Category Archives: Call Center

How to get clients for call centers — Contracts!

April 5, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

I can imagine that it might be hard running a small call center. Imagine that you have 20 seats, and 5 are empty. Then, the phone rings and someone wants 20 seats filled right away. How do you hire all of those people and squeeze them into your little office? Do you put them on the roof or on the patio? Perhaps the sidewalk? Call centers rely on contracts, and they are necessary when the call center owner has to invest in hiring new staff members and training. However, many BPO companies are too pushy trying to get strangers to sign contracts.

I wanted a small call center process done
I remember that when I needed a small BPO job done, one call center in Bangalore tried to get me to sign a year long outsourcing contract. I said that I didn’t even know them or how good they were. How can I sign a contract? I didn’t know how long the job would last, or how long I would last tolerating them. They basically lost me because they were too rigid about their contract. Sure, big businesses use contracts and we all want to emulate big businesses. But, small clients don’t always want a contract — no matter how flexible it is.

Small clients are valuable
Most businesses want big clients including call centers. They ignore the little clients in search of big ones. Then, they lose the little clients, to satisfy the big client, and then lose the big client, and end up with nothing. My business has almost all small clients. We have three people on staff, plenty of outsourced work on the side, and healthy profit margins. Small clients can be profitable if you manage them efficiently — we do! Small clients have fewer choices of who they can work with because most call centers are so restrictive about their contracts. If you can be flexible, you can attract lots of small clients. You can even charge a little more to offer them flexibility, and they will have no choice but to accept.

Small clients can become big clients if you fertilize them
If you give good service to small clients, those small clients would have a new tool to grow. Remember, that you are helping other people’s companies grow, and not just trying to make money from them. If you help them grow, then when they become a bigger business, they will give you more business as well. They might even sign a contract a few months down the line. Additionally, if you give people good service, you will get referrals which will help you get more clients in the long run.

The bottom line about call center contracts
Call center contracts are important to make sure your clients will commit to a term of service. In the beginning, unless you are flooded with huge clients, try to make your contracts short-term, easy to read, and more beneficial to the client. That way, the client will have a positive feeling about your BPO. If the terms of the contract only benefit your BPO and not the client, the client is likely to hire some other call center service. A two month contract seems like a good minimum term to begin with. If your client is satisfied with your service, then you can go month to month, or have them sign a half year or a year long contract.

Summary
So, the moral of the story is — think less about contracts, and more about helping clients get what they want. They will be more likely to stay with you if you cater to them. And if they stay, then your business will grow. If you scare them away, then your 20 seater call center will have 20 empty seats!

I hope that answers your question about how to get clients for call centers by being flexible about contracts.

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How to get more clients for your call center — relationships

Skills you need to have to open a call center

Compilation of posts about how to get more clients for your call center


Compilation of best marketing resources for call centers & BPO

How to aquire clients for call centers — presentation!

How call centers find clients

How to find clients for call centers — good salespeople!

How to start a Call Center — advice analyzed

Using Linked In to network for your Call Center

The correct process to hiring a call center

Making routine calls with fun & humor

18 ways to boost your SOCIAL MEDIA marketing in 10 minutes a day
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How to acquire clients for call centers — Presentation!

March 29, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular Posts | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

I wrote a bunch of very similar sounding blog entries about how to acquire clients for call centers. The titles are all a little different. However, the content is very unique and helpful for each entry. Presentation is a very important topic that most outsourcing companies just don’t understand. Many companies just don’t understand how to have qualified people answer the phone and introduce their company. There are certain types of information that your phone answering staff need to know to make a good presentation so that you can have the best call center in town.

(1) What makes your company better than others of its kind?
Most people who answer the phone wouldn’t have a clue of how to answer that question. But, if you don’t know why someone should hire your company — then, they probably won’t — and probably shouldn’t. If you ask me what is better about my company, I can give you ten compelling reasons right off the top of my head — can you do that about your company? Think about it! You need to know why you are better. On the other hand, maybe your company is NOT better — and maybe that is why you can’t think of any reasons. Either you have better staff members, better flexibility, lower prices, or better something. If nothing else, perhaps you are better at being AVERAGE! Humor sells!

Here is a mock presentation:
Hello, this is Sam from YXV company. We sell widgets. Our widgets are no better and no worse than anyone else’s widgets. Additionally, our sales staff is no better or worse trained than the average widget selling company. Our delivery times and reliability are also pathetically average. Why should you hire us? I have absolutely no idea — other than the fact that if you want to hire someone average — that’s us. When it comes to being average, we shine above (or beside) the rest. We excel at being mediocre. Hire us today– and be happy knowing that you hired someone average – -with a smile!

