A popular trend taking hold of many different companies is the practice of call center outsourcing. There are numerous well known businesses that use outsourcing for their call centers for various reasons. Although the term may be used often when referring to company customer service, many still do not know what the act actually consists of.
Let's take a look at the word outsourcing. In basically refers to the act of sourcing your work to others outside of your company. In the larger scheme of things, it can also serve as a reference to the subcontracting to another. This could include giving another business or firm, a specific set of duties or purpose that will help with the workload of another company. Sometimes, a group of individuals are given a crack at the responsibilities. These tasks are often completed at another location, which is not positioned within the head company.
When call center outsourcing occurs, companies use this practice to save money on the way they provide customer service to their clients. It is a business strategy that has efficiently boosted not only cost saving measures, but also the productivity of consumer call center support. An advantage to outsourcing call center business is that it allows a company to provide assistance based on the specific needs of a client. This is good for the client. Now for the company, call center outsourcing helps them to decrease operating costs by hiring workers that can be retained for a significantly lower cost. These new members of the staff are trained and situated at an offsite location to handle the calls. This also allows a company to focus on their onsite operations without using space for their call center support services.
A shifting of jobs and they way things are handled within the company have been known to occur in regards to call center outsourcing. The way that this area of business is handled differs from the way the telemarketing or software testing areas of a company is ran. Some employees have voiced concerns about their place of employment turning to call center outsourcing. They fear that this will interfere with the jobs they are responsible for. In actuality, some dislocation will occur, but there are a very low amount of professional positions that have been lost when a company turns to call center outsourcing.
One of the most appealing features to working with a call center outsourcing approach to business is the cutting of costs that is enjoyed. These call centers are able to handle the high volume of calls associated with a particular company. Their areas of assistance are not limited to providing only customer support. These call centers also take on technical support issues, as well as handle sales inquiries and marketing assignments. Telemarketing is also an area that outsourced call centers will take care of. There are many other specific business tasks included as well. Examples of call center duties include airline and hotel reservation services, as well as fundraising.
Friday, 27 February 2009
Call Centre Services
While inbound call center services attend to the enquiries of company customers, outbound call center services are aimed at enlisting customers to purchase the services or products of the company. In these services, the representatives of the company initiate the calls to the customers to sell the company’s product or services. This type of service may be called telemarketing.
The call center representatives use telephones to call prospective customers. Alternatively, representatives can also send emails. An outbound call center compiles and maintains a large database of personal information about the potential customers. These databases are obtained on shared effort bases, or just purchased. Unfortunately, these addresses and telephones numbers are sometimes obtained sometimes by dubious methods. This is done by poaching the data from the customer databases of other companies through their employees. Customers’ telephone numbers are also obtained from telephone directories.
Care is taken to contact only those customers whose requirements are expected to match the products of the company for which they are working. For example if you are selling veterinary products, you would collect the data of those customers who maintain pets and other animals, farmers, dog and horse owners etc. Once a customer shows an interest in your product, a sales executive is sometimes sent to meet the customer at his office or residence to personally answer his queries and canvass for the sale of the product and receive the orders.
While marinating a network of sales representatives implies a lot of burden upon the management, using another agency or outbound call center to sell your products is not always seen as a profitable proposition. An important principle of sales promotion implies building up an intimate and enduring relationship with the customers so that they come again and again to purchase your product.
Using an outsourced outbound call center invites an indirect, impersonal relationship with customers. It also means less control over sales representatives. This appears to be a great drawback in hiring outbound call center services, howsoever hardworking and honest they may be.
The call center representatives use telephones to call prospective customers. Alternatively, representatives can also send emails. An outbound call center compiles and maintains a large database of personal information about the potential customers. These databases are obtained on shared effort bases, or just purchased. Unfortunately, these addresses and telephones numbers are sometimes obtained sometimes by dubious methods. This is done by poaching the data from the customer databases of other companies through their employees. Customers’ telephone numbers are also obtained from telephone directories.
Care is taken to contact only those customers whose requirements are expected to match the products of the company for which they are working. For example if you are selling veterinary products, you would collect the data of those customers who maintain pets and other animals, farmers, dog and horse owners etc. Once a customer shows an interest in your product, a sales executive is sometimes sent to meet the customer at his office or residence to personally answer his queries and canvass for the sale of the product and receive the orders.
While marinating a network of sales representatives implies a lot of burden upon the management, using another agency or outbound call center to sell your products is not always seen as a profitable proposition. An important principle of sales promotion implies building up an intimate and enduring relationship with the customers so that they come again and again to purchase your product.
Using an outsourced outbound call center invites an indirect, impersonal relationship with customers. It also means less control over sales representatives. This appears to be a great drawback in hiring outbound call center services, howsoever hardworking and honest they may be.
Call Centre Dos and Donts
Call center is a terrific job. Many young professionals work in call center because of higher chances of boosting their career to the maximum level. Customers are expanding their channel in contact in which call centers are on top of the list. It is a challenge to every contact center to integrate strategic planning in order to maintain its presence towards the global trend in this industry.
Working in a call center is not only aiming to receive higher pay. There are dos and don'ts in order to set limitation to the workers. If you are one of the millions of people connected in customer service, you should know the guidelines to avoid committing violation. Call center companies always make sure to deliver efficient services to their clients worldwide as possible. Because call center is a promising industry, keeping the best employees and hiring more service representatives should always set part of expanding the business. Hiring the right people is very important. The call centers should provide ongoing training to the agents and employees; practice the transparency like communicating openly with the agents and managers, discovering the quality performance of the best people, investing to the state-of-the-art technology to increase customer satisfaction.
Any contact center should have a strong organization in achieving the long-term goal of the company. Making the call center dynamic and flexible can promote better output all the time. The call center management should always strengthen the relationship with the customer. Maintaining customer relationship is important above anything else.
There are many good things you can do to support the call center industry. Avoiding the don'ts in this industry can lessen the burden that may bring to the customers and the company you work for. The following are the don'ts that call center employees should do:
Avoid Tardiness
Time is precious. Never be late in your duty. Though you are one of the best agents in the company but with your constant tardiness will give you the honor to be recognized by your team leaders or supervisors. Also, you are not the asset of the company because call center is a fast paced regulated industry that time is important. Your tardiness can affect the operation of your company.
Don't Slack Off
Do your job promptly. Slacking off the floor by letting other people do the job which is supposed to you is simply a bad impression to you not only as a person but to your job performance. Be productive always and serve as role model to your fellow agents. Show them the real you that you are happy with what you are doing. There are many call center agents who were terminated because of this bad impression despite several times of IR (incidental report) issued to them.
Avoid Obscene Behavior
Displaying your obscene behavior while you are inside your company's premises is a big NO. When taking to the customer, talk with them with pleasure and with care. Never throw seducing words which sounds like you are doing phone sex to your customer. If caught, this may the end of your promising career in your in the call center. And worst, this may left bad wound in your previous job and to your co-workers.
Stop horsing around
Think of your responsibility as an employee of the company. While you are on duty, avoid playing around and horsing with other agents. Respect their privacy while they are on call and focusing on their job. This behavior can cause immediate violation because you are disturbing your co-workers instantly. Always put the fun in the right time. Implementing self-discipline is the best way to get rid of this disturbing behavior.
There are so many don'ts that you we need to implement. This can make the job easier if everybody is following the simple orders stated under the rules and regulations. It is important that the discipline must start on our own. Later on, other people who are new in the call center will learn the virtue that you showed. If you love your job then keep it.
The call center industry continues to give outstanding opportunity to everybody. It helps the economy prosper and lower the unemployment rate in the world
Working in a call center is not only aiming to receive higher pay. There are dos and don'ts in order to set limitation to the workers. If you are one of the millions of people connected in customer service, you should know the guidelines to avoid committing violation. Call center companies always make sure to deliver efficient services to their clients worldwide as possible. Because call center is a promising industry, keeping the best employees and hiring more service representatives should always set part of expanding the business. Hiring the right people is very important. The call centers should provide ongoing training to the agents and employees; practice the transparency like communicating openly with the agents and managers, discovering the quality performance of the best people, investing to the state-of-the-art technology to increase customer satisfaction.
Any contact center should have a strong organization in achieving the long-term goal of the company. Making the call center dynamic and flexible can promote better output all the time. The call center management should always strengthen the relationship with the customer. Maintaining customer relationship is important above anything else.
There are many good things you can do to support the call center industry. Avoiding the don'ts in this industry can lessen the burden that may bring to the customers and the company you work for. The following are the don'ts that call center employees should do:
Avoid Tardiness
Time is precious. Never be late in your duty. Though you are one of the best agents in the company but with your constant tardiness will give you the honor to be recognized by your team leaders or supervisors. Also, you are not the asset of the company because call center is a fast paced regulated industry that time is important. Your tardiness can affect the operation of your company.
Don't Slack Off
Do your job promptly. Slacking off the floor by letting other people do the job which is supposed to you is simply a bad impression to you not only as a person but to your job performance. Be productive always and serve as role model to your fellow agents. Show them the real you that you are happy with what you are doing. There are many call center agents who were terminated because of this bad impression despite several times of IR (incidental report) issued to them.
Avoid Obscene Behavior
Displaying your obscene behavior while you are inside your company's premises is a big NO. When taking to the customer, talk with them with pleasure and with care. Never throw seducing words which sounds like you are doing phone sex to your customer. If caught, this may the end of your promising career in your in the call center. And worst, this may left bad wound in your previous job and to your co-workers.
Stop horsing around
Think of your responsibility as an employee of the company. While you are on duty, avoid playing around and horsing with other agents. Respect their privacy while they are on call and focusing on their job. This behavior can cause immediate violation because you are disturbing your co-workers instantly. Always put the fun in the right time. Implementing self-discipline is the best way to get rid of this disturbing behavior.
There are so many don'ts that you we need to implement. This can make the job easier if everybody is following the simple orders stated under the rules and regulations. It is important that the discipline must start on our own. Later on, other people who are new in the call center will learn the virtue that you showed. If you love your job then keep it.
The call center industry continues to give outstanding opportunity to everybody. It helps the economy prosper and lower the unemployment rate in the world
A Dislike for call centre jobs
If you've ever worked in a call center then these 5 reasons will probably resonate with you personally. If you've never worked in a call center, they have their good and bad sides, just like every industry. Here are my top 5 reasons why I hate call center jobs.
1. Bad hours.
When other people are at home having dinner, you're at the call center, calling them. I would much rather be having dinner rather than interrupting some other persons dinner. The reasons call centers are usually staffed between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. are because that is the time people start getting home from work. If you're going to make a sale you need to get someone on the phone. Your best chance to do that is around 6:00 p.m. so as a consequence you'll work most nights instead of having dinner at a normal time.
