How to Get More Business For Your Call Center — Better Training!

October 5, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How to Get More Business For Your Call Center — Better Training!

Everybody in India wants to start a call center. But, those that succeed have better training for their workers. But, you might say, “I need BPO clients first before I can think about training, how can I get clients?” You can get call center clients by networking with others who have call center business. You can buy leads from them, or create advertisements visible to those in the West. But, if you don’t provide good service you will get dumped before you know it, and you will be out of business. So, GETTING business is not your problem — keeping it is the problem. Sure, it is hard to think like that when you don’t have business and have never had it, but try to think from the perspective of someone who has tried and failed in the call center industry and learned something! Training is the secret to keeping clients.

Impress people with your training
If you can impress upon prospective clients how well trained and flawless your call center employees really are, they will be more likely to want to sign a contract with you. If you simply hire people off the street and don’t invest in their skills at all, when the critical call comes in from a prospect, you will have no way to impress that person. Conversely, you will be very evasive, and try to sweet talk them. You will try to assure them that everything will be okay if they just sign that contract. This is not a reliable way to gain trust. Gain trust by getting to know people, and let people get to know your staff. Don’t hide your staff — show them off (if they are any good)

Americans are wary of bad service
Americans are so sick and tired of bad service from India. You should be very tuned into this sentiment instead of continuing to ask, “How can I get clients”. If you offered high quality service you would have to fight to get rid of clients. Instead, ask yourself how you can give Americans the best service that they ever had in their life. If you can make that fantasy a reality, then your phone will ring off the hook. Word travels fast.

How do you train people?
Part of the training is for management. Managers at Indian outsourcing companies typically have many unprofessional types of behaviors. They answer the phone saying, “Hello”. Professionals state their name and company name. Only 2% of companies in India have professional sounding answering machines that actually state the name of the company you called (so you don’t have to guess) and make it possible to leave a message. Whether they actually call you back is another story. Training sales staff to actually answer the phone and be able to answer basic sales questions is another matter to consider. But, actually training the workers is harder than you think. You are not American, and you don’t know how Americans like to be talked to! You need to hire someone who specializes in training call center employees to come to your office and give regular training sessions.

That sounds expensive!
Doing business is expensive. Paying salaries, rent, cab fares, utilities and other expenses are not for free. If you are going to pay all of these other costs, invest in training. My guess is that he who invests most in high quality training will probably grab a higher percentage of market share more quickly than any other company. Most companies are not even trying to compete. Americans are less sensitive to price variations as they are to quality variations in companies. Because, if you give them low quality service, then they will lose THEIR clients which will make them go out of business. Americans would rather pay a little more and get better service. I’m not suggesting that you charge double what the others charge in your area, but don’t try to be the cheapest, try to be the best. Sure, offer special sign-up deals for the first three months to get people on board if you need to, but in the long run, focus on quality.

What type of training do people need?
Call center employees need help with pronunciation, clear speaking skills, speaking loud enough but not too loud, and handling difficult situations. You need to be sensitive when there is a problem. You need to be on the side of the person you are talking to and care. You need to be able to explain complicated situations flawlessly to the person on the other end of the phone. Some call center employees can do this, but, many can’t handle even the smallest of complication. Learning American culture and expressions is always helpful. Mastering the art of American small talk is quintessential to success. But, it is the Philippinos who learn these skills almost effortlessly and not the Indians. Why is this? People in the Philippines have excellent interaction skills in general, and they rub off well on Westerners. People in India often just want to make a buck, and don’t want to learn anything about their client or interact with their clients. This attitude is not attractive to Americans and has to change! Otherwise there is no way that you will be successful!

You might also like:

Write professional emails to get more call center clients
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/10/02/how-to-gain-more-call-center-clients-write-professional-emails/

Starting a call center? Keep financial backup for 3 months
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/26/starting-a-call-center-keep-financial-back-up-for-3-months/

5 reasons why you should have your company under one roof!

