The sport of hunting is not really my thing, however, my oldest son lives for deer season. What I have learned from him is that you don’t just head out into the woods, expect the deer to come running to you and start shooting at anything that moves. You have to study your prey, learn the lay of the land and use some common sense. Things like keeping downwind and knowing what time of day the deer are on the move (along with a multitude of other tidbits) all contribute to a successful hunt.
If you’re hunting for Inbound Call Center Services you can’t just head out into the proverbial woods and take home the first thing that moves either. You need to use some common sense and learn a few hunting tips from the veteran hunters. Here are eight critical things to look for as you’re pulling on those camo hunting pants and smearing the eye black on your cheeks.
8 Critical Things:
1. Professional Listeners and B2B Communicators
Many call centers hire the next body through the door with little screening. Make sure your Inbound Services Provider is using representatives who are selected because they are professional in their approach and are able to be trained in the art of listening and communicating in a B2B environment.
2. Representatives Selected for Authentic Personality
We have all been exposed to the shallow script reader on the other end of the phone at one time or another. The representatives handling your account should be selected based on how authentic they sound over the telephone. Ask for an opportunity to hear some examples.
3. Trained in Direct Marketing Best Practices
Just like with deer hunting, there are a some standard practices that should be observed by the people you are hiring to represent your company if you expect to get good results. Frankly, like in hunting, there are probably just as many “Don’ts” as there are “Do’s” and we all know that good leads are just too valuable to lose due to poor basics.
4. Customizable Training to Your Requirements
Is your approach casual or extremely formal? Will the service provider train their representatives to handle incoming calls in the manner you feel is in line with the culture you have established in your organization or will they sound obviously out of sync?
5. Trained to Respond Flexibly Instead of Using a Canned Script
Although a standard pattern for the way calls are handled is important, it is rare when a canned script can be used for every situation. Therefore it is important that the representatives used by your service provider are trained to respond flexibly to adapt to the flow of the conversation, guiding the caller to a desired outcome.
6. Firm Grounding of Knowledge About Your Business
No one knows your business like you do, but it’s important that the people receiving calls have a solid understanding of what you are about. You need a services provider who takes the time to learn about your products and services and includes a formal training program for the representatives handling your account.
7. Adept at Dealing with High-level Decision Makers and Their Gatekeepers
Getting the phone to ring is difficult enough without losing opportunities simply due to the inability of the representative to handle the caller in a manner commensurate with their professional level.
8. Campaign Reports with Actionable Intelligence
Measurement is critical in marketing so adjustments can be made to maximize results. Make sure the reports you’ll receive are deep yet intuitive to access and use.
Looking for inbound call center services? This is one of our specialties. See how we can help you be more successful.