2. Commissions make or break you, most of the time break.
A day with great commissions makes it fun to go home, but a slow day where you couldn't get many people interested is horrible. It is bad knowing that you worked a full shift and made 25% less than the day before, or that great day you had last week. Working on commission has always been fun for me because those $800 days are great to talk about and think about. You rarely hear about the days that you didn't sell anything and make $10.
3. Horrible managers and supervisors.
I have worked in a few different industries and by far the worst managers and supervisors are in the call center industry. I don't know what it is about these people, but they are the absolute worst. They're idea of "constructive criticism" is yelling and talking about you to your coworkers. "Why can't you be more like Sarah?" Or behind your back, "I can't stand John. He's only been here 3 weeks and it feels like 3 years!" For some reason they think this is better than trying to make you a better employee.
4. Poor working conditions.
If you thought Nike sweat shops in Mexico were bad, you've never seen the call centers that I have. Tiny dirty cubicles, poor lighting, dirty and never vacuumed floors, overflowing trash cans, etc. All because the managers (see point 3) don't want to spend a few bucks to pay someone to clean up once a week. Instead of working the phones while at work you'll find yourself cleaning up your workspace so you don't vomit on the phone in front of you!
5. Monotonous days.
When you're selling one particular product, every day is the same. People yelling, you calling again. People yell, you keep calling. Every once in a while someone buys your product, but it's rare. Most of the time people don't want to talk to you and that puts you in a bad mood. Such a bad mood that your friends and family don't really want to be around you either. You can't expect your prospects to understand the type of day you've had so you put on a smile and keep calling, and keep calling, more calling, and calling...
Well, that's what it really looks like in a call center. If you've never had a call center job, you won't understand, but once you take that first job, these 5 points will come flooding back into your mind and you'll understand everything!
1. Bad hours.
When other people are at home having dinner, you're at the call center, calling them. I would much rather be having dinner rather than interrupting some other persons dinner. The reasons call centers are usually staffed between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. are because that is the time people start getting home from work. If you're going to make a sale you need to get someone on the phone. Your best chance to do that is around 6:00 p.m. so as a consequence you'll work most nights instead of having dinner at a normal time.
2. Commissions make or break you, most of the time break.
A day with great commissions makes it fun to go home, but a slow day where you couldn't get many people interested is horrible. It is bad knowing that you worked a full shift and made 25% less than the day before, or that great day you had last week. Working on commission has always been fun for me because those $800 days are great to talk about and think about. You rarely hear about the days that you didn't sell anything and make $10.
3. Horrible managers and supervisors.
I have worked in a few different industries and by far the worst managers and supervisors are in the call center industry. I don't know what it is about these people, but they are the absolute worst. They're idea of "constructive criticism" is yelling and talking about you to your coworkers. "Why can't you be more like Sarah?" Or behind your back, "I can't stand John. He's only been here 3 weeks and it feels like 3 years!" For some reason they think this is better than trying to make you a better employee.
4. Poor working conditions.
If you thought Nike sweat shops in Mexico were bad, you've never seen the call centers that I have. Tiny dirty cubicles, poor lighting, dirty and never vacuumed floors, overflowing trash cans, etc. All because the managers (see point 3) don't want to spend a few bucks to pay someone to clean up once a week. Instead of working the phones while at work you'll find yourself cleaning up your workspace so you don't vomit on the phone in front of you!
5. Monotonous days.
When you're selling one particular product, every day is the same. People yelling, you calling again. People yell, you keep calling. Every once in a while someone buys your product, but it's rare. Most of the time people don't want to talk to you and that puts you in a bad mood. Such a bad mood that your friends and family don't really want to be around you either. You can't expect your prospects to understand the type of day you've had so you put on a smile and keep calling, and keep calling, more calling, and calling...
Well, that's what it really looks like in a call center. If you've never had a call center job, you won't understand, but once you take that first job, these 5 points will come flooding back into your mind and you'll understand everything!
Telemarketing Jobs
Telemarketing sales is a great way to earn a large income at a home telemarketing job or call center. Working in a professional sales environment is key to earning lots of money. When working in a call center, nothing is more rewarding than making sales. The energy in a phone sales room is often very exciting.
But for those who have not mastered their telephone sales skills, it can be the worst experience of their life. Cold calling techniques, closing sales techniques, and professional selling skills are all very key factors when working in a call center or from a home phone sales job.
I remember my first day on the job many years ago. There were these top closers in their own offices making serious money with their telephone sales skills. I learned a lot of things from them. Telemarketing techniques that are not really taught in books or courses. The real deal! With good closing skills, even in this economy, there are great opportunities to excel and take home big money.
Many phone sales jobs offer telecommuting as a way to earn great income from a home telemarketing job. Refer to my article on telecommuting jobs for more information on the subject. Top telesales jobs in my opinion are: foreclosure sales, loan modifications, short-sales, investments and advertising. When you hone in on your telemarketing sales skills, you will be sure to make a lucrative income.
To recap, telesales is very lucrative. To make even more money, find a good home telemarketing job
But for those who have not mastered their telephone sales skills, it can be the worst experience of their life. Cold calling techniques, closing sales techniques, and professional selling skills are all very key factors when working in a call center or from a home phone sales job.
I remember my first day on the job many years ago. There were these top closers in their own offices making serious money with their telephone sales skills. I learned a lot of things from them. Telemarketing techniques that are not really taught in books or courses. The real deal! With good closing skills, even in this economy, there are great opportunities to excel and take home big money.
Many phone sales jobs offer telecommuting as a way to earn great income from a home telemarketing job. Refer to my article on telecommuting jobs for more information on the subject. Top telesales jobs in my opinion are: foreclosure sales, loan modifications, short-sales, investments and advertising. When you hone in on your telemarketing sales skills, you will be sure to make a lucrative income.
To recap, telesales is very lucrative. To make even more money, find a good home telemarketing job
Call Centre Coaching
Bill walks around the call center with all of the enthusiasm and charm of a meat inspector.
“How you doing?” he asks in a monotone. “It’s your turn, I guess.”
He has just invited a phone rep to a coaching session. Three calls will be played and Bill will share his evaluation of each one with the rep.
Spying his checklist Bill remarks, “You left out your close in this one.”
“But otherwise, it’s fine. You’re mostly staying on the presentation, and this is good. Any questions?”
And with that, another “deep and meaningful” coaching chat concludes.
What’s wrong with this picture?
At least 5 things are askew:
(1) The session is one way: Bill’s. He talks, you listen. This is no way to create a sense of mutuality of purpose or ownership of calls.
(2) Bill scored the call but the rep didn’t. Reps should be trained to score their own calls and then share responsibility for the conduct of and results of coaching sessions.
(3) For this to happen, so-called “quality checklists” must contain more than hollow terms. They need definitions. The phone phenomena that are discussed need to be defined objectively and behaviorally. For example, I’ve seen numerous score sheets that use the term, “sincerity.” This is a dumb category to begin with, because the link between someone sounding sincere and getting great customer results is tenuous, but more important how can Bill tell when someone is sincere? Is he omniscient, all-seeing, able to enter others’ hearts and souls at will? If we define sincerity objectively, however, as the rep’s VOICE behaving a certain way, doing certain things while avoiding others; or as a customer’s VOICE doing certain things or saying certain words, in response, we move onto more solid ground.
(4) There is no assurance Rep A will be coached the same way as Rep B. Fairness in interpreting and applying the checklist criteria isn’t audited or objectively defined or scored, either. Bill could punish Megan, but praise Audrey for doing exactly the same things, but his discrimination or favoritism would evade review and correction.
(5) Most recording and monitoring are done secretly. Reps should know exactly when they’re being observed. We want them at their best at all times, so when we tip them off they’re being scrutinized they try harder, showing themselves and others what they’re REALLY capable of doing. What could be better than that? It’s instant improvement.
Why don’t call centers enhance their coaching techniques? Every one I’ve encountered that remains stuck in the muck claims “We don’t have time to do a more thorough job!”
The same folks then prepare to waste their efforts on yet another generation of phone workers that will turn-over in short order.
They miss the point that a stitch in time saves nine.
Pay full attention to the people you have on board now, be fair and thorough in your evaluations, measuring the right things the right way, and you’ll go a long way toward remedying the turnover and underlying motivational problems that plague calls centers and the people who work in them.
“How you doing?” he asks in a monotone. “It’s your turn, I guess.”
He has just invited a phone rep to a coaching session. Three calls will be played and Bill will share his evaluation of each one with the rep.
Spying his checklist Bill remarks, “You left out your close in this one.”
“But otherwise, it’s fine. You’re mostly staying on the presentation, and this is good. Any questions?”
And with that, another “deep and meaningful” coaching chat concludes.
What’s wrong with this picture?
At least 5 things are askew:
(1) The session is one way: Bill’s. He talks, you listen. This is no way to create a sense of mutuality of purpose or ownership of calls.
(2) Bill scored the call but the rep didn’t. Reps should be trained to score their own calls and then share responsibility for the conduct of and results of coaching sessions.
(3) For this to happen, so-called “quality checklists” must contain more than hollow terms. They need definitions. The phone phenomena that are discussed need to be defined objectively and behaviorally. For example, I’ve seen numerous score sheets that use the term, “sincerity.” This is a dumb category to begin with, because the link between someone sounding sincere and getting great customer results is tenuous, but more important how can Bill tell when someone is sincere? Is he omniscient, all-seeing, able to enter others’ hearts and souls at will? If we define sincerity objectively, however, as the rep’s VOICE behaving a certain way, doing certain things while avoiding others; or as a customer’s VOICE doing certain things or saying certain words, in response, we move onto more solid ground.
(4) There is no assurance Rep A will be coached the same way as Rep B. Fairness in interpreting and applying the checklist criteria isn’t audited or objectively defined or scored, either. Bill could punish Megan, but praise Audrey for doing exactly the same things, but his discrimination or favoritism would evade review and correction.
(5) Most recording and monitoring are done secretly. Reps should know exactly when they’re being observed. We want them at their best at all times, so when we tip them off they’re being scrutinized they try harder, showing themselves and others what they’re REALLY capable of doing. What could be better than that? It’s instant improvement.
Why don’t call centers enhance their coaching techniques? Every one I’ve encountered that remains stuck in the muck claims “We don’t have time to do a more thorough job!”
The same folks then prepare to waste their efforts on yet another generation of phone workers that will turn-over in short order.
They miss the point that a stitch in time saves nine.
Pay full attention to the people you have on board now, be fair and thorough in your evaluations, measuring the right things the right way, and you’ll go a long way toward remedying the turnover and underlying motivational problems that plague calls centers and the people who work in them.
Telemarketing Turnover
A large metropolitan newspaper has a 300 seat call center.
Every 90 days, on average, it turns over every one of those seats. Its annual telemarketer turnover rate is 400%, costing an estimated six million dollars. Twelve hundred new people have to be recruited, trained, and terminated to enable this behemoth to simply keep going.
