Call Center Work
The difference between Call Centers and Contact Centers
Although similar, there is a very distinct but important difference between the work that call centers and contact centers perform. While similar sets of skills are required for each, in their most basic form, call centers are primarily concerned with telephony-based communication, and therein the fundamental difference lies. While a call center is concerned mainly with telephony-based communications only, a contact center on the other hand is a facility where a variety of communications are used to correspond with and assist its customers base. This includes methods such as telephone, fax, letter, online chat, and email. A contact center is also much better placed to provide helpdesk services, in addition to the customer services and sales work it does. Overall, while contact centers provide a much more comprehensive set of services, call centers still tend to be the predominately favoured method of contact by employers due to the efficiency and cost-effectiveness they provide
In terms of interviewing for roles in this line of work, interviewers are normally highly receptive to people with call center experience looking to transition over into a contact center role, or vice-versa. People with call center experience have a very similar skill set to those working in contact centers, with the exception that additional office skills may sometimes be required when transitioning into a contact center role – for example, as you will be conversing with customers through a variety of different mediums including emails and webchat, the employer may look for you to be able to type at a certain rate of words per minute. There may also be additional emphasis placed on time management skills as you will be required to divide your time between your customers as you converse with them over a variety of different mediums
On the whole, while contact center work can be slightly more challenging, the upshot is that there is normally slightly less pressure on the sales side of things as contact center roles tend to be more customer service orientated
Advice for webchat
- One of the first things you should always do is get the customer’s name and use it constantly during the webchat. Doing so will make the exchange seem much more personalized and friendly to the customer, and will increase your chances of landing a sale
- The best chat technique is to post web chats no longer than a couple of lines at a time, (whether it’s a paragraph or an entire page), that way your customer has less to read all at one time, and it helps keeps your customers attention focused on what you’re telling them
- It is not good to handle both a phone call and a webchat at the time. A phone call normally requires your full attention, that’s why you should do one or the other, but never both
- If it’s in line with your company’s policy, another good practice is to offer your customer an alternative to webchat. At times where the chat is getting very difficult or technical, if you need additional time to check something, or you feel it would be easier for either yourself or the customer to convey information via a different medium, offering them an alternative such as phone or email is regarded as a highly professional way of dealing with your customers when conversing via webchat
- Try to keep long stretches with no responses to a minimal
Qualities sought after in call center/ contact center roles
– Teamwork
– Extravertive
– Ambitious
– Professionals who can adapt their approach
Outbound call center work
Some people find they are more at ease and have a much more relaxed and confident manner when they are speaking on the telephone, which is great. You’ll need that confidence as you could be speaking with dozens of different people each day…
The main qualities you’ll need for outbound call center work are resilience and perseverance. You may be calling people when they are in the middle of eating dinner, you may be calling them when they are at home relaxing. It will be your job to engage with people in these kinds of situations and get on good terms with them so you can persuade them to buy from you. People may be irritable. You may be hung up on! That’s why the sales side of an outbound call center role can be so very challenging. Your interviewer will be looking for evidence that you understand and can cope with this
One of the most important things you’ll need when doing outbound call making is the ability to build rapport with people. This is essential, and it’s why people with outgoing personalities are more likely to be hired in this line of work. It’s also why if you are able to demonstrate to the interviewer that you are talkative and can build rapport with others, it will drastically increase your chances landing the role. Unfortunately, this is a skill that cannot really be taught. However, if you’re unsure, or nervous about how to build rapport when trying to sell to a customer, a good tactic is to always ask lots of questions. Ask what their favourite service is, and why they use that product or service, ask questions unrelated to the sale itself, such as what their favourite sports team, or favourite leisure activity is – anything you can do to make conversation and find some common ground with your prospective customer
Inbound call center work
The main skills you will need for an inbound call center position are a good telephone manner, customer service experience, and strong I.T skills. Generally, when you compare inbound and outbound call center roles, you’ll find with inbound call center work that the people you’re dealing with will be much more amenable as they’re the ones contacting you. Again, some people find that they can be a lot more relaxed and confident when they are dealing with people over the phone, which is good because you may be speaking with dozens of different people each day, and you’ll need to be able to maintain a pleasant and professional telephone manner when conversing with them throughout the course of it
Call center sales
Whenever it comes to sales, you need to be persistent as well discerning
Whether you’re doing inbound call center work, outbound cold calling, or marketing and telesales work, you’ll need to try and build rapport while at the same time using your own common sense to tell you whether the customer is genuinely interested or not
Always be polite and courteous. Thank the person for their time even if they decline your offer
Tips for success
- A good way to get yourself relaxed on the phone is to pretend you’re having a face-to-face meeting and talk to your customers in that same relaxed manner
- If you’re using an ordinary phone to make your calls, keep the receiver in your hand, and when you finish, hang up by pressing the dial tone button. This will keep you focused on your work and help you avoid taking short ‘mini breaks’ inbetween calls
- First call resolution is a term you may come across in call center/ contact center work and it means dealing with and resolving the customers needs properly the first time you speak with them, so that the customer doesn’t have to follow up with a second call or contact. Try and use terminology like this during your interview
- On the application, or during the interview, they may want to know whether you think there are any situations where you shouldn’t try to sell your companies products or services to a customer. And the answer to that should always be YES, particularly if you’re interviewing for a job in a regulated industry
- When it comes to talking about sales, it’s always a useful tactic to emphasize your ability to be able to adapt your approach when dealing with different types of people
Notes/ History
Most people use or hear the terms telemarketing and telesales being used synonymously. But they are actually separate terms
Telemarketing – Involves speaking to people over the phone and trying to bring about a sales meeting
e.g. have you thought about getting a new study
Telesales – Involves speaking to people over the phone and trying to obtain a direct sale
A call center is a centralised office equipped for the facilitation of making or receiving a large volume of calls. Inbound call center work, where you will predominately receive calls, is generally operated for product support or customer service, and to provide payment services for customers
Outbound call center work, where you will predominately make calls, is largely operated for telesales or telemarketing, alongside aftercare and support services where the customer specifically requests a callback
A contact center is a centralised office that handles inbound or outbound services through multiple modes of communication including not only telephone, but online support, e-mail, letter and fax