October 4, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged | Leave a comment

Many people these days choose to work remotely. They don’t want to drive to work. They don’t like the office environment. I don’t blame them. I am the same way. But, for certain types of work, particularly outsourcing tasks such as Data Entry, Call Center, BPO, etc., it is more effective when everyone is under the same roof.

I recently hired a software company based in Arizona. They have teams in various parts of India and a few parts of America. They have a very strong programmer who works remotely. Yes, he has his own office, but it is not under the same roof as corporate headquarters which are probably out of someone’s house (who knows). In any case, when he doesn’t answer his phone, there is nobody next to him to nudge him. If he were in an office, someone would track him down, go to his desk and tell him to PICK UP!

So, here is a summary of reasons to have your team under one roof.

(1) You can nudge someone who doesn’t pick up the phone
(2) You know if someone came to work that day
(3) It is easy to coordinate meetings because everyone is already there (although they might have conflicting things to do during the meeting time).
(4) If they are managing others or being managed by others, it is easier if they are all under the same roof.
(5) It looks more professional to clients who might want to visit you.

Sure, it is hard to get a bunch of people all in the same place. But, running an outsourcing business is hard, and you need all of the advantages you can get. Being under one roof offers many advantages — unless that one roof is leaking!

Networking meetings are a great way to grow your business

October 3, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Marketing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Do you want to grow your outsourcing business exposure. There is nothing better than meeting real live people, especially people who might be great clients. People in America go to networking meetings. Sometimes you have networking breakfasts, networking lunches, and networking wine and cheese parties. I just met a great business contact at a wine tasting with my buddy. He knows a lot of local business people, and I was introduced to someone who has staff members around the world who do ASP and PHP programming which is a service I am in desperate need of at all times.

If you are stuck behind a desk in India and want to gain new clients overseas, you need to have an arm and a finger in the United States or some other overseas country and find a way to meet influential locals. Either you should come here and wine and dine us, or send an agent. A good agent could use various types of channels to gain business to send to your company. They could set up ads, cold call companies, go to networking events and more! Regardless of who does the networking for your company, if you don’t do any networking, you won’t have a network — and THEN, where will you be? Networkless!

Try growing a business without clients. It doesn’t typically work very well.

When in doubt — NETWORK!

You might also like:

How to get clients for your call center: steal one from your boss
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/05/how-to-get-clients-for-your-call-center-steal-one-from-your-boss/

The power of knowing people for outsourcing
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/10/the-power-of-knowing-people-for-outsourcing/

How to gain more call center clients: write professional emails

October 2, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center | Tagged | Leave a comment

I have touched upon this topic so many times before. It is unbelievable how unprofessional so many people are in the call center outsourcing industry. If you have an unprofessional website, personal email address, or if you write text-English, you are unprofessional. If you don’t speak clearly, don’t express yourself clearly, or don’t have well trained staff, then you are once again: unprofessional.

You will lose any serious client if you write English like this:
“How r u? We want a new client 4 r call centre. Pls gve me a call rghit away”

This sentence is littered with Text-ese, spelling mistakes, and abbreviations. Nobody with any standards will have anything to do with you or your BPO if you write like this. Also, if you are writing a proposal to a known or unknown company, you need to address the email to a particular person and state their name.

Dear John Smith,
I am writing you to introduce our link building services. We provide …… etc….

If you are smart, you will either already know some of John’s INDIVIDUAL needs and offer a few choices of useful solutions, or at least ask him what he needs help with, or if he needs any help. If you have any trouble communicating, then learn to communicate in a businesslike way before you ruin your reputation!

If you run even a small call center, communicate professionally and people will take you more seriously!

You might also like:

A professional web site can help get clients for your call center
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/22/how-to-get-clients-for-your-call-center-professional-web-sites/

How to get clients for your call center, get an agent!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/14/how-to-get-more-clients-for-your-call-center-get-an-agent/

Does your company have testimonials from happy clients?