Internally, a large infrastructure of trainers and call monitors must be maintained, simply to service the demand for telephone-ready personnel. It is not in the interest of these people to tame the telemarketing turnover problem. It is this very problem that gives them ongoing employment and job security.
In fact, it serves their purpose to be incompetent, because if recruits are never sufficiently trained, they’ll be more likely to come and go, feeding this lumbering labor machine again, and again. The remainder of the human resources staff also benefits from the incessant recruiting, interviewing, and related start-up tasks involved in bringing new people aboard, purging them, and replacing them.
There is a simple solution to the turnover problem: double the pay of the telemarketers.
That’s what six million dollars could do, overnight. People will not willingly leave a much better paying job.
Yet, this is the last thing that a company of this kind would consider.
Why?
(1) It wouldn’t look good on the balance sheets. It is easier to justify large recruiting expenses, which appear temporary, than to have a higher, apparently permanent payroll. For a similar reason, outsourcing appears to the bean counters to be cheaper, though in reality it can be pricier than maintaining employees on your own books.
(2) There is a fundamental bias against paying telemarketers more money. Because many of them are young, old, students, single parents, handicapped, they seem marginal, and so they’re underpaid, under-rewarded. If you think I’m wrong, compare the pay of outside versus inside salespeople, and then try to logically justify the striking differences.
(3) There is the generalization in place that turnover and telemarketing simply go together: you can’t have one without the other. Yet when you ask, as I did the other day, a manager how long the average rep stays aboard, he’ll say one month. In the next breath, he’ll tell you that his best producers have been with him two and three years, respectively. Why are they making it, while others aren’t? Obviously, some people can do the job well, and like it.
(4) There is fear in management ranks that a bidding war for personnel will break out if one company pays above-average wages. This thinking is spurious. The money is already being spent, again on the lumbering labor machine. Higher pay simply redirects it, while staunching losses.
There are other ways to attack the turnover problem, including significantly better, professional training, and professional management. No matter how you slice it, these improvements also require redirected financial resources.
Telemarketing turnover can be tamed, and it will be, when senior management opens its eyes and starts to seriously address the problem.
Every 90 days, on average, it turns over every one of those seats. Its annual telemarketer turnover rate is 400%, costing an estimated six million dollars. Twelve hundred new people have to be recruited, trained, and terminated to enable this behemoth to simply keep going.
Internally, a large infrastructure of trainers and call monitors must be maintained, simply to service the demand for telephone-ready personnel. It is not in the interest of these people to tame the telemarketing turnover problem. It is this very problem that gives them ongoing employment and job security.
In fact, it serves their purpose to be incompetent, because if recruits are never sufficiently trained, they’ll be more likely to come and go, feeding this lumbering labor machine again, and again. The remainder of the human resources staff also benefits from the incessant recruiting, interviewing, and related start-up tasks involved in bringing new people aboard, purging them, and replacing them.
There is a simple solution to the turnover problem: double the pay of the telemarketers.
That’s what six million dollars could do, overnight. People will not willingly leave a much better paying job.
Yet, this is the last thing that a company of this kind would consider.
Why?
(1) It wouldn’t look good on the balance sheets. It is easier to justify large recruiting expenses, which appear temporary, than to have a higher, apparently permanent payroll. For a similar reason, outsourcing appears to the bean counters to be cheaper, though in reality it can be pricier than maintaining employees on your own books.
(2) There is a fundamental bias against paying telemarketers more money. Because many of them are young, old, students, single parents, handicapped, they seem marginal, and so they’re underpaid, under-rewarded. If you think I’m wrong, compare the pay of outside versus inside salespeople, and then try to logically justify the striking differences.
(3) There is the generalization in place that turnover and telemarketing simply go together: you can’t have one without the other. Yet when you ask, as I did the other day, a manager how long the average rep stays aboard, he’ll say one month. In the next breath, he’ll tell you that his best producers have been with him two and three years, respectively. Why are they making it, while others aren’t? Obviously, some people can do the job well, and like it.
(4) There is fear in management ranks that a bidding war for personnel will break out if one company pays above-average wages. This thinking is spurious. The money is already being spent, again on the lumbering labor machine. Higher pay simply redirects it, while staunching losses.
There are other ways to attack the turnover problem, including significantly better, professional training, and professional management. No matter how you slice it, these improvements also require redirected financial resources.
Telemarketing turnover can be tamed, and it will be, when senior management opens its eyes and starts to seriously address the problem.
Call Centre Jobs
If a company has a large number of customers, but doesn't have the capability to handle calls from those customers, they might contract a call center. These firms help with airline reservations, directory assistance, computer technical help, and other important customer service functions. They are generally staffed with both technically trained and non-technical employees, depending on the job needed. Many students apply for call center jobs because the schedules are flexible in most cases.
All call centers screen their employees, just as any other job would. If you're applying for a job at a call center and are nervous about the interview, you might be wondering what kind of questions you'll be asked. Following are the top 5 call center questions, and the best way to be prepared for them.
- "Tell us about you previous experience working for a call center. Describe how you helped the customers."
This question might arise in the middle of the interview, or at any other point during the process. It's important to review and consider your past work history before interviewing with the call center. Be prepared to describe highlights of any past call center work you've done, and describe any times when you've worked successfully with others. Call centers like to look for people they would consider team players. Be sure not to make up any exploits at previous jobs. It's important to always tell the truth in a job interview.
- "Are you proficient with different kinds of software? What kind of computer experience do you have?"
Internet telephony is common in most call centers. This kind of technology is less expensive than using a land line. Call centers also maintain computer databases of customers, and are concerned with your ability to rapidly learn to navigate and use such software. Log files must generally be created after each call, and most employees must also know such basic office software as MS Word, Excel, etc.
- Question number three isn't a spoken question, but rather the interest of your interviewer in how you conduct yourself. They will be judging you on your communication skills and grammar to see how you might interact with a customer on the phone. Remember to speak clearly and concisely. Choose your words carefully.
- "What does a call center mean to you?"
This seemingly harmless question is a way for your prospective employer to gauge how serious you are, and what your commitment to the job will be. This standard question should be replied to earnestly, and it's important not to give the impression that you are planning to leave as soon as a better opportunity comes along. Interviewers are usually looking for employees that will stay with the company for a long time and make a career out of their job.
- "What do you consider to be the important of teamwork?"
Employers tend to prefer people who like to work in a team. Loners have a lower chance of being hired. Be sure to let your interviewers know that you can work in a team without becoming stressed or hostile. Management books about the value of teamwork can help you find the words you need to express the value of teamwork in the workplace.
These top 5 call center interview questions are among those you might expect to hear when you're applying for a job. Technical jobs will have more questions on the technical subject, while non-technical jobs might focus more on teamwork and interpersonal interaction. Whichever job you're applying for, be sure to be prepared to answer these questions and be on the ball
All call centers screen their employees, just as any other job would. If you're applying for a job at a call center and are nervous about the interview, you might be wondering what kind of questions you'll be asked. Following are the top 5 call center questions, and the best way to be prepared for them.
- "Tell us about you previous experience working for a call center. Describe how you helped the customers."
This question might arise in the middle of the interview, or at any other point during the process. It's important to review and consider your past work history before interviewing with the call center. Be prepared to describe highlights of any past call center work you've done, and describe any times when you've worked successfully with others. Call centers like to look for people they would consider team players. Be sure not to make up any exploits at previous jobs. It's important to always tell the truth in a job interview.
- "Are you proficient with different kinds of software? What kind of computer experience do you have?"
Internet telephony is common in most call centers. This kind of technology is less expensive than using a land line. Call centers also maintain computer databases of customers, and are concerned with your ability to rapidly learn to navigate and use such software. Log files must generally be created after each call, and most employees must also know such basic office software as MS Word, Excel, etc.
- Question number three isn't a spoken question, but rather the interest of your interviewer in how you conduct yourself. They will be judging you on your communication skills and grammar to see how you might interact with a customer on the phone. Remember to speak clearly and concisely. Choose your words carefully.
- "What does a call center mean to you?"
This seemingly harmless question is a way for your prospective employer to gauge how serious you are, and what your commitment to the job will be. This standard question should be replied to earnestly, and it's important not to give the impression that you are planning to leave as soon as a better opportunity comes along. Interviewers are usually looking for employees that will stay with the company for a long time and make a career out of their job.
- "What do you consider to be the important of teamwork?"
Employers tend to prefer people who like to work in a team. Loners have a lower chance of being hired. Be sure to let your interviewers know that you can work in a team without becoming stressed or hostile. Management books about the value of teamwork can help you find the words you need to express the value of teamwork in the workplace.
These top 5 call center interview questions are among those you might expect to hear when you're applying for a job. Technical jobs will have more questions on the technical subject, while non-technical jobs might focus more on teamwork and interpersonal interaction. Whichever job you're applying for, be sure to be prepared to answer these questions and be on the ball
Work from home as a call centre operator
The number of work-from-home customer service operator job opportunities is on the rise all over the world. These jobs involve crossing language and time barriers as local agents for dedicated companies from home. They also enable companies to reduce attrition in customer service jobs and save precious money on office utilities and equipment. This, at the same time, enables the home based business-person to make a living from home. Remuneration is based on different basis amongst different companies. This may take the form of a pay per call remuneration package, a fixed monthly earning or even in the form of hourly wages.
The advantages of work-from-home customer service operator job opportunities include flexibility of work hours. This is advantageous especially if you are dealing with a new born or physically-handicapped family member. The job scope of a this job includes general call handling, providing technical support, and handling all customer queries on behalf of the company. All you need to get started are the following basic essentials:
• A computer, either a lap top or desk top
• Basic computer skills, use of the programs within the software loaded
• Internet connection for quick connectivity and messaging
• Connecting to the computer operating system/system that the company provides
• Dedicated Internet and email applications for assured communication of vital data
• A phone line for the home-based call centre
• Good communication skills that ensure success with every call
Many work-from-home customer service operator jobs are provided by companies who provide you with the essential tools. Many stress on the completion of a crash customer service training course. Your experience in customer support, help-desk or any customer service helps a lot. There are a number of companies that hire customer service operators who are home based. The employment sections of these websites are always filled with advertisements. When you choose to work in this field, you will be taking on job responsibilities that include taking care of customer queries as best as possible, on behalf of the company. You would have to dedicate a time and space within your home to fulfil the job's requirement each day. However, bear in mind that such job opportunities are many and have low barriers to entry, thus competition is stiff.
Resources that offer work-from-home customer service operator job opportunities include online and offline recruiting agencies and newspaper advertisements. It also pays to network extensively and research for the best remuneration. Work-from-home customer service operator jobs enable you to tap the potential of your natural skills while tending to family responsibilities. With a little research and social networking, you can get started immediately. It does pay to plan before beginning work. Being methodical and charted is the only way to ensure the success of your home business venture. It will also do you good to maintain a space within the home from where you can take care of your of work-from-home customer service operator job, as this ensures you greater ability to work productively without mixing work and home responsibilities.
