effective, profit-generating contact center is a sure way companies stay on track.

Outsourced Call Center Services, In A Nutshell

Contact centers are part of company operations, dealing with customer relations or communications. It is essentially a branch of the overall customer relationship management (CRM), with specialized, dedicated agents. Contact centers handle all forms of communication—call centers, e-mails, faxes, phone calls, text and web chats.

Nuts And Bolts

However, operating a contact center is one thing, but running it efficiently is another. As the phrase goes, “What use is a sword if it’s lost its sharpness?” The same goes for contact centers. In order for a business to continue converting customers to their side, it must have great customer relations operation. A functional contact center that is reliable and efficient is a must-have in business. Which brings us to the question, “What makes outsourced call center services any good?”

Agents At The Core

In order to have a profit-making contact center, a company ensures they have the right employees. What makes a good contact agent, then? Well, first off is having the experience required of the job. In order to engage customers, agents must be a great communicators, knowing how and when to conversation cards. Inexperienced agents lack the ability to communicate confidently and persuasively, which in many ways could affect the overall operation of the company. To avoid such problems, sufficient training is required.

A good agent, of course, doesn’t stop in being an experienced communicator. Attracting and maintaining customers is easier if a company portrays a good reputation, and the contact center’s performance can either make or break that. Hence, it is crucial to keep good relationship with clients.

One way to do that is by creating a more personal connection with the clients. It is easier to confide to a friend than to a stranger, and the relationship must be emulated in correspondence between customers and companies. Customers are more likely to engage with sincere, instead of passive agents. Clients receive great service, agents receive great customer feedback, and companies profit with improved revenue and reputation – the definition of a win-win-win scenario.

Three Traits Of Good Telemarketing Services

Three Traits Of Good Telemarketing Services

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Choosing a telemarketing services company to boost your business isn’t a cakewalk. The actual campaign can feel like a potshot; telemarketers are your front-line representatives. Bad telemarketers leave impression of bad business.

Unfortunately, some companies in this industry often settle with scripts too obvious or annoying, persistence prospects with repeated, routine calls. Some even employ automated outreach, using a robot with the voice of a well-mannered woman to take calls, expertly dodging attempts to deviate from the spiel. What a business needs in telemarketing services is one that values conversation over structure and formality.

Exclusivity

A good telemarketing company provides an exclusive team of agents to source and follow-up on prospects. By exclusive, it means that for the entire duration of the campaign, these agents are dedicated to one campaign. An agent that can juggle two or more companies is commendable, but this also hinders the growth of the relationship with the prospect and its goals.

Good Telemarketing Services Can Be Spontaneous

Good telemarketing services are also able to stray off scripts while staying within the process. The script is part and parcel of this industry, but outright reading words on paper lends a distant, impersonal tone to the calls. Prospects prefer agents able to carry free-flowing conversations with their contacts. An outline of general topics may be needed, but it is the caller who still does the heavy lifting. Spontaneity is firm proof of a professional who knows what he’s talking about.

Good Brand Representation

A good telemarketing company also owns up to the brand they represent. A great many telemarketers open with “calling on behalf of”, and they almost always lose the person on the other end of the line. Telemarketing is direct marketing – the producer always initiates outreach. A good agent speaks as if he is part of the business itself, and is an able representative.

Telemarketers are extensions of the business’s marketing and sales department, often expected to know the business inside out. Companies who practice this as policy act as the bridge to smooth working relationship between all involved parties.

Telemarketing services make the most out of outreach campaigns, and it can be as hectic as they come. Focus on traits like exclusivity, spontaneity, and intimate representation, and the right partner becomes easier to hone in and more worthwhile to keep.

Outbound Call Center Services: 4 Tips For Better Collection Call Results

Outbound Call Center Services: 4 Tips For Better Collection Call Results

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Improving collection call returns take time and patience. Outbound call center services handle the outreach, follow-ups, and demands for payment. The process sounds simple, yet it involves challenges in every step. How can your agents consistently pull off successful collection calls? Here are four important tips to consider and implement:

Always Be Prepared

Your agents need to make calls with essential information in hand. Learn to equip them with all the facts and facts needed.