This presentation is actually very well structured and comedic. Believe it or not, it would sell well, especially with a TV commercial. You could show average Sam wearing an off white work outfit and a silly looking off white painter’s hat. You would remember Sam’s funny and artificial smile, how average or under average he looks, and how he made you laugh by trying to smile. The name YXV would stick in people’s heads, and next time they are browsing the phone book, or looking for widgets, they will remember you for being funny, and having brand recognition.

Here is how companies in India present themselves

Staff: Hi, this is Surendra from YXV company. We are a call center.

Prospect: Could you tell us about your workers?

Staff: Oh, well that is personal and I can not talk about that

Prospect: Could you tell us about your company’s history?
Staff: No, sorry, that also is personal. We don’t discuss that with strangers. All of our information is on the website.

Prospect: We just checked your website and it has absolutely no information about your company history or staff. It just mentions that you have 40 workers and do certain types of services. It quotes some very technical statistics about your company without giving me any idea of who you are and what the personality of your company is like.

Staff: Once again, sorry, but I am not at liberty to discuss that. We have an 87% success rate with our clients (whatever that means), and have a 93.3% rate of something else.

Prospect: These numbers are very dry and unhelpful. They mean nothing to me. Sure it is nice to have statistics about your company the same way that big companies do. But, understanding the people who I will be dealing with means a lot more to me — but, I think that your evasiveness and vacuous responses have given me all the information that I need to know about your company — which basically is — to never call your company again even if my life depends on it.

Here is a better presentation

Staff: Hi this is Vivek from YXV company. We are a call center that has been in business for 12 long years.

Prospect: That sounds wonderful to know that you have longevity. How are your years longer than regular years?
Staff: Each of the 12 years, actually only had 12 months… perhaps 12.5 lunar months if you go by that. But, we accomplished so much in each year, that I personally feel, that they qualify to be categorized as long years — just like a New York minute really is shorter than a regular minute.

Prospect: Interesting answer. By the way, I like that you answered your phone.

Staff: I beg your pardon?
Prospect: Most companies don’t answer their phone.

Staff: Well, how can they acquire clients for their call center if they don’t?
Prospect: Maybe they don’t want clients. But, your company seems to want to acquire clients for their call center! And, you are very interesting to talk to.

Staff: Oh, well thank you! Would you like to know about our company history?
Prospect: Usually it is like pulling teeth trying to get a company to properly introduce themselves, and here you are actually VOLUNTEERING valuable information to me. You guys REALLY do want to acquire more call center clients!

Staff: Well, back 12 years ago, our founder Mr. Reddi wanted to try a new business. He came from a business family, but they were all in old fashioned businesses, and he wanted to keep up with the changing economic times…..
…………. etc…

Prospect: Wow, that was a great story, after hearing that story, I feel as if I know Mr. Reddi personally. How about your staff members?
Staff: Yes, well, we have 30 total staff members. We have 20 full timers, and a handful of part timers. Our senior manager is Jeff, and ….etc.

As you can see, this salesperson is informative, personable, and funny. Those are characteristics that sell. Additionally, he answered his phone which is more than I can say for 70% of Indian companies. Do you answer your phone? I suggest you at least think about it!

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How call centers find clients

March 20, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Call centers find clients in all types of ways. Some cold call companies around the world asking for business. Others get business by referral only. Imagine the profit margin of a company that doesn’t need a marketing budget? Many companies advertise on websites, directories, or through agents. There are so many ways for how call centers find clients.

But, the bigger issue is: Is your call center good enough to get serious clients? Many call centers are not that great at what they do. The bottom line is that you can spend a mint on marketing, but if you don’t have the service offering to back up your sales and marketing venture, you will end up with a loss.

So, my advice is to first think about how to have the best call center in the world. I would have at least seven years of experience working for someone else’s call center in a management position before attempting your own. If you think you can do a better job running your own call center, then good luck. If you offer a superior service, then IF you get clients, you will probably keep them, and maybe get a few referrals as well!

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How to get more clients for your call center

March 17, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

We wrote dozens of articles for how call centers can market themselves and get more clients. Please click on the call center link on the right of our blog to see all of the other articles. This article will be unique.

Get more clients for your call center
There are numerous traditional marketing techniques. Having a great website makes a huge difference. Having great sales staff is also irreplaceable. But, what about networking?

Marketing doesn’t always have to cost
I know of companies who network with other companies to get business. They don’t pay for advertising — not that there is anything wrong with paying for effective advertising. If you are a little call center, what if you take the jobs that a bigger call center rejected for one reason or the next.

Get more clients for your call center by networking
Picture the reality of a big call center. They have 200 seats to fill, and they want big clients only — ones that will sign big contracts and long contracts. What if little clients approach these giants? What will happen? Imagine that they could refer those little clients to your call center. They might want to know if you are any good before ruining their reputation referring clients to you. But, what if your call center service IS good? Or, perhaps they might want a finders fee if they get you a client. It is worth it to pay a small up front fee and residuals for good clients.