The advantages of work-from-home customer service operator job opportunities include flexibility of work hours. This is advantageous especially if you are dealing with a new born or physically-handicapped family member. The job scope of a this job includes general call handling, providing technical support, and handling all customer queries on behalf of the company. All you need to get started are the following basic essentials:
• A computer, either a lap top or desk top
• Basic computer skills, use of the programs within the software loaded
• Internet connection for quick connectivity and messaging
• Connecting to the computer operating system/system that the company provides
• Dedicated Internet and email applications for assured communication of vital data
• A phone line for the home-based call centre
• Good communication skills that ensure success with every call
Many work-from-home customer service operator jobs are provided by companies who provide you with the essential tools. Many stress on the completion of a crash customer service training course. Your experience in customer support, help-desk or any customer service helps a lot. There are a number of companies that hire customer service operators who are home based. The employment sections of these websites are always filled with advertisements. When you choose to work in this field, you will be taking on job responsibilities that include taking care of customer queries as best as possible, on behalf of the company. You would have to dedicate a time and space within your home to fulfil the job's requirement each day. However, bear in mind that such job opportunities are many and have low barriers to entry, thus competition is stiff.
Resources that offer work-from-home customer service operator job opportunities include online and offline recruiting agencies and newspaper advertisements. It also pays to network extensively and research for the best remuneration. Work-from-home customer service operator jobs enable you to tap the potential of your natural skills while tending to family responsibilities. With a little research and social networking, you can get started immediately. It does pay to plan before beginning work. Being methodical and charted is the only way to ensure the success of your home business venture. It will also do you good to maintain a space within the home from where you can take care of your of work-from-home customer service operator job, as this ensures you greater ability to work productively without mixing work and home responsibilities.
Call Centre Stress !
So what are the least stressful jobs in this world? As you know millions of jobs can be stressful but the main ones that come to mind are working for a boss that wants you to do a million and one things in a short time scale. Or managing many people and working towards sales targets can be a very stressful job indeed.
I should know what are the least stressful jobs because I've had plenty of them in the past. The most stressful job I ever had was working in a call centre and I was managing a full flour of sales people. I think it was around 1000 people and I had to make sure all the sales targets were met every week. This job really got on top of me and I had enough of my boss breathing down my neck every ten minutes so I quit.
And I'm so glad I did quit because if I didn't quit when I did I wouldn't have this stress free lifestyle I lead today. Now I work from home and I'm my own boss, I work my own hours and do what I want when I want and the best thing is the moneys grate. I get paid 100 times more now than I did back then working in that stuffy call centre pulling my hair out every day.
I bet your probably thinking am I really qualified to give you advice about what are the least stressful jobs? Well to be honest anyone can tell you what the most stressful jobs are most people you know are probably working in one right now. The question you should be asking yourself right now is am I the person that can get you into a stress free job?
Well you'll be glad to know I can and yes I am qualified to do this. You see I run my own highly successful online internet business and it's allowed me to live a very nice stress free lifestyle one which I'm very proud of. And get this when you get to my level in this business its not even about the money any more. It's more about living life the way you want and doing the things you want when you want and still having money coming in at the same time.
For many people it's hard to believe that I get paid even when I don't work friends and family can't get there head around it. I get paid 24 hours a day regardless If work or not. Don't get me wrong I had to put a lot of work in to get to this stage but once the works done its done and all you have to do is keep an eye on things from time to time. Now that's what you call a stress free lifestyle wouldn't you agree?
As you can see I'm more than qualified to give you advice on what are the least stressful jobs. But more importantly I can show you how to avoid ever having to work in a stressful job again ever. I can show you how to work from home and live a stress free life and it doesn't matter if your 15 or 55 because age isn't and issue with this business.
Now I have your attention you probably want to know what this work from home business is all about right? Well to find out more you can go to my website and read all about how I started out in life and were I am today. Then if you would like to start this business for yourself the option for you to do that is there.
I should know what are the least stressful jobs because I've had plenty of them in the past. The most stressful job I ever had was working in a call centre and I was managing a full flour of sales people. I think it was around 1000 people and I had to make sure all the sales targets were met every week. This job really got on top of me and I had enough of my boss breathing down my neck every ten minutes so I quit.
And I'm so glad I did quit because if I didn't quit when I did I wouldn't have this stress free lifestyle I lead today. Now I work from home and I'm my own boss, I work my own hours and do what I want when I want and the best thing is the moneys grate. I get paid 100 times more now than I did back then working in that stuffy call centre pulling my hair out every day.
I bet your probably thinking am I really qualified to give you advice about what are the least stressful jobs? Well to be honest anyone can tell you what the most stressful jobs are most people you know are probably working in one right now. The question you should be asking yourself right now is am I the person that can get you into a stress free job?
Well you'll be glad to know I can and yes I am qualified to do this. You see I run my own highly successful online internet business and it's allowed me to live a very nice stress free lifestyle one which I'm very proud of. And get this when you get to my level in this business its not even about the money any more. It's more about living life the way you want and doing the things you want when you want and still having money coming in at the same time.
For many people it's hard to believe that I get paid even when I don't work friends and family can't get there head around it. I get paid 24 hours a day regardless If work or not. Don't get me wrong I had to put a lot of work in to get to this stage but once the works done its done and all you have to do is keep an eye on things from time to time. Now that's what you call a stress free lifestyle wouldn't you agree?
As you can see I'm more than qualified to give you advice on what are the least stressful jobs. But more importantly I can show you how to avoid ever having to work in a stressful job again ever. I can show you how to work from home and live a stress free life and it doesn't matter if your 15 or 55 because age isn't and issue with this business.
Now I have your attention you probably want to know what this work from home business is all about right? Well to find out more you can go to my website and read all about how I started out in life and were I am today. Then if you would like to start this business for yourself the option for you to do that is there.
Call Centre Jobs in Dubai
The call center industry has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, with many multinational companies outsourcing their customer service/contact functions to third parties located in other countries and regions all over the world, including the Middle East. This is called BPO or business process outsourcing, and the growth of this sector of the information technology industry includes call centre jobs in Dubai.
A few years ago there were labor disputes relating to salaries of call center agents working in Dubai, but conditions seem to have improved since then. If you browse the online job boards and the sites of international recruitment agencies, you'll see that there's no shortage of calls for applicants for call center positions in Dubai and elsewhere in the UAE. In fact, there have been reports that working in a call center can bring in an income of up to 8,000 dirhams a month - that's about USD2,000. Of course, not everyone who goes there to work as a customer contact employee can expect to earn that amount of money or salary immediately.
Nevertheless, it can be a novel and exciting experience - the combination of working for international companies in an always-evolving industry, using the latest and most high-tech telephony tools and software, interacting with other people from all over the world on a daily basis - in a city and country that's bustling with activity and replete with opportunities for career growth...all these and more can be offered by call center companies in Dubai to both locals and foreigners.
A few years ago there were labor disputes relating to salaries of call center agents working in Dubai, but conditions seem to have improved since then. If you browse the online job boards and the sites of international recruitment agencies, you'll see that there's no shortage of calls for applicants for call center positions in Dubai and elsewhere in the UAE. In fact, there have been reports that working in a call center can bring in an income of up to 8,000 dirhams a month - that's about USD2,000. Of course, not everyone who goes there to work as a customer contact employee can expect to earn that amount of money or salary immediately.
Nevertheless, it can be a novel and exciting experience - the combination of working for international companies in an always-evolving industry, using the latest and most high-tech telephony tools and software, interacting with other people from all over the world on a daily basis - in a city and country that's bustling with activity and replete with opportunities for career growth...all these and more can be offered by call center companies in Dubai to both locals and foreigners.
The Basics of Telesales
Telesales personnel are a growing number across the world in an ever-widening range of fields from Insurance, Double-Glazing and Healthcare, to Advertising, Building, Manufacturing, and National and Regional Newspapers. And the list becomes more and more extensive. Even Charities now employ Telesales personnel to increase donations.
Across the UK and internationally, many companies exist solely to contact people via the telephone, with contracts from a number of businesses. At a conservative estimate, there are many tens of thousands of full and part-time personnel engaged in the Telesales industry in the UK alone. Each of these wants to earn good commission, (because the basic wage is generally low). Turnover of personnel is high because of ‘burn out’ due to insufficient training.
• As fuel costs increase, on-the-road sales personnel become fewer. Telephone costs, however, are coming down in cost regularly, with more options available from the independent telephone companies.
• Postage costs remain prohibitive for the many, and e-commerce does not.
allow for person-to-person contact. Telephone contact is the viable option.
• Every individual Telephone sales person wants to earn more money.
• Managers and Telesales personnel alike want to highlight the skills and techniques of effective telesales management.
So what are the basics of effective telesales and how do you get them applied in your telesales department?
Openers
Very early on in the telephone conversation, your personnel will have created one of two effects: Interest or resistance. And it’s one or the other. Most callers can create a resistance almost immediately, bringing an early close to the telephone call and a sense of loss to the caller. Listen. Nobody is sitting in their office just waiting for your telesales department to call. Most often, the person you’re calling is busy, and has little time to speak on the telephone. How often are you ready and available to answer the telephone – nothing else happening, sitting comfortably and nothing else to do? The chances are that if those circumstances fit you too often, your P45 won’t be too long coming also. Those first moments of telephone communication are vital and all-important. Here’s a good procedure for telesales personnel:
• Introduce themselves and their organisation.
• Make a statement that stimulates interest and creates a curiosity, about some benefit the prospective client could gain from the telephone call.
• Ask appropriate questions in order to get the other person involved in a conversation. Then listen and respond with more questions – appropriate ones. Tell them that in order to deliver the potential benefit, you need to get information. Here are examples; "My name is Roger Aspen, with Apex marketing. We specialise in generating business for our clients at the same time as lowering their marketing costs. I've got a few ideas I'd like to discuss to see if this would be of any value to you and your company”. Or: "This is Sophie Grierson with Cleanways UK. I'm calling because we may be able to cut your expenses for the exact same cleaning items you're now buying. To determine this, I'd like to find out what you're using for . . . "
Get your telesales personnel to put themselves in the position of the person hearing it, and ask: “would you want to hear more if you were the buyer?” “Would you set aside whatever you were doing and participate in the call? If not, they need to work out a new approach along the same lines. The opening line must say as much as possible, with as few words as possible - that’s an interesting exercise in itself. By appealing to the prospective clients’ desire to gain, or his fear of losing something, will you cause them to spend productive time with you, and eventually buy from you.
Telephone image.
Others form an image of the way we are by our telephone manner. Try it for yourself. The next time you receive a telephone call from someone you don’t know, grab a piece of paper and a pen, and note down the positive and negative images of the other person which form in your mind as the conversation progresses. How does this affect any decisions you have to make about this person or their company? Image is all-important. Tone of voice, manner of speaking, the words we choose, all instantly position us in the recipients’ mind and cause judgements to be made of which we are unaware. Listen to yourself on the telephone. How do you rate telephone-image-wise? Have your telesales personnel do this as an exercise. It is very revealing! Anyone who works with words and voice, actors, speakers, musicians, - all listen to how they sound, because they know it is so vital.
