It is a business’s objective to grow and succeed. Hence, having successful inbound call center agents is a must. Call center agents are very essential to the business. They can also make or break it. That is why, it is very important that business process outsourcing companies who front lines inbound call center agents must be able to earnestly train and add in knowledge to them.
To date, there are many ways to evaluate if an agent is successful with the job or not. There are KPI’s or Key Performance Indicators and metrics that call centers tend to follow. A good example for this one would be AHT or Average Handling Time that measures the average amount of time spent by the agents on each of their calls. This is however just the tip of the iceberg.
In order to be become a successful inbound call center agent, this involves a lot of work and dedication. As such, here are tips to get you started.
Tip #1: Knowledge and Mastery. A successful inbound call center agent has the knowledge and mastery of his or her account. He or she can be able to answer just about any inquiry from the customer. After all, clients call because of concerns that they would want addressed. Hence, they are expecting that the first person they would talk to would be someone who can help fix it for them. And the only way to fulfill that would be the agent knowing the ins and outs of the product or service and literally mastering every inch of detail in relation to the product or service.
Tip #2: Communication. One important aspect of being a successful inbound call center agent would be the ability to effectively communicate. That is why, there’s always a phone test for every interested applicant. With this, call centers can be able to gauge your communication skills over the phone. Effective communication is very important. As much as possible, the agent must be able to relay information to the customer in the easiest manner possible. They must also be able to convey the message across. Highfalutin jargon is a big no in any call center conversation.
Tip #3: Openness and friendliness. Inbound call center agents are always greeted with customers who are angry or filled with questions in line with the product or service. After all, they would want their problems addressed right then and there. It is very important then for the agent to pacify the customer and guarantee that they would help in solving it. No matter how angry the customers would be, the agents must be able to maintain tone and composure throughout the call. They must not clash with the customer at all. Plus they must always speak in a tone that is both open and friendly.
Tip #4: Efficiency. A successful inbound call center agent must be able to solve concerns quickly and efficiently. However, this must also be not at the expense of the quality of the call. At least, they must be able to balance out efficiency and quality. And the only way to do this would be to master tip #1. Most importantly solve problems but not in way that will come out as hurried and quick.
Being successful inbound call center agents would need time and effort. After all, this cannot be mastered overnight. There might be a skill that you are currently good at however mixing it together would need constant practice and reminder. If you happen to have call center agents in your belt, it would be best that you get to check these tips and find ways to hone and improve. Remember, your business is only as good as your agents.