You could network with call centers around the world. Trying to get end users to hiring you by calling them is one way of marketing. But, OTHER call centers already have those end users, but might not want them. Perhaps those clients won’t pay enough, or won’t agree to rigid terms. That is perfect for you, because you have liberal terms, so you can get your business moving, right?

I’ll assume that you said, “Right”.

Tweets:
(1) Big call centers eat little call centers
BUT, little call centers can eat the left overs the big #callcenters didn’t eat
(2) 1 big #callcenter has 250 branches in 57 countries.
You’d better be very professional to compete with them for business!

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Call centers who don’t answer their phone!
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Outsourcing to a Call Center in India: Benefits and Caveats

February 11, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“So my message is simple. It is time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me these tax reforms, and I will sign them right away.” Barack Obama, January, 2012

Will Barack Obama be re-elected, and will he actually do something to make outsourcing less feasible for U.S. businesses? Will he tax outsourcing in some way? Will he give tax breaks to companies that hire U.S. workers to do jobs that we are currently outsourcing, and would this make outsourcing to a call center in India, for example, less attractive? In such a future, what would be the best way for a business to save money? Predictably, President Obama himself is reported to save money in his campaigns by outsourcing to foreign call centers, and many companies–even the traditionally “American” General Electric–send jobs abroad. Wind farms and get more than 50% of their materials and products from overseas manufacturers, and many industries outsource portions of their needs or daily work. Obama has said again and again that he wants to create “jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced,” but are there such jobs, and is outsourcing detrimental to the U.S. economy–or to our sense of satisfaction with customer service and our material lives? Does outsourcing to India create unhappy consumers? Or is outsourcing here to stay?

According to a 2010 survey of consumers, the Contact Center Satisfaction Index, many unhappy consumers felt that when their customer service calls were outsourced to countries where the callers cannot manage well in English, the issues were not resolved or they had to speak with multiple representatives because the call center representatives are not as knowledgeable or well-trained as call center workers in the U.S. That perception is slowly changing, and in 2012, it seems outsourcing is here to stay. In fact, in July, the Senate killed an anti-outsourcing bill which would have given companies a 20% tax credit for moving work back to the U.S. rather than extending tax credits for moving work out of the U.S.

After the U.S., India is the country with the largest English-speaking population in the world. The average call center worker in India is also better educated than the U.S. call-center worker who gets $8 an hour and works from home. Since 2010, for example, there are more than 60,000 workers in the U.S. doing calling from home, but the cost of hiring U.S. firms that take customer service calls from home is still not comparable to outsourcing to a call center in Bangalore, for instance, where workers are generally young and well-educated. The average call center worker in Bangalore can live on about $300 a month, so the amount you will pay a call center in Bangalore is still less than hiring workers in the U.S.: wages in India are 80% lower than for their U.S. counterparts. Furthermore, workers at the best call centers in India undergo extensive training to become part of a call center staff. For weeks, they attend trainings, learn how to speak using a neutral accent, and learn how to engage a person on the phone; then, they continue their training after being hired. Call centers we spoke with in Bangalore, for instance, are also training managers better, and looking at retention of successful employees.

The benefits of outsourcing to a reputable call center in Bangalore, for instance, are legendary: reports from companies like Chase about how they saved 50% by outsourcing to India put the stamp of approval on the practice of outsourcing to a call center. Also, in 2012, telecommunications costs and equipment make it cost-effective for a call center in India to handle a volume of calls for less. India is expected to earn almost $20 billion in call center business in 2012, and call centers in Bangalore may reap up to one third of that amount. Call centers in Bangalore are training their callers to answer the phone in a professional manner, and to understand and use American idioms and accents, which creates outsourcing success. “Not only will you save money,” says one CEO, “but you have the opportunity to get to know how another culture works. And it is far better than you may think.”

Some fear that if Obama changes the tax structure, the pros and cons may become more even. Outsourcing success may look different: instead of outsourcing to a call center in Bangalore, XYZ Company in Los Angeles may choose to outsource to U.S.companies that hire at-home workers. There was no noise in Congress this past month, however, about anything remotely to do with outsourcing, and tax cuts will be dealt with in November. But considering the fact that the U.S. Postal Service is losing $25 million a day, for example, there are other issues the U.S. has to deal with and other sources of unhappy consumers. The record shows that outsourcing to India is much more of a help to the economy than a hindrance. Call centers with the highest number of workers who are proficient in English get and retain more business from overseas, and according to one Yahoo survey, 80% of businesses say that outsourcing to a call center is a benefit. “Of course,” says one CEO,” you have to create a good working relationship with a call center, and that starts with the very first phone call.”

