Customer Service Techniques
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Brandon Walker provides 6 customer service techniques that can be used for your call center agents to improve their customer service skills
By Brandon Walker
When dealing with any customer always remember the golden rule that it is a good opportunity for your company to make an impression by providing that person with a sense of personal satisfaction. My research has clearly shown that successful businesses and organisations make every effort to deliver what the customer wants by applying a number of key customer services techniques
The following are six significant techniques that will assist in making your customers feel important and attract them to want to deal with your business.
1. How to build rapport and trust
Providing helpful advice and friendly service helps to build a rapport and trust. An excellent technique to use is to connect the customer in conversation by giving your name and asking theirs as this indicates you are interested in them and what they are looking for. Always be polite, ask appropriate questions and show interest in what is being said as this will help the customer to develop confidence in you.
2. How to communicate
Most customers will know what they want although some may be unsure on where to look or find what they have come for. Your responsibility is to help by assisting them to get what they want. The best customer service technique most businesses follow is to ask relevant questions and importantly to listen as this will help you to assist the consumer. A happy customer will keep in mind the obliging service provided and will return and tell other people about your business.
3. How to help the confused consumer
Sometimes it’s not humanly possible to provide what your customer wants. In such situations it is important to know everything there is to know about the products or services your business has to offer. A good customer service technique some businesses use is to look out for consumers wandering around looking lost and confused. By approaching and offering to help, the customer will be grateful and appreciative for the service and attention you have given.
4. How to provide exceptional customer service
It is easy for successful businesses to become complacent and be lulled into a false sense of security when turnover figures are up. Being complacent can provide the competition with an opportunity to be more productive. To counter this a good effective customer service technique is to introduce staff training programmes so staff can be equipped to provide exceptional service through effective communication, client rapport, phone management and handling difficult customers. Investing in role playing type training programmes is one of the most successful methods businesses use to convey to staff what type of service to the consumer is expected and necessary if a business is to survive.
5. Thanking the customer
Always ensure the customer is genuinely thanked before they leave. This simple gesture is important because most people generally like to be appreciated and know that you are grateful for their business. Also ask the customer if there is anything else you can do as this could result in repeat business.
6. Following up
A very effective customer service technique used by businesses today is to offer generous warranties and discounts on goods and services to loyal consumers (some businesses provide loyalty cards that offer discounts). If a customer has a problem with a product always offer advice and try to fix it or provide a solution. Following up with after sales service through Email, phone or letter is another technique that helps to earn loyalty and adds a nice personal touch.
Brandon has been involved with customer relations and interaction with customers for many years now. To find more informative articles and resources about customer service visit his site goodcustomerservice.org
The Advantages and Disadvantages of a Call Center at Home
Ling Tong
More and more people are looking for a way to avoid having to drive to work in the rush hour traffic every day. More and more people are looking for a way to spend more quality time with the families. There is now a solution to all your problems; you can work from home with a call center at home. This is similar to the traditional call center except for the fact that you are working at home instead of in a large office building.
The questions remains why would anyone want to work at call center in their very own home. The answer is simple? comfort and flexibility. Also, this is a great work option for someone is unable to travel to and from work due to a disability. This allows them to earn an income from their very own homes. Companies also feel that there is an improvement in the quality of work done by employees who are given the chance to work at home. It has been proven that people work better and more efficiently when they are away from noisy stressful office settings. This is what every employer is looking for.
There are a number of American companies that are allowing their employees to work from home, one of which is the IRS. IRS employees can handle thousands of calls a day from their home office. There are also a number of companies who are considering telecommunicating as an option. However, it is not a simple task to change to this format. Companies need to research and find out if their employees would be able to handle the amount of work that would be required from them at home.
Not everyone feels that this is a great way to employ people. There are millions of people that travel back and forth to work each day and would not consider working from home. There are also a number of disabled people who make to work. Many people are worried that soon all employers would see home call centers as the best way to employ disabled people. These people worry that they would be shunted to the side and not permitted to work in a regular office setting.
One of the leading companies in the Unites States today in the area of home-based employment is Alpine Access. The people who are working for this firm are proud to be members of the Alpine group. They feel passionate about what they do and work hard to make their customers very happy. This is because they are working from the comfort of their own home and they are avoiding the stresses that are associated with working in an office all day long. In addition to providing a quality work setting Alpine offers their employees a competitive salary and great benefits.
The Alpine company was founded in 1998 and it was based on the idea that instead of brining people to work, let bring the work to them. This enabled Alpine to pick and choose the best employees they could find from across the country. Not only is the employee getting flexibility so is the employer.
