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?

The 2 Minute Contact Rule!

June 22, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles, Popular on Google+, Semi-Popular | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The 2 Minute Contact Rule

For those of you in marketing, what I learned in my years can be reduced to a few simple principles. One of these simple principles is something I will spend the next two minutes explaining to you — it is called, the two minute contact rule.

If you are prospecting for new clients or calling existing clients, contractors, subcontractors, or people you work with, the rule still applies. Business is about relationships, and the key to relationships is mastering the stages of a relationship. You get to know someone, you consider working with someone, you start work with someone, you develop your working relationship, and then from there it either ends or it blossoms!

As a general rule it is good to make quick regular contacts with people you work with. It strengthens your relationship with them regardless of who they are. You will be in the front of people’s minds if you keep in regular contact. They will be more likely to want to work with you, and they will be likely to do better work for you too.

Prospecting
If you are prospecting for new clients, the most important thing is NOT to make a sale right away. It is hard to sell to a stranger, so the first hurdle is to make the stranger an acquaintance, and one who likes you. It is good to make a quick contact with a decision maker. Be nice and be positive. Let them know that you are there to help and listen to what they have to say about their needs. Nobody likes a pushy salesperson with a deal they want to push down your throat. Never be pushy! Be gentle, friendly, and prove to them through knowledge (not force) what a helpful asset you can be to them. Your first call to a prospect could be as little as two minutes where you introduce yourself and your company, and what you could offer them. It is not even about price or availability at that point. The point is people connecting with people — it is powerful and it is effective for future sales. The fact that they have gotten to know you a little, and that you were pleasant and helpful makes you 100 times as likely to get a deal out of them than some other clown (not that you are a clown).

Calling those who you work with
If you hire people, or work in conjunction with others, it is great to make a two minute call from time to time. It is a little like throwing another little stick on the fire. It keeps the fire going, and momentum is everything in relationships and business. You can just say hi, and bring up one or two quick points in a casual way. If you live in India, many of you need to learn to be more casual in your business relationships — being uptight just isn’t pleasant for others (at least not by my standards). The people who you work with will work better with you as a result of your quick call. They might work more efficiently for you or put in more hours just because they are thinking more about you, and thinking in a positive way.

Calling existing clients
People who succeed in business do so generally by having many long term clients. Building momentum and trust is everything. Giving your existing clients a quick call is a wonderful thing to do. I do this all the time. They might have questions which they never thought to email you about. Your call will stimulate these questions, and thoughts about purchasing more. I notice that when I contact several hundred people in a two day period with quick calls, there will be many new sales as a result of these quick talks. Not everyone buys something, as a matter of fact, relatively few purchase anything as a result of the call — at least right away. But, a few will make a purchase within 72 hours, and then others in a week or two, and a residual sale or two will pop up a few months later as a result of your quick calls. If I put a dollar or rupee value on these quick calls, it might be worth $200 or more per hour to me in the long run. That is a lot of money by my standards!

What to talk about?
In a quick call, you could ask the other person if they have any questions. Or, you could ask a few quick questions, or quick discussion topics. You could also make quick pointers or customized suggestions for a client. NEVER make general suggestions, because it can turn people off. It shows that you care and are paying attention if you offer suggestions that are taylor made for the individual you are talking to, and this applies to emails to. If you segment your email blasts to target companies with similar needs, then you are sending companies information that is particular to them which they are very likely to appreciate!

Let bygones be bygones?
On the other hand, it is part of efficient management technique to know when NOT to contact someone. If a relationship proves to be fruitless, you need to know how to identify how fruitless it is in order to stop all contact. Don’t waste your time contacting companies or individuals who are just not worth it. Become an expert at assessing other people’s worth — and don’t listen to those religious types who say, “Judge Not” — that doesn’t apply to business. Judge! And judge effectively!

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Rules verses Reality: Feng Shui and Vaastu

June 19, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Vaastu Feng Shui | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Rules verses reality of Feng Shui and Vaastu

For those who are regulars to my blog, you will know that I look at business in a multi-dimentional way, including metaphysical viewpoints in my greater perspective. India has Vaastu, and China has Feng Shui. Both are concerned with finding lucky spots and lucky directions, and I use it DAILY in real life — and I am no fool. Yes, it works, but you have to know how to work it!

