Bullying customers to extract money and sell your products or services is not what an outbound call centre should preach. Once a marketing guru said, “Timid salesman have skinny kids.” That does not mean agents will start bullying their customers. There are rules to follow and regulations to monitor; importantly, call centre agents must be precisely trained to respect both negative and positive decisions of a customer.
Here, are 8 tips to establish a successful outbound communication.
1. Know your objectives
Before making an outbound call to your customer be sure about your objectives. Plan it out accordingly, if you have to collect an email address for a small or medium based industry, you must have the potential to extract it from the very beginning of your conversation. An organization does not want an agent who makes creepy sounds like ummm…., aaa…. to take a pause.
2. Scripts to achieve your objectives
When you are done with planning your objectives create a small script to attain your objectives. Try to keep your script flexible i.e. make changes here and there. If you are stuck to some rigid scripted work your tone might sound like a robotic chaos. A small script guides you through your first call in case you forget or get stuck in the middle of the conversation. It is a myth that scripted outbound calling does not work. Although do not over-rehearse to the point where you sound like SIRI.
3. Slow and clear wins the race
Every outbound call centre has one thing in common, they train their agent to speak slowly and clearly. Rushing through a conversation is unprofessional. But sometimes when agents make their outbound call for the first time they sound nervous and hurry through the introduction. This creates a negative impact on the customer on the other end of the line. Relax, breathe in and breathe out at least 5 times before taking a call. Such practice will relax your nerves to make a better impression.
4. Prepare for a conversation
Your Monday calls were dropping one after the other. Till afternoon you got fed up and assumed that your other calls are going to drop as well. Losing your mood to make a conversation affects substantial customers. Prepare yourself to have a conversation with the customer every time a caller is directed to you. If outbound calling was just about “make a call, get the answer or response and hang up” process it would been much easier than it actually sounds.
5. “No, thank you”
Different attitudes for the same response. Be prepared to receive an aggressive “No” or a polite “No, thank you” from callers. Don’t lose your heart when someone severely respond to you. Sometimes you can politely argue your way out but sometimes a no means no. You cannot impress each and every one. Let it go, appreciate the person for taking some time out and listening to you.
6. Courteously ending a call
Handling ranting calls are tough, sometimes you feel like abusing them back. But then you don’t want to lose your job. It might take a lot of time to get what you want but it is your duty to thank the person on the other end of the call every time. Moreover, you don’t want to be remembered as the rude agent. No matter what end your call politely.
7. Be accountable of your actions
If you assure a customer on sending an email or maybe some marketing resources. Do it as soon as you drop the call. Don’t pile up your work till the end of your working hours. Wasting someone’s time or sloppy working tactic is not a good sign of professionalism.
8. Practice until perfect
Take some time to make your outbound calling perfect and proficient. Leonardo da Vinci did not create Monalisa with a single stoke. Practice until you are perfect. Work hard on your calling skills and apply new tactics to lure your customers. Make note of every new skills you acquire.
Popular and cost-efficient, outbound communication is one of the most active operation in generating leads and growing your business.