Your Top 5 Skills for Call Centre Success
Your Top 5 Skills for Call Centre Success
Brought to you by: Rosy King @ Corporate Training Options
Would you like Instant Success for your Call Centre Team?
In every organisation, customer service and customer satisfaction are top priorities. Why?
61% of customers say they have stopped transacting with a business after a poor service experience.
Microsoft – State of Global Customer Service Report
Whilst many organisations are progressively shifting to a more digital experience with their customers, call centres still remain at the core of many customer interactions – and at times, at the core of customer frustrations and complaints.
Therefore, offering a seamless, personalised and ‘human’ experience over the phone, can delight our customers and turn them into advocates.
Highly skilled, professional call centre teams represent a great opportunity for organisations to gain a competitive advantage. This is a fact Australian call centres are hearing loud and clear.
73% of Australian Call Centres are striving to improve their customer experience.
The 2018 Australian Contact Centre Industry Report
You will meet all kinds of customers in your Call Centre.
As part of a call centre team you will encounter customers of all kinds. Some are incredibly patient and understanding, others are unsure about what they need, and then others are incredibly frustrated with your organisation, your product or both.
Many of the different customers and scenarios you encounter can be tough to navigate, but with the essential skills for call centre success in place, you and your team will know exactly what to do.
With these skills come instant benefits. You’ll enjoy shorter call times, better outcomes and greater satisfaction for you, your customers and your organisation.
We need to help solve our customer’s issues and ensure they’re happy with the outcome of their call.
Here are my Top 5 Skills for Call Centre Success
Clarify the complaint
In the heat of the moment, a client may not communicate efficiently. Or, you might simply misunderstand them.
This can lead to both frustration and time lost when it comes to solving the issue. Start each call by listening carefully, then repeat the complaint back to the customer to ensure you are both on the same page.
Lead with empathy
Remind your client that you’re there to help them; that you are someone in the organisation who is on their side. This reassures them that they will be taken care of and can bring a sense of peace to a tense situation.
Beginner? Don’t tell them.
New team members can be tempted to fall back on “I’m new on the job.” However, this can frustrate a client and can diminish your knowledge in their eyes. If you don’t know the answer, it’s okay to let them know you will need to ask for help. But keep your experience level to yourself.
Speak naturally
Customers want to feel like they’re talking to a real person, not someone just following a script. Maintain your relaxed and natural tone so that your customers feel like they are simply talking to a friend. Your conversations will flow much easier, and your customers are more likely to remain reasonable.
When in doubt, ask!
It would be ideal if you could just read your customers minds when they called, and understand exactly what the issue was. But sometimes, that’s not going to be the case. If you are confused about your customer’s request, or if you think you might have missed a piece of information, simply ask your customer. They will appreciate that you have taken the time to clarify all the details of their issue. It’s important for you to ensure all the information is correct.
The Benefits of updating your Call Centre Skills
Providing reliable, consistent, professional experiences for your customers is a critical component to the success of your Call Centre. When you train your call centre team in these five skills, and they begin to use them in their daily customer interactions, you will see immediate benefits. Your team will enjoy:
- shorter call times
- better outcomes
- greater satisfaction for your customers
- happier & more relaxed team members
- higher customer retention rates
And that’s a win/win for everyone.
Want to know more about improving the skills of your Call Centre team?
CTO’s Call Centre Success training course provides you with the critical success training required to ensure your Call Centre team are delighting your customers.
Your team will learn about:
- Their Valuable Roles
- Why First Impressions count
- The Six Elements of Professionalism
- Managing Customer Calls
- Knowing your Products and Services
- Being a Team Player
- Remaining Customer Focused
- Taking Responsibility
- Ten Essential Communication Skills
- And much more!
After completing your Call Centre Success course, your organisation and your team will see improvements in …
- All-round customer service
- Staff and team loyalty
- Business perception
- Cost savings, sales & profits
- Staff and team productivity
- Team problem-solving
- Team knowledge of products and services
- And so much more …
If you’re ready to upgrade your Call Centre skills, or you wish to tackle some new challenges, contact Corporate Training Options today for friendly, professional advice.
We’ll discuss your specific needs, and tailor a training program to suit your requirements.