In preparation, remember that it isn’t simply presenting all the concerns in one blow. Know who you are calling so you can pick the right approach for the specific customer type. Outbound call center services anticipate excuses. Be patient and listen intently. Write down specific concerns so you can address them later. You may even try compiling a list of common excuses and match those with effective rebuttals, so you won’t be caught surprised during the actual call.

Keep It Positive And Professional

Tact and discretion are important in handling collection calls. Your agents need to be firm but polite, use statements that are phrased in a positive and professional manner. This establishes good rapport with the customer.

Keep the conversation positive, so you don’t get stuck in a back-and-forth discussion with the client. However, even if you present yourself as polite and professional, don’t forget to sound authoritative as well. Practice the right tone, pitch, and even pacing in speaking. Sometimes, something written on paper may sound antagonistic over the phone, caused by improper delivery.

Identify Specific Goals

Outbound call center services have scripts that address specific concerns. These serve as guide maps in carefully navigating through the collection.

Form a simple outline of the conversation in this manner: Catch up with the customer, talk about any current business, establish that the payment is late, learn why the payment is late, and make the customer commit. With these in mind, construct a script that is going to get the customer’s attention while maintaining a good relationship, at the same time show that you care. Preparing a good outline for the script, and you won’t be manipulated by the person on the other line during the call.

Adapt To The Situation

There may be a guide in collection call, but simply following a routine won’t help you in getting better results. Learn to leave yourself some room to entertain a possible offer from the customer to receive the right payment.

There is no one shot practice for a surefire collection. Once you listen to the debtor, you can learn about new or even better ways to handle each situation. With every unique case that you receive, you are going to gradually remember picking up essential clues from the other line. Take note of these and use them as references for future calls.

Collection calls are no easy task. But by following these tips, you’ll maximize performance of outbound call center services. Chase after the accounts with knowledge and skill on hand.

Companies Use Call Centers To Streamline The Process; How To Make The Most Of BPO For Your Business

Companies Use Call Centers To Streamline The Process; How To Make The Most Of BPO For Your Business

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Most companies use call centers to handle external processes, and for good reason. Doing everything in-house may not always be feasible. In some cases, it can even be unproductive. Often you’ll look for specialized teams to handle dedicated, short-term tasks. Call centers fill this need by leasing their adaptable, capable agents at your service.

Outsourcing can be the best solution in business processing. Are you struggling which aspect of your business to outsource, and to what extent? Are you anxious to test the waters, anxious to enlist agents to handle part your business? Here are three basic guidelines to ensure you’ll get a good head start:

1. Prioritize the essentials.

This will depend on the nature and scale of your business. Some companies use call centers to handle customer support, others hire staff for back-office tasks. Anything that picks up the pace of operations is considered a viable task to outsource. However, your resources may determine which processes are best done in-house, and which are best outsourced.

Consider your company’s mission in choosing which tasks to outsource. If your mission is to have an engaging, responsive brand, it makes sense to invest in website development. If your current priority is to create a solid product, you may need more hands on deck in software development.

2. Companies use call centers to handle support; nothing beats good referrals when looking for providers.

Referrals spare you the hassle of screening and testing a long list of providers. If you’re well-networked in the industry, then referrals should be your first sourcing option. This shouldn’t discredit old-fashioned shortlisting, though. To be fair, there are plenty of new and small providers who can handle complex tasks, who can hold their own against big competition.

Trade conventions, colleague socials, even golfing buddies are good sources for referrals. You can never underestimate a good recommendation, especially if it comes from someone you trust.

3. Maximize the specializations of the provider you choose.

Companies use call centers for various tasks. This is common practice, because providers prefer to hire staff skilled and able to multitask. Unfortunately, you’ll never know the extent of your provider’s capabilities if you never ask. Inquire about the scope of your prospect’s services, the nature of its clientele. There’s bound to be a new specialization you can leverage to further enhance your processes.

Providers typically cater to various industries. Foundational processes are often shared among these industries (with custom tweaks). Take advantage of your providers’ versatility and hire a staff who can deliver beyond the job description.