The most important factor in outsourcing success is the relationship you establish with the call center in India. One quarter of all outsourcing relationships fail in the first two years, according to Dun and Bradstreet. The key to any outsourcing success or any successful contract with another business is the relationship itself. Strike up a conversation with the call center management on the phone, and be sure there is clear communication. Read our Sept 29 blog. If you can develop and nurture a heart-to-heart and head-to-head communication with a call center in India, it makes sense to give them some work. After all, it is a call center! So call them, try to have a conversation, and see what develops.

Improving your credibility at a call center

July 28, 2012 by admin
Categories: Call Center | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Improving your credibility at a call center

How to acquire clients for call centers
If you want overseas clients to trust you when you work at or run an Indian or Filipino Call Center, then you need credibility.  If you speak English like someone who has never set foot on American soil, but claim to be in Newark, NJ, who will believe you? We may be bad at math in the United States, but we are not complete fools.    If you are going to fake an American location, then you should be really sound like an Indian who has lived in the United States for a few years, and that will only be possible if you have been working with Americans for many years.  In fact — if you are that good at American English, nobody will question your location in the first place!

Verifying information looks professional
Another issues is presentation.  A guy called me from India trying to tell me that there was something wrong with my computer. He couldn’t tell me which MSN office informed him of the problem with my computer, nor could he tell me my full name or address.  He butchered my first name, and had no clue as to what my other personal information was.  If he had clearly announced who he was, his company name and location, and asked to speak to me, then he would have established some credibility. The next step would be to verify my address, so that he could be sure that my address was the one with the allegedly “infected” computer.  The third verification should have been to ask how many computers were in the house, so he could isolate which one had trouble.  If someone in Pune could accurately tell me what is wrong with my computer in Los Angeles (and be correct about it) without ever having met me, I would be very impressed.

Your phone # should match your claimed location
If you are claiming that your company is in Brooklyn, NY, you should ideallly NOT have a Marathi phone number.  Instead, you should have a phone number that is from New York City — preferably in the 718 area code.  Phone numbers can be bought and sold, so there is no excuse not to have a vanity number!

Long speeches without allowing questions doesn’t work
I had a call center worker call me and he went rambling on for almost two minutes without letting me get a word in edgewise. In fact, he took offense and raised his voice at me when I tried to ask a question. You would gain the good graces of prospective clients better if you engage them in a well rehearsed dance of dialogue.  You ask a question, they answer, then they ask a question, and then you answer. People feel happier when they are a PART of the conversation and not just a sound board.

Seeing if your prospect is interested is a good approach
Many Indians will just push their product on anyone without bothering to see if the person is interested or not.  People can be very pushy in India, and Americans don’t like this at all.  It is polite to first verify if the person at the end of the line is interested in talking to you about your offer or proposal before going on.  It might be good to start with a speech that quickly announces the dangers of not having your product, and THEN ask if the prospect is interested…

Example

Call Center Worker — Hi this is Jack from Computer Verify in Brooklyn, NY.  May I speak to John Doe please?
Prospect — Yes, this is John
Call Center Worker — John, are you still residing at 10 Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90001?
Prospect — Yes, I am still at that address.
Call Center Worker — We have been informed by Mictosoft that a computer at your address has been infected with spyware which can eventually render your computer disfunctional.  Would you be interested in learning how to protect your computer from this type of danger?
Prospect — Gee, that is interesting, my computer runs just find and I have virus protection. Are you sure you have the correct address?
Call Center Worker — Yes, it says 10 Hill Street… But, there was no apartment number.
Prospect — Hmmm. Interesting.  And which local Microsoft office told you that my computer has a problem?
Call Center Worker — The offer that reported to us is located in Sunnyside, IL — they may have obtained this information from a third party.

I recently had a very similar conversation with a call center worker, however he was unable to answer any of my questions, yet I couldn’t get him to stop talking — how annoying!

So, the bottom line is — if you want to know how to get call center clients or find call center clients — develop practices that boost your credibility!

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The Mystery Call Center Caller

July 13, 2012 by admin
Categories: Call Center | Tagged | 1 Comment

The mystery call center caller

Just a few minutes ago I got a call from someone in India.  He told me that my computer had some virus or malware that was slowing me down.  I asked him how he knew that, and he wouldn’t stop talking.  I told him that call center workers need to LISTEN as well as reading scripts, and that they need to give straight answers to questions.  This guy wouldn’t stop talking until I interrupted him harshly.

In any case, he said that he got my information from some database somewhere from microsoft, and that he was in Brooklyn, NY. But, his phone number was from India and had the 91 country code in it. Bizarre.  I asked him where in America I was located in and what my name was.  He could barely pronounce my name and mispronounced most English words which disqualified him in my mind from being employable in Brooklyn.  I had to ask him three times where I was located, but he couldn’t say.