September 30, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Popular on Google+, Sales, Semi-Popular | Tagged | Leave a comment

Does your company have testimonials from happy clients? Yes? Do you think you should post those on your website? Maybe put a few on your home page and then have a link to the rest on some other page. Credibility is what drives business in today’s world (and yesterday’s world as well, but saying today’s world sounds better). You gain credibility when a client refers you to another client. You gain credibility when you have a professional looking website. You gain credibility when you have smart people answer the phone at your company and behave in a helpful way.

But, testimonials are one of the more potent forms of credibility. So, if you have a few, don’t waste them. Show them!

People want to work with you if other people are happy with you.

Tweets:
(1) Do you have testimonials from happy clients? Post them on your website!
(2) You gain credibility when a client refers you to another client. Get online reviews!

You might also like:

Do you invest in the customer experience?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/27/do-you-invest-in-the-customer-experience/

7 habits of successful salespeople
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/01/7-habits-of-successful-salespeople/

Cottage industries in India ruin India’s outsourcing reputation

September 29, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Many people feel that the industry relating to call centers in India has had its reputation ruined by cottage industry players. What is a cottage industry you might ask? Tiny companies with one, two or three employees might be considered members of the cottage industry. India has many call centers that are family operations run out of people’s living rooms. Their neighbor, uncle or cousin might work there when they are out of a job. Many of these companies are completely unprofessional. But, here is my take on the matter.

I am pro-cottage industries. My business is a tiny company. We have three people all working from our homes. People who work from home tend to be the least reliable, but we tend to be generally very reliable. We have been running websites for over 12 years you know! But, for new startups, people are not always realistic. It takes money, skill, manpower, connections, and more to run a small business. I say that it is better to start really really small, and build your way up… Slowly!

The faster you rise, the harder you fall is a line from a rap song. It is sometimes true. Grow slowly but steady and you will be more stable. Don’t try to grow faster than nature lets you. Grow step by step, brick by brick, relationship by relationship. If you have been in business for three years, your clientele should be mostly people who have been with you at least a year, otherwise you are not a stable company. Your staff should have stuck it through with you hopefully for a long time so you know them. To grow in a stable way, your relationships need to be stable. Business is about relationships.

But, what can we do to clean up the cottage industry world of call centers in India? The problem doesn’t get automatically solved if you have an office. Offices are not magical, they are just buildings. Unless they were blessed by a god, they are just a hunk of concrete. People who work in large offices often deliver horrible quality work. The solution is simple — just pay attention to the quality of your work and try to always make it better.

Kai-Zen is the Toyota term for constant improvement. Why not try to find new ways to make your company daily. It is not about trying to find new tricky ways to screw your customers out of a few rupees. Then, they will dump you and you won’t have a business. Find new ways of delivering quality to your customers, then they will multiply!

Tweets:
(1) Many feel that home based call centers in India have ruined India’s reputation.
(2) My business functions w/people working from home. But, do call centers do well like this?
(3) Offices are not magical, they are just buildings. Do people all work better in an office?

You might also like:

5 reasons Indians are less stressed than Americans
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/12/22/5-reasons-indians-are-less-stressed-than-americans/

How does culture determine what is private or public information?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/05/how-does-culture-determine-what-is-private-or-public-information/

Does your company behave as if it doesn’t want new clients?

September 27, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Sales | Tagged | Leave a comment

Does your company behave as if it doesn’t want new clients?
Believe it or not, worldwide, most companies I have talked to seem to not want new clients. Perhaps they just don’t like me which is hard to understand considering what a fun and jovial person I am.

In America, finding a salesperson to talk to is like pulling teeth at most companies.

In India, even getting a company to answer their phone is a daunting task.

How does your company behave?

Do you make it easy for new people to start working with your company?

97% of Indian companies make it very difficult to even talk to a manager who will answer simple questions.

Are you one of the 97%, or the 3%?