Make time to review
Many telesales personnel make one call after another, as if there is a record to be broken. Many telesales and telemarketing companies give their personnel targets to achieve (100 calls an hour in some cases). To me, these companies have given up on true professional telesales. It has become ‘just a numbers game’ to them, so possibly this does not apply to them…. My advice here about reviewing your last call is intended for the telesales manager and caller who wants to get it as right as he or she can. If you were unsuccessful in your last call, if the potential client put the telephone down on you without ‘giving you a chance’, ask yourself – Why? What on earth did I do wrong there? Review the call - What did I like about this call? What would I have done differently on this call? Don’t think your personnel haven’t the time to do this on every call. You can't afford not to.
Preparation
Take the time to know something about the company you’re calling, and where your product or service would fit in with the likely needs and wants of that company. Prepare in advance the questions you will need to get answered in order to further qualify your potential customer.
Listening
Success on the ‘phone does not mean dominating the conversation. Listening experts say that most of us do not listen most of the time. Often, this is because we are so busy thinking about what WE are going to say next. Work on listening skills. This is very easy, and goes like this: Close mouth. Listen. Keep mouth closed. Keep listening.
The Receptionist
The Receptionist is there to receive people and telephone calls. That’s what she is paid for. Acknowledge this to yourself. Make friends with them. Don’t be in such a mad rush to get to the ‘main man’ that you intimidate them or ‘push their buttons’ into stopping you dead. To get to your buyers, all you need to do is help Receptionists to do their job, which is to protect their boss’s time from wasteful callers. "We're happy with who we're buying from." Says the Receptionist. “Well, I have some ideas that have helped other people in your industry cut down on their advertising expenses while generating more sales. I'd like to ask Mr./Mrs. Roberts a few questions to see if this could apply here also…”. Make friends with the Receptionist. She can often be of great assistance, so get her on your side. She knows what you want, but remember, you’re not paying her wages….
Sending literature
"Send me literature" can be a legitimate sign of interest. Often, it is not. Literature will never do your companies selling for you, most often it will never be read, even when it has been requested. Good quality literature will only ever be a compliment to the sales skills of your personnel. So sending literature is often just another way of deferring hearing ‘no’ from the prospective client. Have your people become more willing to hear the word ‘no’ and cut your overheads even more by not wasting literature
Questioning
Instead of having a list of features and benefits you're intent on presenting, take all your benefits and write them down the side of a piece of paper. Then draw two columns down the page to the right of the words. Label the first column "Needs Filled/ problems Solved." Then for each benefit write out what need or problem the corresponding benefit satisfies. Label the right-hand column "Questions to Ask." For each need or problem write a question that would determine whether that situation existed. Use these questions during your call. Make sure you don't present what you "think" is a benefit until you've confirmed it by asking the corresponding questions. Use questions. Find out.
Objections - legitimate or illegitimate?
Many objections are created by the Salesperson not qualifying well enough in the first place. An objection is usually defined as ‘the customer’s reason for not buying’. Many times, the customer has just not been qualified as a correct prospect for this particular product or service. Poor qualification of prospects will always equal a lot of objections and lots of failed sales. When a potential client does come up with objections, they may not be real to your telesales people, but to that potential client, they are very real. Contrary to many books and sales training courses, objections to buying your product are not always surmountable. It may be an inappropriate product or service; the client may genuinely not be in a position to purchase if he has a limited budget. Most of all, he may not really want your product or service. Why not? The best thing to do with genuine objections is to talk them through with the potential customer. If the product or service is genuinely not for that person at this time, it will become glaringly obvious. If you continue to advise your sales people that ‘all objections can be overcome’ then sooner or later, they will become disaffected from you and the company. Why? Because many objections are legitimate objections that place the potential client out of reach of your product or service for the time being. Recognise it.
Ask for the order
‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get’. It’s an old saying, but so often true, particularly in business. Your salespeople want an order? Ask for it. They want a definite date on which to call again? Ask for it. Want to know exactly who will be making the decision? Ask. Find out. When will this person be available? Ask the question. Don't waffle, get the information you need, get the order if that's what the call is about. You can’t have the order? Well, when can we have an order? May we telephone you on that date? What then, would be a good time? Ask the question and get the answer.
Professionalism in sales is for all salespeople, not just the Field Salesman. It is brought about by really caring about doing it right, finding out why, when things don’t work, and wanting to sell appropriate products or services to people and companies who really want or need them. This is achievable over the telephone. Telesales can be as professional as the rest, nurture it!
Across the UK and internationally, many companies exist solely to contact people via the telephone, with contracts from a number of businesses. At a conservative estimate, there are many tens of thousands of full and part-time personnel engaged in the Telesales industry in the UK alone. Each of these wants to earn good commission, (because the basic wage is generally low). Turnover of personnel is high because of ‘burn out’ due to insufficient training.
• As fuel costs increase, on-the-road sales personnel become fewer. Telephone costs, however, are coming down in cost regularly, with more options available from the independent telephone companies.
• Postage costs remain prohibitive for the many, and e-commerce does not.
allow for person-to-person contact. Telephone contact is the viable option.
• Every individual Telephone sales person wants to earn more money.
• Managers and Telesales personnel alike want to highlight the skills and techniques of effective telesales management.
So what are the basics of effective telesales and how do you get them applied in your telesales department?
Openers
Very early on in the telephone conversation, your personnel will have created one of two effects: Interest or resistance. And it’s one or the other. Most callers can create a resistance almost immediately, bringing an early close to the telephone call and a sense of loss to the caller. Listen. Nobody is sitting in their office just waiting for your telesales department to call. Most often, the person you’re calling is busy, and has little time to speak on the telephone. How often are you ready and available to answer the telephone – nothing else happening, sitting comfortably and nothing else to do? The chances are that if those circumstances fit you too often, your P45 won’t be too long coming also. Those first moments of telephone communication are vital and all-important. Here’s a good procedure for telesales personnel:
• Introduce themselves and their organisation.
• Make a statement that stimulates interest and creates a curiosity, about some benefit the prospective client could gain from the telephone call.
• Ask appropriate questions in order to get the other person involved in a conversation. Then listen and respond with more questions – appropriate ones. Tell them that in order to deliver the potential benefit, you need to get information. Here are examples; "My name is Roger Aspen, with Apex marketing. We specialise in generating business for our clients at the same time as lowering their marketing costs. I've got a few ideas I'd like to discuss to see if this would be of any value to you and your company”. Or: "This is Sophie Grierson with Cleanways UK. I'm calling because we may be able to cut your expenses for the exact same cleaning items you're now buying. To determine this, I'd like to find out what you're using for . . . "
Get your telesales personnel to put themselves in the position of the person hearing it, and ask: “would you want to hear more if you were the buyer?” “Would you set aside whatever you were doing and participate in the call? If not, they need to work out a new approach along the same lines. The opening line must say as much as possible, with as few words as possible - that’s an interesting exercise in itself. By appealing to the prospective clients’ desire to gain, or his fear of losing something, will you cause them to spend productive time with you, and eventually buy from you.
Telephone image.
Others form an image of the way we are by our telephone manner. Try it for yourself. The next time you receive a telephone call from someone you don’t know, grab a piece of paper and a pen, and note down the positive and negative images of the other person which form in your mind as the conversation progresses. How does this affect any decisions you have to make about this person or their company? Image is all-important. Tone of voice, manner of speaking, the words we choose, all instantly position us in the recipients’ mind and cause judgements to be made of which we are unaware. Listen to yourself on the telephone. How do you rate telephone-image-wise? Have your telesales personnel do this as an exercise. It is very revealing! Anyone who works with words and voice, actors, speakers, musicians, - all listen to how they sound, because they know it is so vital.
Make time to review
Many telesales personnel make one call after another, as if there is a record to be broken. Many telesales and telemarketing companies give their personnel targets to achieve (100 calls an hour in some cases). To me, these companies have given up on true professional telesales. It has become ‘just a numbers game’ to them, so possibly this does not apply to them…. My advice here about reviewing your last call is intended for the telesales manager and caller who wants to get it as right as he or she can. If you were unsuccessful in your last call, if the potential client put the telephone down on you without ‘giving you a chance’, ask yourself – Why? What on earth did I do wrong there? Review the call - What did I like about this call? What would I have done differently on this call? Don’t think your personnel haven’t the time to do this on every call. You can't afford not to.
Preparation
Take the time to know something about the company you’re calling, and where your product or service would fit in with the likely needs and wants of that company. Prepare in advance the questions you will need to get answered in order to further qualify your potential customer.
Listening
Success on the ‘phone does not mean dominating the conversation. Listening experts say that most of us do not listen most of the time. Often, this is because we are so busy thinking about what WE are going to say next. Work on listening skills. This is very easy, and goes like this: Close mouth. Listen. Keep mouth closed. Keep listening.
The Receptionist
The Receptionist is there to receive people and telephone calls. That’s what she is paid for. Acknowledge this to yourself. Make friends with them. Don’t be in such a mad rush to get to the ‘main man’ that you intimidate them or ‘push their buttons’ into stopping you dead. To get to your buyers, all you need to do is help Receptionists to do their job, which is to protect their boss’s time from wasteful callers. "We're happy with who we're buying from." Says the Receptionist. “Well, I have some ideas that have helped other people in your industry cut down on their advertising expenses while generating more sales. I'd like to ask Mr./Mrs. Roberts a few questions to see if this could apply here also…”. Make friends with the Receptionist. She can often be of great assistance, so get her on your side. She knows what you want, but remember, you’re not paying her wages….
Sending literature
"Send me literature" can be a legitimate sign of interest. Often, it is not. Literature will never do your companies selling for you, most often it will never be read, even when it has been requested. Good quality literature will only ever be a compliment to the sales skills of your personnel. So sending literature is often just another way of deferring hearing ‘no’ from the prospective client. Have your people become more willing to hear the word ‘no’ and cut your overheads even more by not wasting literature
Questioning
Instead of having a list of features and benefits you're intent on presenting, take all your benefits and write them down the side of a piece of paper. Then draw two columns down the page to the right of the words. Label the first column "Needs Filled/ problems Solved." Then for each benefit write out what need or problem the corresponding benefit satisfies. Label the right-hand column "Questions to Ask." For each need or problem write a question that would determine whether that situation existed. Use these questions during your call. Make sure you don't present what you "think" is a benefit until you've confirmed it by asking the corresponding questions. Use questions. Find out.
Objections - legitimate or illegitimate?
