Are you thinking of expanding your business but have limited resources to secure better infrastructure and hire more customer support agents? If you answered “yes,” then consider outsourcing call center agents.
Allow us to share with you the skill set that your customer service agents should possess to contribute positively to your business. Agents with a customer-centered attitude recognize their chief role in assisting their customers and genuinely helping them.
Let’s hop right in.
These agents consider their customers’ needs as of prime importance and look at the situation from their callers’ perspective. In this way, your agents can implement appropriate measures that are not only efficient for them and your brand but, more importantly, best for their customers.
1. Customer-centered Attitude
If their callers had a negative experience, customer-centered agents still foster relationships by suggesting better options and schemes, expressing goodwill, and the like.
2. Composure
When interacting with and serving customers, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There will be days when they storm agents and blast them with a gripe and angry demand to fix them. Your agents should learn to filter through customers’ negative emotions and remain focused on the concern at hand.
Composure will enable them to think critically, find a solution, and still speak pleasantly and coolly. Your agents should learn not to take customers’ statements personally, detach themselves while still actively engaging, and respond appropriately.
3. Resourcefulness and Flexibility
Although you want your agents to stick to their script, customers will sometimes have inquiries that are not in the reference material. If your agents can promptly answer questions not found on the script, they can work toward accomplishing their objectives more effectively.
At a call center, unexpected issues may arise, so it’s crucial that your agents exercise resourcefulness in finding solutions and flexibility to go off the script when needed. Remind them that resourcefulness begins with their willingness to resolve customers’ issues, and they must do their best to address them at the soonest possible time.
4. Organization
It’s essential for your agents to have a high degree of organization, such as in recording contact information, jotting down notes when needed, and generally forming a functional work routine. Organized agents are efficient in their tasks and overall performance. Organization also enhances their working relationship with you and your customers.
Imagine finding and giving the wrong information from the customer relationship management (CRM) to them. That mistake can spell disaster for your business. Remind your agents to stay organized all the time, especially in documenting incidents and data.
5. Effective Communication Skills
Agents shouldn’t merely communicate to customers—they need to communicate effectively. They should speak courteously and confidently, balancing amiableness and professionalism. Active listening is also important. Your agents should understand the context of where their callers are coming from before they respond.
Agents should also ask questions for clarity and avoid interrupting their callers when they’re speaking. They may read from cues and scripts and personalize them. It’s vital that they don’t sound apathetic to their customers’ concerns. They must also be consistent in how they communicate with their customers, including the kind of language they should use and avoid.
Invest in these agents.
Hiring agents with these skills can help you cultivate favorable customer relationships and loyalty. Invest in these competent agents, and that big step can have a game-changing impact on your business.