The rules don’t always apply?
I went to a formal Feng Shui school. We learned how to do charts of houses and learned formal rules of feng shui. I didn’t stay long enough to learn the advanced materials, but enough to know how to do basic readings. There is a simplistic rule that water to the North is good for money. Another general concept is that places where the affluent stay have a better vibration for making money. My last Feng Shui trip to San Diego proves this that this theory doesn’t always produce favorable results.

I frequently go to the San Diego area in California to de-stress after weeks of over-working. The relaxing energies there really help, and the water energy at the beach is great for my health and spirits. The purity of the water there helps too, as the coast in Los Angeles county is impure from all of the heavy industry and heavy thoughts in the air! I stayed at a few different hotels to test out the Feng Shui. I stayed a really swanky place for one night. The Hyatt. Wow, was it expensive, and the soaps smelled so nice. If only I were a millionaire, I could stay there every night and have fragrant body lotion and fluffy towels every day! My business did extremely well the following day after a night at the Hyatt. But, the next night I wanted to try out the theory about how water to the north is good for money and business.

I know from experience and from school that water to the North is good for money, but if the water isn’t moving, it doesn’t help so dramatically. When I go to Yosemite National Park, I will stand directly South of a large waterfall to absorb the energies of the fast moving water directly North of me — and YES, I bring a digital compass to verify the exact direction.

Water to the North doesn’t always help?
But, during my last trip to San Diego I stayed at a hotel on the La Jolla Beach coast that had water directly North and West, and the waves were decent enough to surf on. The hotel was in a well to do area, but I got a cheap rate since I arrived late and left early. They gave me the “crash” special. Rich area — water to the North — this is a formula for wealth, right? WRONG! We made very modest sales the following day. By the way, my experience with lucky Feng Shui spots is that they effect you for roughly 24 hours after you arrive, so I track sales the following day after staying at a hotel or having a long dinner in a lucky restaurant. My only conclusion here is that the hotel was too old, and had a bad chart which was why my sales weren’t better the next day. Or, perhaps I just went on an unlucky day? Astrology is a factor here too. It is best to try a location on three non-consecutive days to get a basic preliminary reading assessment.

Poor areas aren’t always bad!
The next night I stayed in my favorite town of Encinitas. I love this place because the people are very nice, and the restaurants and coffee houses are so interesting and unique. Have you ever tried cardamom ice cream or dark chocolate cayenne ice gelato? You should! And, you should try it very soon if you have good taste! I love this town because Yogananda built a beautiful meditation garden there that has been blessed by the gods including lord Krishna. Even Jesus appeared there in astral form before Yogananda at that garden once! I like to meditate there and absorb all of the divine energies plus the healthy vibrations from all of the flowering plants and the sea. A few weeks before, I stayed at a very modest hotel in the area, and sales the next day were almost nothing. So, I thought the whole area had a bad money energy. But, this time, I stayed at another modest hotel, and sales were through the roof. We made triple the average new sales that day. So, the moral of the story is that knowing all of the various feng shui rules is good for your personal reference, but sometimes a very average place might have very good feng shui. You really have to spend time in many places to get a good feel for which place is lucky and which place is not. Take notes otherwise the experiences you have will go to waste!

Regardless of what country you live in, there are lucky places you can go. Even if you only go to a place for an hour per day, that is long enough to get roughly 40% of the energy you would get if you were there for 24 hours which can change your business tremendously. Visiting a lucky hotel, waterfall or restaurant can completely transform your business if you go regularly. This is part of my lifestyle because it is powerful!

Techniques for interviewing outsourcing companies

June 16, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Techniques for interviewing outsourcing companies

Don’t be confused reading this post. This is not helping the job seeker interview. This is helping the company boss give an interview to a company that he is considering hiring for some outsourced tasks.

What is the goal of the interview?
You can never know how good an individual’s work is, or how good a company’s work is unless you try them out. But, you can only try one company out at a time (generally), and it is expensive if you choose one who does a poor job or is aggravating to work with. So, asking the right questions is really important.  The problem is that people always tell you what they think you want to hear, so you have to use tricks.