Many objections are created by the Salesperson not qualifying well enough in the first place. An objection is usually defined as ‘the customer’s reason for not buying’. Many times, the customer has just not been qualified as a correct prospect for this particular product or service. Poor qualification of prospects will always equal a lot of objections and lots of failed sales. When a potential client does come up with objections, they may not be real to your telesales people, but to that potential client, they are very real. Contrary to many books and sales training courses, objections to buying your product are not always surmountable. It may be an inappropriate product or service; the client may genuinely not be in a position to purchase if he has a limited budget. Most of all, he may not really want your product or service. Why not? The best thing to do with genuine objections is to talk them through with the potential customer. If the product or service is genuinely not for that person at this time, it will become glaringly obvious. If you continue to advise your sales people that ‘all objections can be overcome’ then sooner or later, they will become disaffected from you and the company. Why? Because many objections are legitimate objections that place the potential client out of reach of your product or service for the time being. Recognise it.
Ask for the order
‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get’. It’s an old saying, but so often true, particularly in business. Your salespeople want an order? Ask for it. They want a definite date on which to call again? Ask for it. Want to know exactly who will be making the decision? Ask. Find out. When will this person be available? Ask the question. Don't waffle, get the information you need, get the order if that's what the call is about. You can’t have the order? Well, when can we have an order? May we telephone you on that date? What then, would be a good time? Ask the question and get the answer.
Professionalism in sales is for all salespeople, not just the Field Salesman. It is brought about by really caring about doing it right, finding out why, when things don’t work, and wanting to sell appropriate products or services to people and companies who really want or need them. This is achievable over the telephone. Telesales can be as professional as the rest, nurture it!
Questioning Techniques
Questioning techniques are an important subject in telemarketing. Questioning is effective because it enables you to guide the conversation, find out vital information to close the sale and create rapport while checking your prospect's level of interest. Here are some dynamic questioning techniques you can instantly apply to telemarketing to be more effective and compelling in your conversation with your prospect.
Technique 1: Information Gathering
This is the most important reason why we question. When you sell on the phone, you need to gain vital information needed to close the sale. For instance, let's say you were teleselling computers to a large corporate account. You want to find out what their price range is for expenditure. You can ask: "What was your IT expenditure like for the previous year?
Technique 2: Clarify Information
When you receive information, you would sometimes need to clarify it with your prospect. Use who, what, when, where, why or how in questioning. This is important because you might sometimes misinterpret what is said.
Technique 3: Check level of understanding and interest
Through your conversation with your prospect, you need to see whether he comprehends what you said. This can be especially true when you are discussing something technical, you need to make sure what you say is understood.
For instance: "From the Inco Terms I just described, do you think this would be suitable for your department?" You also need to find out his level of interest in your offering, so you can fine tune your message to address what is more relevant to him e.g. "What are your thoughts on what we have just discussed?"
Techniques 4: Determine buying behaviour
You need to get an idea to how your prospect would like to buy from you. Is he honest and straightforward, or tends to keep his cards close to him? How decisive is he? Does he tend to be more spontaneous in decision making or more thorough and methodical? Different people have different strategies, so you need to adapt your strategy to theirs.
Technique 5: Gain Participation
When you sell on the phone, you can't see the person. And if you proceed with a product dump i.e. just reciting the benefits of your product, there is a high chance his attention would drift and he would think of something else. You need to ensure he participates in your conversation. There are two advantages, first, people always like to have their views heard. Secondly, you get to learn more about your prospect.
This always helps to improve rapport and understanding between you and him, building better relationships in the process e.g. let's say you were talking halfway and he got interrupted on his mobile, you can say: "Wow, you're quite busy, it's amazing you get so much done in a day?" Giving positive strokes by asking the right questions and you will help smoothen out your interactions.
Technique 6: Increase Receptivity to Your Idea
Here is a common observation, it is said that people like your idea more if it feels like it came from them. That means when discussing things with your prospect, try to make sure he has the opportunity to tell you that things need to be done better, then you telling him. For instance, let's say you were selling insurance on the phone and your prospect had not got his own travel insurance. Ask: "You are on a frequent flier program and you travel outstation every month, do you think you could be at a higher risk then others?"
These are 6 powerful questioning techniques you can use to be more effective and compelling in your telephone sales, implement all of these and you would find exciting improvements to your results
Technique 1: Information Gathering
This is the most important reason why we question. When you sell on the phone, you need to gain vital information needed to close the sale. For instance, let's say you were teleselling computers to a large corporate account. You want to find out what their price range is for expenditure. You can ask: "What was your IT expenditure like for the previous year?
Technique 2: Clarify Information
When you receive information, you would sometimes need to clarify it with your prospect. Use who, what, when, where, why or how in questioning. This is important because you might sometimes misinterpret what is said.
Technique 3: Check level of understanding and interest
Through your conversation with your prospect, you need to see whether he comprehends what you said. This can be especially true when you are discussing something technical, you need to make sure what you say is understood.
For instance: "From the Inco Terms I just described, do you think this would be suitable for your department?" You also need to find out his level of interest in your offering, so you can fine tune your message to address what is more relevant to him e.g. "What are your thoughts on what we have just discussed?"
Techniques 4: Determine buying behaviour
You need to get an idea to how your prospect would like to buy from you. Is he honest and straightforward, or tends to keep his cards close to him? How decisive is he? Does he tend to be more spontaneous in decision making or more thorough and methodical? Different people have different strategies, so you need to adapt your strategy to theirs.
Technique 5: Gain Participation
When you sell on the phone, you can't see the person. And if you proceed with a product dump i.e. just reciting the benefits of your product, there is a high chance his attention would drift and he would think of something else. You need to ensure he participates in your conversation. There are two advantages, first, people always like to have their views heard. Secondly, you get to learn more about your prospect.
This always helps to improve rapport and understanding between you and him, building better relationships in the process e.g. let's say you were talking halfway and he got interrupted on his mobile, you can say: "Wow, you're quite busy, it's amazing you get so much done in a day?" Giving positive strokes by asking the right questions and you will help smoothen out your interactions.
Technique 6: Increase Receptivity to Your Idea
Here is a common observation, it is said that people like your idea more if it feels like it came from them. That means when discussing things with your prospect, try to make sure he has the opportunity to tell you that things need to be done better, then you telling him. For instance, let's say you were selling insurance on the phone and your prospect had not got his own travel insurance. Ask: "You are on a frequent flier program and you travel outstation every month, do you think you could be at a higher risk then others?"
These are 6 powerful questioning techniques you can use to be more effective and compelling in your telephone sales, implement all of these and you would find exciting improvements to your results
Telesales Tactics
In business to consumer telesales, the sales volume or conversion rates of your agents can make all of the difference to your businesses success. If everyone in the team can get one more sale per day that could make the difference between huge profitability and just getting by. To ensure the former, it's not good enough for management to have entrepreneurism at their core. Your sales team must have it too.
Product Knowledge
It's all well and good to teach your staff about the difference between benefits and features, but unless they understand your product they'll always have a long way to go. Much of this obligation falls on you, their employer. Make sure they have full product knowledge so that they can answer with confidence any questions they may face.
Track Performance and Reward Success
Businesses often advertise that they look for entrepreneurism as a key characteristic of their staff. If that's engrained within your employees, then motivate them by offering them incentives. Pay a basic wage plus high commissions based on gross profit earned, revenue generated or a commission per sale.
Another great way to unleash entrepreneurism within your employees isn't just to pay them for success, but to make it clear who's the best too. Competition breeds success, and if your staff have the right attitude, it will motivate them more than the just the potential to earn extra commission. Make people aware of how they compare to others for their sales figures.
Protect Your Brand
Entrepreneurism and motivation are great when it comes to getting sales, but they can often have the opposite result on how your brand is perceived. Over-eager sales people could put too much pressure on customers, become too frustrated when customers won't part with their cash, and give customers misleading information to entice them to do business with you.
Monitor Incoming Calls
Tell your agents what is acceptable, and what is not. Record their calls if you have any suspicions but make it clear that you listen to them and inform the caller using an automated message right at the beginning. The more they think they are being watched, and the more they are aware of the consequences of not following the rules the better the chances are that they will treat your potential customers with respect. However, try to give your agents a second chance when things go wrong and resolve any conflicts before they get out of hand.
Getting the Close with Integrity
Customers love to discuss things with their partner, find out how you compare, and think things over. These are all fine and well for the customers, but they do nothing more than slow your business down and limit your businesses potential for success. In reality, how many of these customers will get back in touch? That shouldn't be a risk you are willing to take. Encourage your agents to ask for the sale before the customer has a chance to start dithering.
Don't under estimate the drive of your sales force; make sure you encourage their competitive spirit and reward them when they perform
Product Knowledge
It's all well and good to teach your staff about the difference between benefits and features, but unless they understand your product they'll always have a long way to go. Much of this obligation falls on you, their employer. Make sure they have full product knowledge so that they can answer with confidence any questions they may face.
Track Performance and Reward Success
Businesses often advertise that they look for entrepreneurism as a key characteristic of their staff. If that's engrained within your employees, then motivate them by offering them incentives. Pay a basic wage plus high commissions based on gross profit earned, revenue generated or a commission per sale.
Another great way to unleash entrepreneurism within your employees isn't just to pay them for success, but to make it clear who's the best too. Competition breeds success, and if your staff have the right attitude, it will motivate them more than the just the potential to earn extra commission. Make people aware of how they compare to others for their sales figures.
Protect Your Brand
Entrepreneurism and motivation are great when it comes to getting sales, but they can often have the opposite result on how your brand is perceived. Over-eager sales people could put too much pressure on customers, become too frustrated when customers won't part with their cash, and give customers misleading information to entice them to do business with you.
Monitor Incoming Calls
Tell your agents what is acceptable, and what is not. Record their calls if you have any suspicions but make it clear that you listen to them and inform the caller using an automated message right at the beginning. The more they think they are being watched, and the more they are aware of the consequences of not following the rules the better the chances are that they will treat your potential customers with respect. However, try to give your agents a second chance when things go wrong and resolve any conflicts before they get out of hand.
Getting the Close with Integrity
Customers love to discuss things with their partner, find out how you compare, and think things over. These are all fine and well for the customers, but they do nothing more than slow your business down and limit your businesses potential for success. In reality, how many of these customers will get back in touch? That shouldn't be a risk you are willing to take. Encourage your agents to ask for the sale before the customer has a chance to start dithering.
Don't under estimate the drive of your sales force; make sure you encourage their competitive spirit and reward them when they perform
Telesales Manager
In graduate school, along with college teaching, I held down some part-time tele-sales jobs, enabling me to eat well, drive a sports car, and have a lot more fun than a lot of my academic peers.
One telemarketing place was owned by a couple of bodybuilders.
Looking at them, you just felt they were going to deter most misconduct that telemarketers would think of getting into.
I’m not saying all tele-managers should be able to bench press more than three hundred pounds.
But you do need to be tough, because tele-sales people, especially those you’ll find in major urban areas, will test your mettle, time and again.