If you want to grow your company, I suggest joining the ranks of the 3%

Of course if too many others join the 3%, then it is in danger of becoming 4%, or even 5%. The world might become a better place!

I do not have any specific advice for companies around the world except:

(1) Answer your phone

(2) Answer your phone professionally and be willing and able to answer questions.

(3) The rest is up to you — good luck. If you are like the 97% you will need luck and lots of it.

Active vs. Dormant followers on Twitter

September 27, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Analytics, Semi-Popular, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Active vs. dormant followers on Twitter

I have five Twitter accounts and find them all to be very interesting. However, several are run by a manager who has a very definitive way of running her accounts. She targets users one by one who are relevant. This makes sense, but there is more that needs to be considered. After we have accumulated 3800 fans, only a handful of them interact with us or retweet us no matter how good our materials are.

I just started my own two Twitter accounts. Each one has a well defined audience. I do not target prospective users at all. I have a completely different way of attracting followers. One technique I use is to retweet from industry news, national news, and international news. That way I get interesting people to join my account. Those new folks might not be relevant to my niche, but they are the type that click the EXPAND link — which means that they are the type that retweet. You can not retweet without clicking the expand link. With my niche followers, even if they did retweet me, their followers are not in my niche, so the tweet would never go viral. However,

these followers who found me when I retweeted, are retweeters themselves, and they retweet me. My new Twitter accounts that have less than 100 followers are getting retweeted once per day which is more than I was getting with my old accounts after they hit 3000 followers. The only way to make it big on Twitter is to go viral, so attracting people who retweet is key. The next thing I do is to interact on large Twitter accounts. The relevancy and quality of the interaction determines whether I get retweeted or not. I use humor, and spend a lot of time refining how I convey my message. I’ll sum up my techniques below:

(1) Retweet from industry news, national, and international news. But, don’t retweet from each source more than once per week for maximum results. Remember, that retweeters are searching through those mediums looking for others who retweet — so they can FOLLOW them. Those retweeters are clicking the expand button on many tweets, so you only need to be on one per week.

(2) Interacting on large accounts, or relevant accounts. A small account in your niche is a place to interact regularly. But, large news sources or entertainers are good places to interact. By posting a really interesting response to a post they published — THEY will not retweet you, but their fans will. I get retweeted almost daily by this technique. You need to be very selective about what you respond to and how you respond. Humor works well, and insight works even better.

(3) Use crossover tweets? Tweet information that is industry specific for your niche, but ALSO is relatable to the public. I tweeted about cats who use google analytics. People loved this. It appealed to the laymen as well as hard core analytics guys! Crossover tweets get retweeted roughly 10x as much as a thoughtful industry specific tweet.

It is no crime to interact with people with mini-accounts of 100 people or less, but it is not a way to go viral. Those will end up being dormant followers who do nothing more than represent a number in your # of followers. Active followers can be caught through interacting and retweeting. Throw your herbal antibiotics away and go viral today!

You might also like:

The Google algorithm has some serious issues
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/04/the-google-algorithm-has-some-serous-issues/

Social media, the analytics are deceiving
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/27/social-media-the-analytics-are-deceiving/

Starting a Call Center: Keep financial back up for 3 months!

September 26, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Starting a BPO Call Center is no joke. So many people in India think they can just jump into business, fill a 20 seater with a bunch of girls, and be in business. Many of the people who start such businesses might have been managers in a call center. However, they lack the knowledge they need to have to manage the entire operation. There is a lot you need to know in business that goes above and beyond what a manager knows.

How do you make sure you have constant work for your employees? What if employees quit in the middle of a project? What if your client dumps you in the middle of a project? What if there are hidden expenses? What if you need help training people? There are hundreds of problems that you could encounter that you might not be well versed at dealing with.

My recommendation is that you start SLOW. Get some really small clients and take really good care of them. Don’t lust after large clients. They will come in time if you are any good. Start either at home or in a tiny office with perhaps one or two people working with you. That way you can oversee the entire operation and ensure flawless work.