Then, he asked me to go into my open file mode and try to open up a file.  Since I didn’t know who he was, and since he didn’t introduce himself properly to me, or identify me or my location properly, I  didn’t trust him.  He said that he was going to save my computer from crashing, but I thought that perhaps he was going to supervise me on installing spyware or a virus.  Was this guy a scam, or just poorly trained?  I was not going to take chances.

I don’t really understand what the call was about. But, the bottom line is that he didn’t act professional.  A good call center worker introduces themselves, and verifies who they are talking to before commencing on their speech.  This character raised his voice at me and refused to answer simple questions.  His English was spoken in a nasal monotone, and his pronunciation was understandable but far from standard in either the U.S., or England.

Have you ever had this type of experience?

A meet you in person center

May 24, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A meet you in person center

It is my experience, that Indians are really good in person, especially when they are on break, and having cookies and tea.  I have had very unfavorable experiences with Indians over the phone as a rule.  I know a handful of very professional and personable individuals from India who are excellent on the phone, but the rest of the country lags behind it seems.

So my question in another blog was, how can a country that has awful phone skills be so successful in the call center industry? Since Indians are much better in person, I think they would be very pleasant to work with in a “Meet you in person center” rather than a call center.

For example, if I need tech support, no problem.  I’ll just book a flight to Hyderabad with my computer, and meet someone at a “Meet you in person center”.  Unfortunately to book an appointment, I might need a call center, and get hung up on by accident and then not get an apology when I call back.  But, for the sake of my blog article, we’ll say that no appointments are necessary at this “meet you in person center” and that you can go there day or night and meet happy, helpful people.

So, I could get off my flight, get a cab, pay triple even though I bargain hard because I am a foreigner, and then arrive at this “Meet you in person center”. Then, we could have samosas, and chai, and socialize for a while.  People are very pleasant in India when they can relax with no stress and enjoy a hot drink — or a cool drink. But, on the phone, they can be so emotionally distant. So, the ideal to engage with the call center workers socially without stressing anybody with work related issues.  After everyone has gotten to know each other, then you can start working on technical issues.  Perhaps an hour later we will be done, and I can catch a 30 hour flight back to California, and all will be well.

Maybe my idea lacks practicality, but it would be very popular as a video on the Jay Leno show.  He would love this idea for sure! He would love it even more if he could drive one of his classic cars right into the building.

Although this blog article is one big joke, business with Arabs is typically done this way. Arabs are similar to Indians in that they require face to face interaction, and they like to take business slow and enjoy a lot of socializing and eating nuts and seeds for a few hours before they begin to talk business.

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Handling Stress in a Call Center Office

May 22, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Handling stress in a call center office

It is really stressful to be on the phone all day going from call to call to call. I sometimes do 200 calls in a day and I am a wreck afterwords. Call center workers are routinely in a state of being frazzled, and have to recover from their demanding job. Many turn to alcohol, but too much hard alcohol damages your liver and arteries making you even more prone to stress. So, what is the solution? In my line of work / overworking, I have become somewhat of an expert on this subject. Here are some really effective techniques for relieving stress. Not all will be in your budget, or nearby you, but do your best.

(1) A glass of red wine per day
Scientists have learned that those who have a glass of red wine (red is better than white for your health), have lower stress, less heart attacks, and live considerably longer. Additionally, red wine has antioxidants that clean your arteries. Too much wine will damage your liver and make you groggy the next day. One glass or half a glass per day is like a magical medicine. Hard liquor and beer are horrible for your health. Avoid these no matter what your friends say!

(2) Visiting the beach
Many call center industries are near water. Manila and Mumbai are driving distance from the beach. Oceans have theraputic energies, and being near water for a few hours, taking a slow walk on the beach is one of the most effective ways to relax. Even some medical doctors tell their patients to take a drive down the coast sometimes!

(3) Spend relaxing time with friends and family
If your friends and family are annoying, then skip this tip. But, there needs to be a balance of work and leisure. Too much of one or the other creates an imbalance in life that can lead to emotional and even physical problems. Make sure you have a good relaxing day at least once a week.

(4) Forests and mountains are great!
Trees have mystical healing properties, and sleeping in a forest, or being around trees can do wonders for your psychological state. For one, there are no phones in forests which might make it appealing to a call center worker!

(5) Meditation
No!!! not medication… Meditation!!! Ohm… Ohm…. Meditation takes decades to master, but even a beginner can get immediate benefits. Scientests have learned that meditation changes your brain waves and can make you more peaceful. Try meditating a few minutes a day, or an hour per day. I try to do twice per day. Your life can gain a sense of balance when you integrate spirituality and peace into your life

(6) Acupuncture
The Philippines has many Chinese people, hence there will be good acupuncture practitioners. India has really awful acupuncturists practicing very careless and unprofessional acupuncture for the most part. I might skip acupuncture in India. But, REAL acupuncture is really good for your health, and can help you live in balance.