Specifically:
(1) Managers or supervisors need to “own” the space in which their people are selling, walking down aisles, standing next to desks, dispensing coaching tips here and there as much as is necessary. Weak managers won’t spend enough face time in the selling environment. They’ll be cowering in corner offices, every chance they get.
(2) Managers need to compel compliance with rules and regulations. Do you remember Arnold in the movie, “Kindergarten Cop”? He blew a whistle to get the attention of his distracted little ones. You need to do something similar.
(3) It’s a pain to have to correct people when they stray from selling scripts, but no pain means no gain! EVERY SINGLE TIME PEOPLE STRAY THEY MUST BE GUIDED BACK TO THE PATH. This takes strength, commitment, fortitude, and yes, toughness to do, day in and day out.
(4) Managers need to fire people, fast. There is no such thing in a successful unit as giving people a month or two to prove themselves. A day or two is about right.
(5) Managers need to be vocal, outgoing leaders and motivators. Sales meetings need to take place frequently, and they should be upbeat, energetic exercises.
This job isn’t for the laid-back individual who wants to “retire on active duty.” It’s only for the tough, believe me!
One telemarketing place was owned by a couple of bodybuilders.
Looking at them, you just felt they were going to deter most misconduct that telemarketers would think of getting into.
I’m not saying all tele-managers should be able to bench press more than three hundred pounds.
But you do need to be tough, because tele-sales people, especially those you’ll find in major urban areas, will test your mettle, time and again.
Specifically:
(1) Managers or supervisors need to “own” the space in which their people are selling, walking down aisles, standing next to desks, dispensing coaching tips here and there as much as is necessary. Weak managers won’t spend enough face time in the selling environment. They’ll be cowering in corner offices, every chance they get.
(2) Managers need to compel compliance with rules and regulations. Do you remember Arnold in the movie, “Kindergarten Cop”? He blew a whistle to get the attention of his distracted little ones. You need to do something similar.
(3) It’s a pain to have to correct people when they stray from selling scripts, but no pain means no gain! EVERY SINGLE TIME PEOPLE STRAY THEY MUST BE GUIDED BACK TO THE PATH. This takes strength, commitment, fortitude, and yes, toughness to do, day in and day out.
(4) Managers need to fire people, fast. There is no such thing in a successful unit as giving people a month or two to prove themselves. A day or two is about right.
(5) Managers need to be vocal, outgoing leaders and motivators. Sales meetings need to take place frequently, and they should be upbeat, energetic exercises.
This job isn’t for the laid-back individual who wants to “retire on active duty.” It’s only for the tough, believe me!
Telesales & Telemarketing
Many companies laugh off the idea of using inside sales or telemarketing professionals in order to generate leads or close business over the phone. Yet the biggest companies and the best in class firms across just about every industry are using that as part of their arsenal in order to accelerate their sales and drive their growth. It’s a lot more efficient to deploy inside sales people and telemarketing professionals than it is to use outside field sales professionals for the same function.
Often, there’s a big gap between marketing and lead generation programs and field sales people that can only be filled by inside sales or telemarketing professionals. Companies use telesales & telemarketing in a variety of ways: Perhaps, they are doing lead generation qualification or they’re following up on leads that are coming from marketing programs. Or, they are actually performing inside sales functions and closing deals over the phone. There’s also a hybrid model which is commonly used by companies to qualify opportunities, close deals that can be done over the phone, and then pass larger relationship based sales opportunities out to the field sales force.
If you’re thinking about deploying a field sales function or adding to your field sales force, think first about how you can use inside sales or telemarketing go to boost your sales efficiency at a lower level of cost. Once you’ve decided to deploy inside or telemarketing sales professionals, it’s really critical that you bring in the right outside consulting or outsourcing capabilities to set up the function in the absence of having your own experience in this area. An outsourced telesales or pipeline development consultant can bring you a myriad of experience which will have a huge impact on your ability to actually be successful when deploying this capability.
Many companies have tried and failed at telesales and telemarketing efforts because they lack the experience and the management acumen to fine tune telemarketing and telesales programs for success. It’s absolutely critical that you think about acquiring the management skill that goes with hiring the bodies to actually do the phone work. A good telesales and telemarketing professional or consultant will come in and help you to determine the message, the approach, the target, the unique selling proposition the call flow and the script, all of the essential elements to be used in order to train your telesales and telemarketing individuals.
A good consultant also will help you recruit and hire the best telesales and telemarketing professionals for your company…which is not an easy task because there are many people who are not capable of this kind of job. If you’re considering deploying additional sales resources think about telesales and telemarketing and bringing in an outside resource to help you with that goal.
Often, there’s a big gap between marketing and lead generation programs and field sales people that can only be filled by inside sales or telemarketing professionals. Companies use telesales & telemarketing in a variety of ways: Perhaps, they are doing lead generation qualification or they’re following up on leads that are coming from marketing programs. Or, they are actually performing inside sales functions and closing deals over the phone. There’s also a hybrid model which is commonly used by companies to qualify opportunities, close deals that can be done over the phone, and then pass larger relationship based sales opportunities out to the field sales force.
If you’re thinking about deploying a field sales function or adding to your field sales force, think first about how you can use inside sales or telemarketing go to boost your sales efficiency at a lower level of cost. Once you’ve decided to deploy inside or telemarketing sales professionals, it’s really critical that you bring in the right outside consulting or outsourcing capabilities to set up the function in the absence of having your own experience in this area. An outsourced telesales or pipeline development consultant can bring you a myriad of experience which will have a huge impact on your ability to actually be successful when deploying this capability.
Many companies have tried and failed at telesales and telemarketing efforts because they lack the experience and the management acumen to fine tune telemarketing and telesales programs for success. It’s absolutely critical that you think about acquiring the management skill that goes with hiring the bodies to actually do the phone work. A good telesales and telemarketing professional or consultant will come in and help you to determine the message, the approach, the target, the unique selling proposition the call flow and the script, all of the essential elements to be used in order to train your telesales and telemarketing individuals.
A good consultant also will help you recruit and hire the best telesales and telemarketing professionals for your company…which is not an easy task because there are many people who are not capable of this kind of job. If you’re considering deploying additional sales resources think about telesales and telemarketing and bringing in an outside resource to help you with that goal.
The Role of Telesales
Telesales operators sell goods or services over the phone. They sell home insurance, media advertising space, gas and electricity and a wide range of other products.
The work involves spending the day on the phone, calling potential customers. They may use a script to ensure they give accurate information, but also need strong customer service skills to recognise potential sales opportunities or obstacles.
Telesales operators may:
describe the product benefits and special offers
take an order and arrange for delivery of goods
enter notes into a computer, including dates for follow-up calls
read out or explain any 'small print', such as a customer's right to return a product or the standards under which the company operates.
The work can be very intensive and operators may have a set number of calls to complete within a given time.
Salaries for telesales operators range from around £11,000 to £24,000 or more a year. Commission on sales can increase basic salaries considerably.
Telesales operators work a variety of hours and shift patterns, depending on the company they work for. Part-time jobs are also widely available.
Telesales operators usually work in an office or open-plan call centre, although some work from home. They spend most of the day sitting at a screen and wear headsets.
A telesales operator needs:
excellent communication and listening skills
to be persuasive and quick to see an opportunity
to be happy working in a competitive, target-driven atmosphere
to enjoy working with customers and building relationships.
There are job opportunities for telesales operators throughout the UK. Vacancies are usually advertised on recruitment agency and company websites and in the press.
There are no set entry requirements and no age limits. An aptitude for sales and a positive, customer-friendly attitude are often more important. Employers may ask for some GCSE/S grades (A*-C/1-3) or equivalent though and ability with computers is an advantage. Apprenticeships may be offered by some of the larger contact centres.
Training is usually provided in-house. It may include an induction period, with role- playing exercises in a simulated environment, before making calls to actual customers.
There is also a range of qualifications to help telesales operators develop their skills and progress.
Successful telesales operators can earn more with higher commission and by moving into better-paid jobs. Larger organisations offer more opportunities for promotion to team leader or sales management roles. The skills involved in telephone selling can be sought after in other areas of work, such as customer service, complaints handling, buying, marketing or training.
The work involves spending the day on the phone, calling potential customers. They may use a script to ensure they give accurate information, but also need strong customer service skills to recognise potential sales opportunities or obstacles.
Telesales operators may:
describe the product benefits and special offers
take an order and arrange for delivery of goods
enter notes into a computer, including dates for follow-up calls
read out or explain any 'small print', such as a customer's right to return a product or the standards under which the company operates.
The work can be very intensive and operators may have a set number of calls to complete within a given time.
Salaries for telesales operators range from around £11,000 to £24,000 or more a year. Commission on sales can increase basic salaries considerably.
Telesales operators work a variety of hours and shift patterns, depending on the company they work for. Part-time jobs are also widely available.
Telesales operators usually work in an office or open-plan call centre, although some work from home. They spend most of the day sitting at a screen and wear headsets.
A telesales operator needs:
excellent communication and listening skills
to be persuasive and quick to see an opportunity
to be happy working in a competitive, target-driven atmosphere
to enjoy working with customers and building relationships.
There are job opportunities for telesales operators throughout the UK. Vacancies are usually advertised on recruitment agency and company websites and in the press.
There are no set entry requirements and no age limits. An aptitude for sales and a positive, customer-friendly attitude are often more important. Employers may ask for some GCSE/S grades (A*-C/1-3) or equivalent though and ability with computers is an advantage. Apprenticeships may be offered by some of the larger contact centres.
Training is usually provided in-house. It may include an induction period, with role- playing exercises in a simulated environment, before making calls to actual customers.
There is also a range of qualifications to help telesales operators develop their skills and progress.
Successful telesales operators can earn more with higher commission and by moving into better-paid jobs. Larger organisations offer more opportunities for promotion to team leader or sales management roles. The skills involved in telephone selling can be sought after in other areas of work, such as customer service, complaints handling, buying, marketing or training.
Contact Centre Operator
A contact centre (or call centre) operator communicates with customers or clients by telephone, email or over the internet.
Depending on where they work, an operator's responsibilities may include:
logging each call, and taking notes as they talk to the customers
taking customers through a security process to access their personal information
advising whether products are in stock and giving estimated delivery dates
resolving problems, possibly of a technical nature or regarding service delivery
proactively phoning customers to promote or sell a product or a service
providing information or guidance.
A contact centre operator works between 37 and 40 hours a week. In some organisations they may have to work a shift pattern to provide 24-hour cover. The role is office-based, typically in a busy open-plan environment. It involves long periods of sitting at a workstation with a monitor and computer.
Salaries may range from around £13,500 to more than £25,000 a year.
A contact centre operator should be:
good at dealing with people and communicating
organised and efficient
comfortable working to targets, often in a stressful environment
able to work on their own
able to pay attention to detail
interested in providing a good level of customer service.