Five Steps in Choosing Contact Center Providers

Five Steps in Choosing Contact Center Providers

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In the competitive field of contact center providers, finding the right one for a specific type of business is a tough job. Even though more and more businesses outsource their customer service to third-party call centers, you should ensure your partner delivers your company’s needs. What looks great on paper sometimes lead to unmet expectations.This is the reason why you should take time to define needs, beyond the immediate fix. Below are some starter tips to help you assess contact center vendors, before you sign any contracts and agreements.

1. Clarify the goals and support you need.

Identifying the type of services the business needs is the first step to classifying or trimming down the list of prospective call center providers. Decide whether your company wants 24-hour service, online chat representatives, or appointment scheduling. Aside from these, you should also set goals, develop a detailed roadmap which shows what the company wants to achieve within a given period.

2. Conduct background checks on contact center providers.

How does the business operate? What are the values they uphold? Who are their customers? These are just some of the many questions you should consider during the process of selecting the right call center vendor. And the best way to find answers is to ask their current clients. Aside from client recommendations, the competency and reliability of a call center vendor can also be assessed through proven track record, in your industry or with your type of clientele.

3. Choose the right people and available resources.

After listing your goals and learning more about the outsourcing company’s reputation, it’s time to know whether they have the right professionals to handle your customer service and support. Since their staff becomes ambassadors of your brand, their skill set should meet your standards. These requirements may include language proficiency, relative work experience, certifications, and the outsourcing company’s training and programs for employees.

4. Can the contact center manage your customer database?

This tip is one of the most valuable criteria you should consider when choosing contact center providers. The provider must seamlessly integrate customer support data into your customer relationship management (CRM). Through them, you would gain further understanding of your customers’ preferences and requirements, in effort to improve your brand’s performance.

5. Clearly communicate expectations.

In order to meet your company’s specific needs, you have to clearly state your expectations, as well as the procedures to be implemented. Explain the purposes of policy, security, and privacy measures. The goal is to develop a lasting relationship between your company and the outsource provider. In addition, you can also discuss your budget and consider asking the outsourcer to suggest changes that can save you from overspending.

The best contact center providers are dedicated to successful delivery of message and service, mirroring the ethics of their clients. Keep in mind the priorities are customer retention and brand value.

Optimizing BPO Call Center Options: Orienting Agents Before Rollout

Optimizing BPO Call Center Options: Orienting Agents Before Rollout

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As a real-time medium, contact center support continues to gain traction over the years, with many companies outsourcing their services to BPO call center companies. If you want to lease service that’s effective in voice support, here are some services you should expect from the provider you choose:

Customers Transcripts Are Available If Necessary

It’s a surefire way to ensure that the interactions with the customers is transparent. Customers are going to want to save the useful information they get whenever they talk to agents. Note this service isn’t staple from most providers, so consider these added value to the offer. Agents must be ready to email a copy of the transcript to customers after the live chat, provided the need and urgency are established.

Mastery Of Products Or Services Endorsed

Common knowledge? Unfortunately, you’ll find BPO call center companies that are content with general knowledge of the client’s offerings. To avoid this, your provider should be fully aware of what you have to offer, follow-up on current discounts or promotions. Informed agents definitely make customers happy, ensuring conversations are pleasant and progressive.

A Positive, Can-Do Attitude

In terms of delivering a good customer experience, having the knowledge is not enough. It’s also important to give off a pleasant and approachable vibe to the person you’re talking to. How exactly can your provider do this? It’s all in the mindset. Every challenge is an opportunity to serve clients as best as you can, anyway you can.

Prompt And Responsive

A key aspect of contact center support is almost-instant interactivity. Customers are going to expect that they talk to an agent as quickly as possible. When it comes down to it, agents shouldn’t keep them waiting for more than 10 seconds. The best chat agents can do so with four to six simultaneous requests, too.

Your BPO Call Center Should Remain Grounded, Genuine

Customers are going to see all through those pleasantries, particularly if they feel they’re just weaving through to a spiel. It’s important to be honest in every live chat session – no empty promises. Own up to the limits of what you can do. This could mean that if you don’t have knowledge of the issue at hand, you should simply transfer the session to a superior or an agent who specializes in the subject matter.