For more information on how to start a call center at home,call center stress and other call center consultant related topics; visit http://www.CallCenterConsultant.net
Effective Sales Training Begins by Defining Your Desired Results
Please read Tommy Smith’s article on effective sales training and let us know through our comment section if you have tried anything similar at your Call Center and what your results were. We are always looking for feedback.
Tommy Smith
Before you can begin to effectively train your sales team, you must first comprehend what you are trying to accomplish. You need to know exactly where your numbers are, and where you want them to be. If you are going to truly understand your figures, you need to know where they have been, and where they are projected to be. If there is a trend, this is where you need to modify things. Start by making a list.
For example, you review your last 5 years of sales, and every year in September, your profits plummet. Every year in April, they sky rocket. What is the cause, what are the main differences in these two times? You can definitely say that there needs to be an extra emphasis on September. Now you will need to look at why September is not as successful. Number one on your list is "September".
Under September there should be smaller subcategories. These would entail the things you presume to be the issue. Next to each item is a projected resolution. This list will then serve as an outline when reviewing your desired results. Be sure to keep this list in order of importance. Priority is a must.
You have now determined one of your main desired results is increasing profits in September. Look at your sales staff, when is the last time they were "pumped up". The best way to get your team motivated is to motivate them. If you want your training to be effective, make it fun, not as though they have been under performing. By utilizing a list you can mentally or physically cross off each item as you have resolved it. Do not however, assume that because you believe you have a solution that it will be the correct one. If you have to retrain your sales force in 6 months, this list is a great reference. What worked, what didn’t? This will help you to obtain your weaknesses.
Keep your goals realistic. You cannot set personal or professional goals that are unobtainable. You are setting yourself and your team up for failure. Write these down also, this way when you meet or exceed your goal, it gets crossed off. Your lists may in turn look similar, but they are different. The desired results list will contain how to reach your goal; the goal list will contain what the specific goal is. In order to get to a point, you don’t need to know only what that point is, but also how to get there.
By creating these lists, it allows you to take a step-by-step approach to your desired results. You can visibly see where you are, and where you need to be. This is a business "map" to show you how to get to your desired results. If the training is not effective in a certain situation, circle it in red, you now know there is a problem. Try a new solution, or reference someone who specializes solely in that particular aspect. This way you are not paying someone for unnecessary knowledge. Most importantly, reward your team when they obtain one of your goals. It will make them strive to achieve the rest.
Tommy Smith is the lead content writer about sales training. To find out who is Americas Greatest Sales Trainer check out this site.
Dealing With Call Center Stress
Ling Tong
Everyday call center workers have to deal with angry and upset customers and this often causes them a great deal of stress. It cannot be easy having to try to talk to someone who is yelling at you and who doesn seem to understand what you are trying to tell them. If it wasn’t for the fact that they would probably lose their job the call center work would probably hang up on the customer. But there are ways that people can deal with call center stress and angry customers.
The first thing you need to think about is how the customer is feeling. You are the first person that an angry customer talks to when calling in to deal with a problem or a concern. You are the first person that they are confronting and until they have had time to express their concerns they are going be angry. It is important that you stay calm and that you try to understand their point of view and try to see where the person is coming from. Just remember that they are not angry at you personally and try not to take it that way.
You need to remember that in the call center business that the customer is always right. You need to use your great inter-personal skills and deal with the customer as patiently and as calmly as you can. Your goal is to ensure that your customer is one hundred percent satisfied.
There are times when the customer can make you angry and you might want to argue back but it is very important that you do not argue back. Remember that two wrongs don make a right and just because the customer is arguing and getting mad it does not give the right to argue back. When dealing with an angry customer you need to try to calm the irate customer as best you can. Be patient and understand that once the customer has had a chance to tell their side of the story they may calm down.
The most important thing is to remember that you when you leave work you need to leave everything that happened that day behind you at the office. Do not take anything that was said to you over the phone home with you. Go home and relax and take care of yourself. It is important to de-stress from time to time. Even if you are working long days you need to take a break from the telephone from time to time and take a walk or grab a cup of coffee. This will allow you to remove yourself from your work for just a little bit. If you are sitting at your desk all day dealing with customers you are going to get stressed for sure.
Put yourself in the customer shoes while they are on the phone. Think about how you would feel if you were experiencing the same problem as the customer. Would you be upset and what would you expect from the call center agent. This is sure to help keep the situation as less stressful as possible.