(7) Reading a good book?
Television is not a good way to relax, because it is too stimulating, and doesn’t engage your mind as much as a book. Reading a book can leave you feeling fulfilled and it can transport you to a different reality — one with no phones!

(8) Me time
Sometimes I do this — but generally I don’t have time. Even on my days off, I am in a hurry to get to my favorite hiking spot, or meet up with a friend. There is still stress. But, having a “me time day” is great. Plan your day with activities that you are going to do slowly. Have an ice cream — very slowly… but,eat it before it melts, so don’t go too slow. After that, perhaps have a slow meal, and intentionally eat slowly, and spend lots of time staring into space (I’m really good at that and so is my cat). Make idle conversation with strangers talking about relaxing things. Take a slow walk. Being in nature is perfect, but even in a dense city, you can find internal peace as you breathe in toxic fumes. Movies are good too, since they take you out of your reality.

(9) Walking and running.
Any type of physical exercise is wonderful for the body as long as you don’t injure yourself or over do it. Exercise helps the body balance itself chemically, and gets the blood flowing so that all of the cells in your body can detoxify and get the nutrients and oxygen they need from the blood. I suggest walking for an hour per day at a minimum. It is wonderful for your heart and your whole body.

Summary
Destressing is an art and a science. Part of it is to create mental balance. Another part is learning to remove your mind from “where” it normally is. But, physical health is a huge counterpart of being able to be relaxed. If you work all day at a call center and never take a long walk, and then drink too much like so many call center workers do — then, you will be a wreck and will probably die early. Fried chicken is the food of choice for Filipino Call Center workers. That is a suicide diet, especially when you combine it with hard alcohol. When people are under stress, they gravitate towards comfort foods like ice cream and fried chicken. I get the same cravings too when I am overworked. The only solution is to learn ways to relax, so that you can neutralize these tendencies.

Tweets:
(1) Drinking beer with a friend might not be good for your health, but if you put the glasses together you’ll get clicks which matters in my business!
(2) As for your plan to avoid alcohol — Put a cork in it! A daily glass of red wine will keep your arteries clean & has antioxidants.
(3) Resveratrol is found in the skins and seeds of grapes: found in red wine: good for your heart and raising good cholesterol.
(4) A polyphenol in red wine called Resveratrol is good for your heart and lowers stress levels.
(5) When was the last time you saw a stressed wino? Drink a glass of red wine a day!

(6) Stressed on the job? Try having some red wine with lunch. If you don’t get fired, your stress will be demoted!
(7) Drinking on the job? Switch to red wine! It will reduce your stress, clean arteries & help you live longer!
(8) Want to make waves in the #outsourcing #callcenter world? Reduce stress by visiting the beach!
(9) Is your #outsourcing #callcenter career just coasting along? Reduce stress by visiting the beach!
(10) Even God needed to rest after his creation. Reduce stress & Relax w/your family!

(11) Is your #outsourcing job so stressful that you can’t see the forest through the trees. Relax in the woods!
(12) What’s in YOUR mantra? Stressed out? Learn to meditate!
(13) Stop saying, “Um”, and start saying, “Ohm”. Reduce your #outsourcing stress — learn to meditate today!
(14) Read any good tweets lately? Don’t judge a tweet by its hash tags! Reduce stress by reading!

You might also like:

Visit our Call Center Search page

How to get more clients for your call center
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/05/05/getting-more-clients-for-your-call-center/

Firing people for being angry
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/07/31/firing-people-for-being-angry/

Balancing work and recreation
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/10/02/balancing-work-and-recreation/

Are your callers annoying?

May 14, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Semi-Popular | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Are Your Callers Annoying?

Sales is a difficult field, and so is marketing. Many try to succeed, but most fail. So, what is the secret? Understanding a few basic principles is the secret.  If you are calling prospects or existing clients, you are dead in the water if you are pushy or annoying.  There are exceptions to this rule, and I will elaborate on this.

Beginning a sales relationship
Imagine that you are enjoying a Monday afternoon at work and the phone rings.  Let’s say a very pushy salesman who you have never met before tries to push a sale on you while talking in a nasal mono-tone. Are you going to buy his product? No way! It doesn’t matter how good his product is, or how good his deal is, you will be offended by him and avoid his company’s future contacts as well.  So, when you begin a sales call, being gentle and charismatic is the key.

Remember — a cold sale is a hard thing to do, but a warm sale is much easier.  If you don’t know a prospect, either get introduced to them, or get to know them.  The act of getting to know a prospect is the biggest part of the sale and is much more important than your sales pitch.  Learning how to develop rapport is key here. Becoming liked and trusted is life or death in your profession!

During the call – try to feel out the prospect, and find out what they need, or what they like.  Try to gently appeal to their wants and needs, plus their comfort level.  A smooth salesperson can do all of this without a hard sell or any arm twisting.