An interview with a customs inspector – trick questions
Actually, I don’t know if this guy intentionally tricked me or not.  He asked what my address was, and I gave him my mailing address, not my physical. He asked if I was the only one at that address, and I said yes, because it was a mailbox that only I had access to.  Then he asked me about my physical address and I said I had housemates.  He raised his voice in anger and said that I told him that I was the only one at that address.  I told him that many people have mailing addresses, and that I thought he was talking about the mailing address, because that is the address I give to people in case they want to send me something.    The point here is that he might have been profiling me as a criminal and wanted to see if I panicked if he raised his voice and accused me of telling him false stories.  I’m not sure what tricks or techniques he was using, but this could have been a sophisticated technique.

Ask probing questions
If you are at a restaurant, and the waitress comes over and asks, “How is everything?”.  This is the most stupid question you could possibly ask — and 99% of waitresses ask exactly this question. Nobody will give you a true answer, so why bother asking? You would be better off asking if they needed anything.  Everyone will say everything is fine unless something is very wrong. If you REALLY want to find out how they gauge the quality of your food and service, ask something more probing.  “Was there enough garlic in the burger?”.  That is a question that brings out the food critic in me.  If you ask a prospective employee, “Do you like your work?”, do you expect him to say no? You can read his body language, because that doesn’t like. If he starts looking at the floor when you talk about work, that is a sign right there. If it were me, I would ask open ended questions that start with, “Tell me about your past work experience and about the programming languages you use”. That forces them to think and create conversation of value. I might also ask, “What do you think are the characteristics that makes a good call center worker?”. That way you can see if they are in tune with what matters, or at least what matters to you. But, what if you want to see how they handle sticky situations?

Catch them offguard!
In real life, some people are honest, some stretch the truth, others are nonsense artists, some are helpful, and some are neglegent. You need to get as good a picture of the people you are hiring before you are “involved” with them.  It is costly to get out of a work relationship sometimes — emotionally and financially.

I was a bit rude at an interview once, and found that I got amazing input about the company from this rude remark. Please keep in mind that when I made this statement, I was not intentionally trying to catch them offguard, it just happened spontaneously.  I said that the neighborhood they were in was scary, and that there seemed to be a lot of drug activity in the area.  The girl said that drugs were everywhere — which is sort of true, but avoided the point that their area had exponentially more drugs than most.  Then, I said that many people outside were wearing winter hats in 75 degree weather, which is indicative of drug or alcohol dependence.  The girl said that the locals felt cold since they are used to much warmer weather.  I learned that the type of answers I got from my off the wall comment were valuable to me, because I got to see how this individual handled controversy — and she handled it politely, but with evasion.

The problem is that conflicts happen when you use a company, and you need to know as much as possible about how they handle conflicts.  You need to know if they keep appointments on time. You need to know if they overbill, or are careless in their work too. Other companies might ditch you in the middle of a big project.  There are many types of debilitating issues that can happen when you hire a company.

The most serious issue I have with companies is that you might work with a different employee every year or two in a company relationship.  One employee might be wonderful, while the other one might be a disaster from hell.  A particular company is only as good as the employee that they have who works with you now!

So, how do you craft probing questions?
Probing questions are easy. Just ask open ended questions that can only be answered with a paragraph. If the interviewee clams up, then you know that the person is really not very thoughtful. If the person has a very thorough answer and peppers it with a few little jokes, then they are very thoughtful.  You might get an answer that sounds like it comes from a textbook in a dull monotone as well which tells me all I need to know.

And how do you craft trick questions?
Hmm. This really depends on what you want to find out. If you want to find out if they bill for excess hours, then you could mention in passing how this “Other” company you heard of gave your friend a crazy bill with all types of inflated figures and unauthorized charges — see how the interviewee reacts.  You might learn nothing from this, or just get a politically correct neutral answer.  They might assure you that THEY would never do that. It is hard to tell what you will actually learn. If it were me, I would pay attention to their level of anxiety when you ask this question, and what their body language tells you.

If you are concerned about being ditched or put on the back burner in the middle of a long project, discuss the topic of time sensitive contracts with incentives and penalties for timely or untimely delivery of work up to specifications. See if they would consider it.  A contract doesn’t really protect you.  Someone irresponsible will fail on a contract very often, and perhaps get sued, while someone reliable will be true to you with or without a contract.  A company’s willingness to sign a time sensitive contract would be an encouraging sign, but there is no such thing as a definte sign — there are only indications.