These Five Language Hacks Will Improve Your Call Center Customer Service

These Five Language Hacks Will Improve Your Call Center Customer Service

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Customer service is all about response and engagement. Whether you’re handling complaints or outreach, your choice of words determine the outcome. This is more important in call center customer service; focus on tone and phrasing, because even your pauses have meaning. It’s fortunate you can develop customer service with training and practice.

You want to convey your best interest during the conversation. You’ve composed your email and reviewed the spiels to use on the campaign. Are you putting your clients’ best interests as priority? Consider these five language adjustments if you want to improve engagement and service:

1. Use “We” And “I” Appropriately

The trick is to use “I” when you’re bearing responsibility, “we” when you want to reassure clients their concerns will be resolved. Approach each engagement like you’re part of the team, even if you’re the one doing all the legwork. You’ll send an impression everyone is on board towards reaching a resolution, and your clients consider you part of the company instead of a lone representative.

Use “I” sparingly, and only when you’re assuming responsibility for a problem. Sometimes you’ll be tempted to use this pronoun when taking credit: don’t. You’re better off sharing the kudos to the team.

2. Use “I Don’t” Instead Of “I Can’t”

Starting your sentence with “I can’t” conveys helplessness, an inability to resolve the client’s concern. Isn’t solution the goal of support? In call center customer service, “I can’t” negates your efforts to build rapport with your customer. Remember, there’s always something you can do to resolve a problem, including escalating it to an immediate superior.

Using “I don’t” in your response means you’re decisive, proactive. It also confirms you’re on top of the situation. Offer alternatives to your client if you cannot accommodate the preferred option.

3. “Value” Is Crucial In Call Center Customer Service

Nothing relays you value your clients than explicitly saying you value them. In heated complaints, this is reassurance you’re exerting effort towards resolution. It’s hard to show empathy over the phone or through email, apart from explicitly saying what you mean, straightforward and concise.

Say “I value your concern,” or “we want you to know you’re a valued customer.” Make sure you deliver to the statement in the meantime, though, take steps to ensure you’re in progress with solutions.

4. “I apologize” Instead Of “I’m Sorry”

There’s subtle difference between the two phrases. It’s similar to the efficiency of “I don’t” over “I can’t.” For starters, “I’m sorry” is too casual and familiar, the phrase you use when you have no solution left to offer. On the other hand, “I apologize” hints you’re accountable to the mishap, and you’re taking responsibility for the consequence.

“I apologize” is also diplomatic compared to “I’m sorry.” You’re owning up to the fault, but you’re not resigned to finish the conversation with offering the best, alternative solution.

5. Use “Sincerely” In Valediction

Do you ever struggle when it comes to closing your conversation, correspondence? What are your stock phrases when signing off on your letter? It turns out some phrases leave better impressions than others, and “Sincerely,” is the best way to sign off the conversation.

Adapt your language to your relationship with your recipient; a hint of familiarity is often best, especially in call center customer service. “Best regards,” “best wishes,” and “yours truly” are good finishers, but nothing beats “sincerely” in clarity and brevity.

Language is your first tool in customer relations. If you’re into the business of people, it’s crucial you use it with precision. Implement these hacks regularly and you’ll notice an improvement in customer feedback, retention, and acquisition.

A Three-Step Guide to Effective Contact Center Management

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In today’s highly-competitive industry, it is no secret the primary goal of every entrepreneur is to attract and maintain customers, ensure their business’s success in the long run. This is due to the fact that corporations go head-to-head when it comes to providing the same products/services, leaving consumers with a wide variety of choices and ultimately, giving them the power to choose which brand is better, which lacks the ability to satisfy consumer needs. In light of this situation, companies see the only way to increase sales is to make sure customers keep coming and keep purchasing. Hence the birth of a more elaborate and organized customer service and support system.