Schmoozing? What does that mean?
Jewish business people love this Yiddish word.  They love to schmooze, and they love schmaltz, or anything with a “sch” at the beginning for that matter.  Nothing works better in business than schmoozing and adding a little schmaltz (grease normally from a chicken) to a business deal.  The schmaltz makes everything much smoother. Arabs are the only ones who like schmoozing more than Jews although Arabs have a different word for it.  Many people think that sales is about being pushy and meeting quotas, looking at graphs, and identifying salient features of your product verses the competition’s.  In some cases that could be the case. However, if you pay attention (and I always do), and look at the low paid sales people, you will notice that they look at the clock more, are very anal about quotas and numbers and annoying factors that cause stress.  These novices are poorly paid and under a lot of stress.

 
The gentlemen of the business
If you meet the gentlemen of the business — seasoned older professionals who are making $150,000 or more per year, you will see that they have a very different style.   Although some might be really cool, while others might be really busy, they will know how to make good conversation and are often masters of interpersonal skills.  The trick here with Schmoozing is to create a connection with others and to get comfortable with each other before talking about any deal.  Talking about the deal comes LATER.  In Arabia, they will talk for hours about Schmoozing type topics long before even beginning to talk about business — and this is after arriving three hours late to begin with.  The business talk doesn’t begin until 7pm if everyone is running early (7pm solar time — Arabs look at the sun to figure out when to go to their meetings). I know a man who speaks five different languages and can talk about any topic known to mankind.  He is very personable, interesting, and fun.  He makes millions of dollars in sales per year as well.

 
Study from the professionals
If you hire call center staff members, realize that they can make you or ruin your name altogether.  Training and proper selection is life and death. Your workers have to master the art of interaction before you even begin to think about sales.

 

Once you are done with small talk
Once everyone has gotten to know each other, and identified the other person’s needs, it is time to talk business.  Now that you have been gentle and personable, it is time to introduce the deal.  The key is NOT to explain why the deal is good. The key is to explain HOW the deal is perfect for solving the prospects particular problems and meeting their particular needs.  If you are not tuned in to their needs, and just ramble on using a script speaking in a nasal monotone, and don’t listen to the prospect, you are dead in the water.  Once the prospect is sold on how good the deal is for them, then you can put a little time pressure on them if your pricing offer has an expiration date, or if your availability might decrease later on.  High pressure techniques have their time and place, and if you use them in the wrong time or place, then you not only blow a deal, but you blow your whole company’s reputation with a prospect forever!

Tweets:
(1) Are your callers annoying? Clients won’t buy products if they don’t buy the callers personality!
(2) Becoming liked and trusted is life or death in the call center profession!
(3) During the call – try to feel out the prospect, and find out what they need, or what they like.
(4) A smooth salesperson gently appeals to the clients’ wants & needs w/o any arm twisting
(5) Many people think that sales is about being pushy & looking at graphs, but it’s really about schmoozing
(6) Higher level sales-people make small talk before making the “big-talk” and closing the sale.
(7) High pressure sales techniques have their time & place. Use it at the wrong time & lose the prospect!

You might also like:

Are you aware in business?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/18/are-you-aware-in-business/

How do you teach interaction and smoothness?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/09/14/how-do-you-teach-interaction-and-smoothness/

How to sell like a pro, what exactly do they do?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/06/25/how-to-sell-like-a-pro-what-do-the-pros-do/

Call Center Directories

May 20, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment
Call Center Directories
 
There are many call center directories out there, but which ones should you use, and why?
 
This directory specializes in a dozen or so outsourcing specialties.  The second most popular category is it’s call center directory.  This directory lists call centers in India, the Philippines, Canada, and others spread throughout the world.  Although this directory is newer, and currently has less than call centre 200 listings (which is less than some of the other directories), the information is generally quite useful, easy to query, and “fresh”.  You will NOT find many disconnected numbers, and the site is easy to use and doesn’t have annoying advertisements all over the place.
 
Callcenterdirectory.net
This directory is the easiest to use and has call centers throughout the world.  They have many in the Philippines, India, Canada, USA, and many other places as well.  Unfortunately, this directory mixes the call center titles with pay-per-click advertising which makes it less pleasant to use this directory.  Also, some of the companies are long gone and have been out of business for a while with disconnected numbers, etc.
 
Callcenterdirectory.biz
This directory helps you to find call centers with various specialties and sizes. However, you will not be able to choose the location of the call center.  There are filters for onshore, near-shore, and offshore, but the search results are in the USA, and Canada.  It is better to let the browser choose their country.  The Philiipines is the most popular call centre outsourcing country in the world, and they deserve their own special page in my opinion.
 
Callcenterindia.com
This site focuses exclusively on India and has many listings. Spelling mistakes abound, but you will be able to find many good contact centres on this site.
 