If you think that many employees are drunkards, you could make a remark about how many people in the neighborhood or at some other company you went to were drunkards.  See how people react.

Summary
You will learn nothing by asking questions that lead people to only one answer. Don’t ask if they like their job, and don’t ask if they are conscientious.  As HOW they are conscientious, and WHAT they like about their job. Ask probing questions, and try to catch people off guard to see what happens.  Prepare a few curve ball questions and take notes on how everyone reacts.  With Indians, this might be a little harder to manage, because there are many people in India who are emotionally very over-reactive and panic very easily.  Have fun, and keep the paramedics on speed dial just in case you accidentally ask someone if they did something bad that they actually did — and then they have a panic attack and have trouble breathing!

Indians who ask a million questions

June 10, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged | Leave a comment

I was sitting in on a phone conversation between my assistant and some people in India.

Each step of the conversation, the person in India, had a list of questions that were asked in a very unfriendly TONE:

Who is this person? How do we know your address is what you say it is?

How do we know you are in America?

My assistant’s name is Maria, and the person she called thought she was Filipino due to her name. But, Maria is a name common for Christians worldwide.  Mary, Maria, and in Arabic — Miriam, Mariana, all derive from Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Filipinos do not have exclusive rights to Christian names, although they dominate the call center business.

It is confusing, because my assistant is from Vienna, Austria, but lives half the year in Los Angeles, California. Then, she does phone calls to India.  Her global lifestyle can be confusing to others I guess.

So, my assistant said a few sentences in Hindi to the gentleman which proved herself to not be Filipino, since most Filipinos don’t know Hindi.

In any case, when doing business in India, people assume that every claim you make is false, so you have to have evidence that is easy for them to see that everything you are saying is verifiable!

When doing business with people in the West, don’t behave like this guy behaved or nobody will like you!

When to lose your temper at a BPO!

June 7, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged | Leave a comment

When to lose your temper at a BPO

As Americans, when we watch Indian managers at BPO companies or other companies act very politely to us, and then we watch them violently yell at their workers, we are shocked!!! This behavior simply doesn’t exist in America. Sure, American managers threaten, and give ultimatums to workers, but this abrupt yelling is a cultural oddity to us.

In America, the cultural norm is to have a talk with a worker who is not performing adequately. The manager might “write the worker up”, or threaten to. This means taking a note of what wrongdoing the worker did. If the worker gets written up several times, or has low performance in generaly, perhaps they might get suspended or fired. This would depend on the company, and the conditions.

But, India has an almost comical and theatrical way of dealing with these issues at BPO outfits and companies in general. It is so common for workers to ignore the instructions of their boss, and keep ignoring until they are yelled at. Sometimes, yelling is the magical medicine which resolves all problems. In America, a manager might get fired for yelling, but in India, it seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered.

So, if you intend to be part of BPO or other types of management in India, either from an American company, or as an Indian in India, you should practice your drama skills starting today. You can stand in front of the mirror and practice getting really angry. It’s all an act, but you need this skill to survive. Below is an example dialogue you can practice at home when you are feeling bored.

BPO Manager: “Surrendra!! You didn’t get the file to me by 3pm as I instructed!!!”

Surrendra: “Oh…..sorry, sorry, sorry…. right away sir”

BPO manager: “Don’t let this happen again — always be on time — every time — or I will be forced to let you go and you will die of malnutrition for sure!”

Surrendra: “Oh…. yes sir, yes sir, yes sir.”

Please note, that in India, when you apologize, it is normal to say sorry a minimum of three times really quickly!

Disclaimer: If you are going to be with a company that doesn’t permit bad behavior, please don’t lose your temper, or you can get fired yourself!

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.