Not until recently, business owners saw the worth of customer service as a minor factor in the development of their corporation. But with the growing competition among industries, followed by rapid changes in market trends, corporations are forced to invest and provide more attention to customer service, to building relationship between the company and its target market. In line with this new marketing strategy is the birth of the contact center, a system under a company’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) department that handles customer issues. Generally, contact centers are the ones responsible in maintaining good customer relationship, it’s main role is to provide a clear communication line where customers can conveniently voice out their requests and concerns.

Here are three simple but essential steps to help you better manage your contact center.

Know Your Role

It’s hard to do your job if you have no idea what your duty really is. You’ll perform to your potential if you’re well aware of your role – the nature of your work, why it’s important, and what you’re doing it for. Knowing the importance of the contact center, as well as your company’s benefit, will give you detailed reason why the job is crucial. This way, not only will you learn how to act accordingly, you will also find some motivation to help you focus on your work.

Act the Part

However, knowing the nature of your job is not enough. The next step is to act the part. Once you understand your role to the full, it’s time to set goals that would lead to the success of your department and the company as a whole. It is essential that you and your team work in synchronized manner, with the same ideal in mind. Just like in a play/movie, each person has a role, and the whole cast/company has to perform as one unit for the play to really work. The same is to be said in contact center management: for the whole crew to build a harmonious connection with the customers, everyone has to play the parts assigned to them. Only in this way could the team achieve the set goals, which includes maintain a good relationship with the clients.

Own the Part

The ultimate role of a contact center team is to make sure customers get the attention they want and deserve. Meaning, a contact center system works for the sole purpose of endorsing their company’s good image, by presenting an excellent customer service performance. Contact center teams need to keep in mind the department exists to increase customer retention rate. This being said, they should know that their job as contact center personnel essentially means the success or failure of their company.

While it is true that modern technology is of great help in enhancing customer service performance, it can also be said that the technical aspect is not enough to build a strong foundation for a customer support. The real deal still fully relies on the ability of the employees to perform in accordance with the standards of their clients.

Elsewhere on this blog:

How’s Your Outbound Sales Performance Doing?

Five Tips for Providing the Best Customer Service Experience

Expanding Your Business Reach: Multilingual Contact Centers

Call Center Interview Tips: Best Ways to Get Hired

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Call center is one of the most trending jobs in the metro today. Unlike other careers, everyone could apply in call center agencies even if they are under grad or graduated with courses that does not relevant on it. So you have to be competitive enough to get the job. Here are some job interview tips that might help you get hired in no time.

Research. It is important for you to know the specific position you are applying for and all about it. Some of the companies ask you about it and its job description and rephrases the question every now and then. Knowing about the opening is not enough; you must be knowledgeable of what the possible tasks they will give you. Also, you must know about the company background, they might ask you some questions about that.

Practice makes perfect. There are common question in all companies such as;

» Tell me something about yourself
» How did you know about us?
» Why do you want to work here?
» Why should I hire you?
» Tell me something about the book you read or movie you watched lately

These are trick questions. Interviewers tend to see your communication and critical thinking skills by answering these questions. It is good for you to practice your answers, grammar and pronunciation as well.

Dress to impress. Pleasing personality is essential in looking for a job. So you must groom and wear your best dress. It is not necessarily to put those tuxedos and cocktail dresses for a job interview, a simple and presentable attire will do, as long as you’re comfortable wearing it.

Be professional. Always remember that ‘first impression lasts.’ As an applicant, it is important to show the company that you are professional and you wanted the job. Being on time could show how eager you are to get the position. Always arrive 10-15 minutes before your appointment. In that case, you will still have time to powder your nose and fix yourself.

Pay attention. Most of the interviewers use English with western accent in job interviews. You must listen carefully for you to understand what they mean to say. Speak when needed and answer the questions clearly and short as possible.

Be optimistic. Think that you are going to get the job. This mind setting could help you build self-confidence and this would reflect in your movements and the way you answer the questions. Set aside the questions about salary and the schedule. Thinking about it might affect the way how you answer their questions.

Be yourself. Being natural is the best way how you are going to land the job. Smile and be friendly.

Just remember these Call Center interview tips. This could be your key to be hired.