In the UK, there are over 5,000 contact centres, employing more than 500,000 people. Contact centre operators work in various sectors, including finance and banking, IT and telecoms, retail and distribution, outsourcing and telemarketing, utilities, travel and transport, and the NHS and emergency services.
There are no set entry qualifications, although employers are likely to ask for five GCSEs/S grades (A-C/1-3), including English and maths. Customer service experience is beneficial. A number of courses in contact centre techniques are available at colleges throughout the UK. Apprenticeships may be available.
Training is normally on the job. Contact centre operators may be able to work towards NVQs/SVQs in Call Handling Operations at Level 2 and 3, Supervisory Call Handling at Level 3 and Managing Call Handling at Level 4.
To progress in their career, some contact centre operators may decide to move to a larger organisation or change industry sectors. With experience, it might be possible to gain promotion to team leader, supervisor or manager. There may be opportunities to move into related areas, such as training, human resources, marketing or sales.
Depending on where they work, an operator's responsibilities may include:
logging each call, and taking notes as they talk to the customers
taking customers through a security process to access their personal information
advising whether products are in stock and giving estimated delivery dates
resolving problems, possibly of a technical nature or regarding service delivery
proactively phoning customers to promote or sell a product or a service
providing information or guidance.
A contact centre operator works between 37 and 40 hours a week. In some organisations they may have to work a shift pattern to provide 24-hour cover. The role is office-based, typically in a busy open-plan environment. It involves long periods of sitting at a workstation with a monitor and computer.
Salaries may range from around £13,500 to more than £25,000 a year.
A contact centre operator should be:
good at dealing with people and communicating
organised and efficient
comfortable working to targets, often in a stressful environment
able to work on their own
able to pay attention to detail
interested in providing a good level of customer service.
In the UK, there are over 5,000 contact centres, employing more than 500,000 people. Contact centre operators work in various sectors, including finance and banking, IT and telecoms, retail and distribution, outsourcing and telemarketing, utilities, travel and transport, and the NHS and emergency services.
There are no set entry qualifications, although employers are likely to ask for five GCSEs/S grades (A-C/1-3), including English and maths. Customer service experience is beneficial. A number of courses in contact centre techniques are available at colleges throughout the UK. Apprenticeships may be available.
Training is normally on the job. Contact centre operators may be able to work towards NVQs/SVQs in Call Handling Operations at Level 2 and 3, Supervisory Call Handling at Level 3 and Managing Call Handling at Level 4.
To progress in their career, some contact centre operators may decide to move to a larger organisation or change industry sectors. With experience, it might be possible to gain promotion to team leader, supervisor or manager. There may be opportunities to move into related areas, such as training, human resources, marketing or sales.
Call Centre Sales Jobs
Domestic telesales call centers are designed with an energized elevator pitch to engage a potential buyer to make a transactional sale. Amidst the frustration many businesses have with the onslaught of these call center inquiries, lies an underlying truth: A majority of buyers of business products/services are inefficient at their job, not able to buy competitively, lack the technology to create visibility in their supply chains or provide tools for enhancing their own deliverable value in distribution and sales.
On the street sales forces are a dying breed, falling victim to commoditized offerings, inefficient territories, high salaries, benefits, car expenses and effectiveness. Manufacturers/distributors are realizing that they must engage a business process outsource for those functions that are not a core competency. The business of moving products use to be considered a necessary evil, with a transportation industry that regulated rates, full of unique jargon and process complexities. The average business has 3-5% in transportation costs so targeting for savings has been a low priority. This has changed as an attainable 30% savings impact in trans spend equates to 1% profit improvement in the balance sheet. This can longer be ignored.
Today's executive suite understand the critical links of raw material purchasing, inventory velocity, modal flexibility in distribution of goods for internal as well as external client needs makes for a competitively advantaged supply chain. This requires an expertise that they cannot afford to leverage on their own. Since the majority of Fortune 500 companies have already outsourced their transportation management to third party concerns, one wonders why small to mid size companies have been slow to react when they buy so poorly and are so competitively challenged.
Transportation third parties, usually through a brokerage arm, have developed centralized telesales call centers to leverage competitive transportation options with technology and dedicated support that the majority of distributors can only dream of attaining on there own.
Effective call centers for transportation brokerage have the following qualities:
-Visibility of measurable guaranteed savings, web based technology and dedicated support teams.
-Employees with ongoing training in product knowledge value and addressing client needs.
-Sales leadership, not management. No multiple layers of number chasers or cronies.
-Focus on employee development, from overcoming objections, openness to ideas and suggestions to increasing deliverable value and meeting client needs.
-A call center culture of collaboration and development, with mentors rather than task master bosses.
-Career pathing that includes how to move up, or on to other companies and experiences.
The trend for transportation outsourcing and brokerage for distribution of products will accelerate as more senior leaders understand they are unable to manage transportation on their own. As transportation management brokers mature in developing professional call centers there will be greater efficiencies in transport asset capacity and therefore additional savings. The days of shipping traffic managers and asset based trucking sales representatives are fading. Brokers with the most progressive tele-sale call centers will lead the way for real savings, inventory visibility and supply chains leveraged for real business growth.
On the street sales forces are a dying breed, falling victim to commoditized offerings, inefficient territories, high salaries, benefits, car expenses and effectiveness. Manufacturers/distributors are realizing that they must engage a business process outsource for those functions that are not a core competency. The business of moving products use to be considered a necessary evil, with a transportation industry that regulated rates, full of unique jargon and process complexities. The average business has 3-5% in transportation costs so targeting for savings has been a low priority. This has changed as an attainable 30% savings impact in trans spend equates to 1% profit improvement in the balance sheet. This can longer be ignored.
Today's executive suite understand the critical links of raw material purchasing, inventory velocity, modal flexibility in distribution of goods for internal as well as external client needs makes for a competitively advantaged supply chain. This requires an expertise that they cannot afford to leverage on their own. Since the majority of Fortune 500 companies have already outsourced their transportation management to third party concerns, one wonders why small to mid size companies have been slow to react when they buy so poorly and are so competitively challenged.
Transportation third parties, usually through a brokerage arm, have developed centralized telesales call centers to leverage competitive transportation options with technology and dedicated support that the majority of distributors can only dream of attaining on there own.
Effective call centers for transportation brokerage have the following qualities:
-Visibility of measurable guaranteed savings, web based technology and dedicated support teams.
-Employees with ongoing training in product knowledge value and addressing client needs.
-Sales leadership, not management. No multiple layers of number chasers or cronies.
-Focus on employee development, from overcoming objections, openness to ideas and suggestions to increasing deliverable value and meeting client needs.
-A call center culture of collaboration and development, with mentors rather than task master bosses.
-Career pathing that includes how to move up, or on to other companies and experiences.
The trend for transportation outsourcing and brokerage for distribution of products will accelerate as more senior leaders understand they are unable to manage transportation on their own. As transportation management brokers mature in developing professional call centers there will be greater efficiencies in transport asset capacity and therefore additional savings. The days of shipping traffic managers and asset based trucking sales representatives are fading. Brokers with the most progressive tele-sale call centers will lead the way for real savings, inventory visibility and supply chains leveraged for real business growth.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Call Centre/Telesales
Telesales operators sell goods or services over the phone. They sell home insurance, media advertising space, gas and electricity and a wide range of other products.
The work involves spending the day on the phone, calling potential customers. They may use a script to ensure they give accurate information, but also need strong customer service skills to recognise potential sales opportunities or obstacles.
Telesales operators may:
describe the product benefits and special offers
take an order and arrange for delivery of goods
enter notes into a computer, including dates for follow-up calls
read out or explain any 'small print', such as a customer's right to return a product or the standards under which the company operates.
The work can be very intensive and operators may have a set number of calls to complete within a given time.
Salaries for telesales operators range from around £11,000 to £24,000 or more a year. Commission on sales can increase basic salaries considerably.
Telesales operators work a variety of hours and shift patterns, depending on the company they work for. Part-time jobs are also widely available.
Telesales operators usually work in an office or open-plan call centre, although some work from home. They spend most of the day sitting at a screen and wear headsets.
A telesales operator needs:
excellent communication and listening skills
to be persuasive and quick to see an opportunity
to be happy working in a competitive, target-driven atmosphere
to enjoy working with customers and building relationships.
There are job opportunities for telesales operators throughout the UK. Vacancies are usually advertised on recruitment agency and company websites and in the press.
There are no set entry requirements and no age limits. An aptitude for sales and a positive, customer-friendly attitude are often more important. Employers may ask for some GCSE/S grades (A*-C/1-3) or equivalent though and ability with computers is an advantage. Apprenticeships may be offered by some of the larger contact centres.
Training is usually provided in-house. It may include an induction period, with role- playing exercises in a simulated environment, before making calls to actual customers.
There is also a range of qualifications to help telesales operators develop their skills and progress.
Successful telesales operators can earn more with higher commission and by moving into better-paid jobs. Larger organisations offer more opportunities for promotion to team leader or sales management roles. The skills involved in telephone selling can be sought after in other areas of work, such as customer service, complaints handling, buying, marketing or training
The work involves spending the day on the phone, calling potential customers. They may use a script to ensure they give accurate information, but also need strong customer service skills to recognise potential sales opportunities or obstacles.
Telesales operators may:
describe the product benefits and special offers
take an order and arrange for delivery of goods
enter notes into a computer, including dates for follow-up calls
read out or explain any 'small print', such as a customer's right to return a product or the standards under which the company operates.
The work can be very intensive and operators may have a set number of calls to complete within a given time.
Salaries for telesales operators range from around £11,000 to £24,000 or more a year. Commission on sales can increase basic salaries considerably.
Telesales operators work a variety of hours and shift patterns, depending on the company they work for. Part-time jobs are also widely available.
Telesales operators usually work in an office or open-plan call centre, although some work from home. They spend most of the day sitting at a screen and wear headsets.
A telesales operator needs:
excellent communication and listening skills
to be persuasive and quick to see an opportunity
to be happy working in a competitive, target-driven atmosphere
to enjoy working with customers and building relationships.
There are job opportunities for telesales operators throughout the UK. Vacancies are usually advertised on recruitment agency and company websites and in the press.
There are no set entry requirements and no age limits. An aptitude for sales and a positive, customer-friendly attitude are often more important. Employers may ask for some GCSE/S grades (A*-C/1-3) or equivalent though and ability with computers is an advantage. Apprenticeships may be offered by some of the larger contact centres.
Training is usually provided in-house. It may include an induction period, with role- playing exercises in a simulated environment, before making calls to actual customers.
There is also a range of qualifications to help telesales operators develop their skills and progress.
Successful telesales operators can earn more with higher commission and by moving into better-paid jobs. Larger organisations offer more opportunities for promotion to team leader or sales management roles. The skills involved in telephone selling can be sought after in other areas of work, such as customer service, complaints handling, buying, marketing or training
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