Call Center Work
Call Center Work
Call centers are a fast growing area in today’s economy
While most call center work is customer service based, a large element of it also involves sales too. A person interested in call center work should be aware that it is a large and diverse field, with multitudes of employers throughout the economy hiring for call center roles over a wide spectrum of industries
Call center work consists of two main types, inbound and outbound call taking
Inbound call center work is almost always customer service based.
This will involve you assisting customers phoning in with their problems or queries, and in many instances will involve an element of sales too.
(In inbound call taking, sales is not the persistent hard selling thought of in the stereotypical aggressive sense that is sometimes practiced in other types of other industries. Instead, it is normally based around sales with service. This will be in instances where you assist a customer with their issue first, and then introduce a product or offer after your customer’s query has been resolved. Or, in instances where a customer phones in directly to enquire about a product or service)
The other main type is outbound call center work.
Outbound call center work tends to be largely focused on sales, and will usually involve you calling customers, or prospective customers, with a view to promoting your employers products or services. On top of this, it can also involve an element of customer service too, (especially in roles where you are phoning customers back at their request in aftercare service roles). Although in some instances it can be better paid than inbound call center work, outbound call making is generally considered to be more challenging, as you are normally required to make sales quotas and customers tend to be less receptive to your approaches overall
Most call center work revolves around two main areas:
Customer service and sales
Employers are looking for people with strong customer service and sales backgrounds. Anyone new to this field should keep that in mind. For more information about customer service, please see the customer service section.
In particular, for any well-paid outbound role, the interviewer would be reluctant to put forward someone with no prior outbound call-center or sales experience as these roles can be very demanding, and a good interviewer understands how challenging this side of the job can be:
A typical call center worker might be expected to make or receive dozens of calls each day
This is a typical example of how a call inbound, or outbound, conversation might go
- ‘Good morning/ afternoon, this is (company name), my name is (your name), how may I help you?’
– The customer then states what their reason for calling is
- ‘Thanks for explaining, I’ll be happy to look into that for you. Can I have your name, address, and account number please?’
– In this is the part of the call you will engage the customer, try and build rapport with them, and investigate the query or issue so you can resolve it successfully for them. Normally, before you know it, you’ve soon reached the end of the call
- ‘It’s been lovely talking with you today. I’ve done A,B and C for you. Now, before you go, can I interest you in/ is there anything else I can do for you…’
(Actively selling on the call may be part of your duties in many instances too)
- Recap on what has happened during the call with the customer
- Ask if there’s anything else you can do for them
- End the call