Findacallcenter.com
The listings section of this directory only list a handful of companies, generally in the United States
 
Specialtyansweringservice.net
This site allows you to find answering services that are specially trained for your industry.  You can find answering services that specialize in working for accountants, tax preparers, biotechnology, the fashion industry, banking, finance, advertising, agriculture, and more!  How unique! Unfortunately, no companies are listed in their directory, so you will have to email them and hope that they respond.
 
Callcenterplanet.com
Google ranks this site quite well, but when I do a search, I am informed that the site has been hacked and that no search results are available.
 
So, what makes a good call centre directory?  Should they have many listings? Should they have up to date information  Should the site be easy to use? Should there be different pages for different countries?  Should they have a page where they help you find a job?  These are all interesting questions.
 
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How to attract more clients to your call center part 2

May 19, 2011 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How to get more clients for your call center part 2
 
Part 1 of this series about marketing your call center was very nuts and bolts.  Basically, you contact companies who might need your services, be receptive to their questions and needs, and offer them a few hours sample of your work if you think they are serious about a long term relationship.  The several hundred dollars you lose giving a free sample could come back to you 1000 fold in the long run with repeat business and referrals.
 
Hiring the right staff
There is a spiritual law that says that if you have the right people, business will naturally come to you.  Isn’t it funny how some businesses grow without putting a dime, a peso, riyal, or rupee into advertising?   This always frustrated me as a child while I put endless hours in sweat equity marketing my lawn mowing business while other people just got the business while they were sipping iced tea.  Although, I eventually got referrals, and was good at certain tasks concerning the manual labor that I used to do, I did not have the refinement necessary to be someone’s first choice.  I also didn’t have a marketing system for getting referrals. Its much easier to build your business through referrals than it is by getting clients  through advertising.  What I learned later in life, is that it is not a crime to spend a fortune on advertising, but it is a crime not to have a good “offering”, and a good system for gettting referrals.
 
Hiring the right staff that comprises the perfect blend of personalities to handle your clients and future clients is imperative.  If you have a call center with a bunch of pushy salespeople, and customer service reps who mumble, you are going to have a hard time growing at any price.  Remember, that the cost to a company for losing them a client is much greater than whatever they are paying you! Outsourcing is a great way for companies to save money, but let them save money without the headaches that are associated with outsourcing.  Give them the best service in town and a great experience that they will remember
 
Can you imagine if XYZ company hires a call center, and the service was mediocre, but dealing with them was a pain in the neck? The manager at XYZ will have a bitter taste in his mouth with all of the bad memories of XYZ company.  It is a far better plan to give companies who work with you as wonderful an experience as you can while still maintaining a good price.  When all is said and done, and all of the numbers are crunched (analyzed), giving people a pleasant experience counts for 50% of their decision of whether they are going to use you again, even if your actual work is not the best.
 
Having polished staff members
There are call center companies where the employees speak clearly, are patient, polite, and explain things well.  These are the call centers that are going to get the repeat business. I spoke to a call center rep who was the most polite person I have ever encountered.  He worked for a fancy bank, and it is no surprize that they value that individual, as he brings professionalism to their already very professional organization.  On the other hand, there are nightmare call center staff members who hang up on clients, lose their temper, or are always transfering them to someone else who may or may not be there.  You could lose a million dollar account with behavior like that.  The quality of your staff = the security of your future success in business!
 
Training and mentoring
Nobody starts out perfect, except perhaps today’s call center rep from Well’s Fargo. Most call center emplyees just don’t have their act perfected.  It is critical to spend more money on middle level management who walks around and moniters people.  You have to make sure people are performing at an optimal level.  If someone is not answering questions clearly enough, give them a coaching session.  If someone is too quiet, or rough, give them a mentoring session.  If someone has a pronunciation problem, give them a training session in clear speech.  Nobody is perfect, but through molding, amazing improvements can be made. If you do not start out with assets, you can turn someone into an asset in a few months!
 
It’s the experience
My favorite experience with a call center employee was a young lady I talked to many years ago.  She was working for a credit card company and she was located in the Philippines.  She solved my credit card issue quickly and efficiently, but she also had a nice personality too.  We talked about my flight to India.  She commented, “Oh, you flew right over me.. next time you fly over the Philippines, say hi, okay?”.  I’ll never forget her.  If you have staff members who are so charming and pleasant that people would actually like to meet them and get to know them, then you are in business. You will be discovered soon enough.  You can have the best marketing department in the world, but a charming staff member is much more potent than the best salesman on earth!  Remember, you only talk to the salesperson at the BEGINNING of your relationshp with a company.  After the sale is made, you see the regular employees.  If they make your day, you will stay with the company forever!

You might also like:

Part 1 of how to get more clients for your call center

Finding a lucky feng shui spot for my office