You need at least 3 months expenses saved up in cash just in case. Things happen in business, and things tend to happen a lot more quickly when you don’t have long term relationships with clients or staff. This is why I suggest starting small and building up slowly. Some people have a growth plan for their business that is financial. I suggest growing your business relationship by relationship, and judging your success by how many relationships you have had for three or more years! If you are starting out, you have ZERO of such relationships. Think long term and think about pleasing your clients and workers. Keep them happy and they will grow!

Your 3 months expenses need to cover rent — so a cheap rent is in order. It needs to cover salaries, utilities, and all other expenses including accounting, legal fees, etc. Usually I tell people to think big, but if you have no experience, you can gain a lot of skills and knowledge by building up from the ground. If you try to grow your BPO Call Center too fast you get in trouble. As a famous rapper once said, “The faster you rise, the harder you fall”. Keep this bit of gritty street knowledge in mind! It is a matter of survival in your case.

6 ways to be more in control of your business!

September 25, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Management | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

I had a talk with the police about a small tampering case. They told me that since other people had my password that I was not in control of my business. I explained that in my business your programmers always have your password. He didn’t get it. He said I had a run away train. The point here is that someone else might have your passwords, but if they have been screened for reputability, then you are in control. If you don’t know how, or don’t have time to screen your outsourced software companies carefully, then you are not in control.

Here are some ways you can be more in control

(1) Watch what your workers and employees do. If they are not doing things the right way, teach them how to do it right. If they still don’t get it, then have someone watch them closely or fire them.

(2) Hire others to watch what your employees do, and make sure that the person you appointed sees everything and reports everything. A chain is only as good as the weakest link, so your “scrutinizer” needs to have no weaknesses in doing their job.

(3) Have screened backups. It is not always easy to have backups for every single task that you need done. But, if you don’t, then when you have to fire someone, you won’t be able to because there will be nobody screened to take their place. If you fire someone only to replace them with an untested person, you will probably have to fire the new one as well, only to have a 3rd person who also doesn’t do what they are supposed to. If you have a thorough interviewing and screening process BEFORE you hire anyone, you will have a much higher quality of workers and will not have to endure the emotional pain and financial loss of firing someone. These backups could be people in the Philippines or India who work for an outsourcing company. They don’t have to be wherever you are. Someone who can get the job done somehow — reliably is a good backup.

(4) Part time workers are sometimes a great way to get more of your less critical work done. They might not stick around, but if you have a constant flow of them, and someone reliable to watch them, you can always have your grunt work done on time which is critical. Having a relationship with a temp-recruiter can also be a similar solution.

(5) Keeping good analytics in a database or on paper about who is doing what, how fast and accurately they are working, etc., can really help. If you know who is on what project, what they will be working on next week, etc., you are in more control.

(6) Insubordination is a disease that spreads. The more you accept it the more of it you get. If you have one person who doesn’t follow instructions, you will get used to it and will end up with more of these types. You cannot be in control of your company if people disobey you. Americans don’t like the word “obey”, but try running a company where everyone does whatever they feel like. You will not be able to function. To be in control, gradually phase out insubordinate workers and replace them with very carefully screened people.

An American teaches Indian co’s to be more American

September 23, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Humor | Tagged | Leave a comment

Being more Westernized doesn’t win the game. Being more dependable wins the game. Indians think that if they replace their sari with Western wear that they suddenly become more sophisticated. In my experience it is the opposite. The smartest Indians I met have been the more traditional educated ones. Not the real Westernized ones, or the fake Westernized ones. But, in any case, our American friend Joe goes to India to help them fit in more with American clients. He gives lectures on the culture, and what people feel comfortable with. He made “before” and “after” videos to document his work.

Before
Rajeev answers in a dull hello. He looks sleepy and unenthusiastic. He says, “Manager not here” and hangs up. End of video…

After
Rajeev goes to the gym for a few months, gets pepped up. He learns the art of interaction and small talk. He gets an answering machine that announces his business name too (which is rare for Indian companies). He is ready for business. He gets back to people promptly, he is enthusiastic, speaks clearly, and he always lets people know his name when he answers the phone in an up-beat type of way. What an improvement. The new Rajeev is the type of guy Americans want to hire!

“Hi this is Rajeev, may I help you? … Sure, I can help you with that problem, just wait while I email the programmer and we will get back to you in six hours on this issue.”
(end of video) Wow! What a change!

Gone too far
Some of Joe’s other clients went a little too far in their quest to be acceptable to American companies. Sundip changes his name to Steve Smith, got a fake Texas accent, and put heavy metal music on his answering machine. Very inappropriate for a business setting. He answers the phone using American slang and colloquial expressions which are completely inappropriate for business as well.

“He man, this is jazzy Steve Smith — how’s it swinging!” Oh my god, what did Joe teach this guy? Perhaps Sundip went off on a tangent without Joe’s knowledge?

Back to tradition
Meanwhile in Aleppi, Kerela, Praveen has decided to be professional, without losing his Indian roots. So, he makes a video of his company. He goes to work on an elephant while having a very intense business discussion on his mobile phone. He is wearing a fancy traditional Indian outfit and he is all about business. But, he gets to his office, and someone else’s smaller elephant is parked in HIS elephant’s parking spot. He calls the office and says, “Get Rajesh out here — he is NOT to park in my parking spot. He is only the assistant manager, his elephant must park someone else”. Then, Praveen gives you a tour of his office. His workers are all working fervently wearing very elaborate traditional clothing, and then all stop abruptly. They all get up and start singing a song and doing a Bollywood dance to some very loud film music. Then it ends and they go back to fervently working. Praveen is trying to say, “This is what working with my company in India is really like.” In a movie, it might be like that, but in real life, it probably isn’t. But, honestly, Praveen is the most entertaining person you could outsource your work to, and probably the hardest working too! Teacher Joe finally got back to Praveen and was baffled. Culturally Praveen was as Indian as you can get while maintaining communication that was crystal clear; His work was always impeccable and punctual; his staff was pleasant; and everything else was perfect. Joe said, “This is not what I was thinking of at first, but maybe this can work”

You might also like:

Casual day at a call center in India
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/03/31/casual-day-at-a-call-center-in-india/

How to get outsourcing work without lifting a finger!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/25/how-to-get-outsourcing-work-without-lifting-a-finger/

How to get clients for your call center: professional web sites

September 22, 2013 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center | Tagged , | Leave a comment

If you are interviewing prospective clients, they are interviewing you, but you are also interviewing them. If someone doesn’t have a professional website, then they are probably not professional. On the other hand, if you don’t have a professional website, then nobody serious will want anything to do with you.

Presentation means a lot and comes with a cost. But, think about it. If there are a dozen new call centers, and only one has a good website, who do you think will get the majority of the business? It takes money, skills, and taste to have even a mediocre website, and prospects understand that. Otherwise, you are just a guy off the street.

You can judge your clients similarly. If someone can not afford a small website which costs a few thousand in America, will they be able to afford a contract with your company? Is it even worth the time to discuss it with them? Maybe, maybe not. When you are sizing people up, it is hard to get a real impression of someone based on the way they talk. Some of the best talkers I have dealt with let me down the worst and were the worst crooks. You can’t judge someone by how well they communicate. But, if they have a horrible website where everything is broken, then you have proof that they are negligent and you might be advised not to deal with them.

On the other hand, if someone doesn’t communicate well, then you can’t deal with them for sure.
Remember the golden rule:

Whatever counts for you doesn’t count unless everything is right.
Whatever counts against you disqualifies you.

Cruel — but, an effective way to size up people who you want to deal with. Most people are let-downs and you need to screen them before they waste your time and resources.