Visit our Call Center Search page

How often do you contact old prospects?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/05/19/how-often-do-you-contact-old-prospects/

6 strategies for growing your outsourcing business fast!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/10/16/6-strategies-for-growing-your-outsourcing-business-fast/

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

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/

Untraditional solutions to unemployment

April 30, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged | Leave a comment

A radical solution – hour control
In America, there is a 40 hour work week.  It is ironic, that those who are not paid by the hour are forced to work over 50 hours a week in many professions.  The 40 hour work week was created to protect workers from the oppression of having to overwork. But, since only some industries follow the time parameters, it only protects hourly wage slaves some of the time.  Here is a radical idea.  What if certain industries have fewer jobs, and many are out of work.  Rather than let some of the people be unemployed and have nothing, crippling their family’s finances, and depressing them emotionally, here is another better solution.
 
Let’s say that there are 1000 jobs making widgets.  Let’s say that suddenly, 10% of those jobs disappeared.  If the government took the liberty to have different work week standards for different industries and job-types, they could reduce the work week for widget makers to 36 hours which is a decrease of 10%.  That way everyone would have a job.  Another solution would be to have a government agency ask which workers would be interested in being retrained, since the widget industry was drying up. That way people could voluntarily change industries instead of ending up on the sidewalk on their rear end!
 
There are many different industries, and creating different length work weeks, and adjusting the length of the work week every quarter would be a cumbersome task.  But, would it be worth it?  
 
Hour reduction?
When workers make too many mistakes, they might lose their bonus, or even get fired.  But, this creates a sociological problem of unemployment.  Why not just reduce their hours for six months instead of firing them. In a flexible system of hour control, that would be a viable option.  The worker would still be able to pay their rent and basic expenses.  The worker would be in financial stress, but would not suffer the disaster of unemployment.
 
Government work programs
During the American Depression, the government created jobs for people to build trails in the mountains, build bridges, and do many other types of work.  I say that governments worldwide should create jobs for unemployed people.  Maybe these jobs might not be glamorous, but we always need more jobs done in society. Cleaning up the streets, fixing up older homes, building solar power infrastructure, and the list goes on. These jobs always need to be done. It doesn’t make sense for someone to be at home twiddling their thumbs when there are jobs that desperately need to be done.
 
Conclusion
There are many ways to reduce unemployment, but maybe it’s time to investigate some innovative plans.

Particular offices and how they effect your work

April 14, 2012 by 123outsource
Categories: Outsourcing Articles | Tagged | Leave a comment

Offices and how they effect your work
 
I am unusual in that I work from home.  Of course, in today’s virtual world, more and more people are working from home as employees and freelancers. I own my own company and hire others who work from their home as well which is also unusual. Unfortunately, there is no way to keep an eye on employees working remotely, so you have to pay them by the job as sub-contractors which works well… generally…
 
But, I am thinking that at one point, I will need to get an office in able to be able to grow my company to the next level. I run several bustling online directories, and there is a lot of work involved. Having a few people in an office to do phone calls, emails, and database management would really help in the future.  Some people think that people work much better in an office environment. The focus is purely on work, and there are fewer distractions than being at home.  I think this is generally true, but we need to look at each environment one by one.
 
My visits to local Los Angeles office buildings – Downtown
I visited office buildings in many parts of Los Angeles, and the types of buildings were all very unique.  I started in downtown in a high-rise. They had special deals on office spaces as they had many empty units. They were in prime, A rated office space.  We were up on the 36th floor in a very professionally managed building with high security.  The small rooms with no windows on the inner side of the building were relatively cheap for the area starting around $600 per month.  But the nicer rooms with windows were much more expensive.  My main issue was air.  The air was recycled, and not fresh — with a low percentage of oxygen which is not tolerable if you have a heart condition.  I would suffocate if I worked there more than two hours.  I thought of bringing in many plants which would convert CO2 into Oxygen… I wonder if that would work.
 
Midtown –  a dream shared office
The next building was a shared office loft.  There were several companies with mini-suites there (no walls), and a whole bunch of entrepreneurs. The atmosphere was vibrant with creative energy and hard work.  I liked the manager very much, and the air was freshly pumped in from the room (the manager was the architect who designed the place).  Wow!  So, I went back and tried working there.  You can rent by the afternoon, day, week, or month at reasonable rates considering how attractive this place was.  I did 76 phone calls in two hours and five minutes. I’m not sure if that is a record, but my concentration was very good there, and lots of work got done!
 
Beverly Hills – a nightmare office
I saw a realtor near the border of Beverly Hills.  He was very nice and arrived early, and so did I.  However, the square footage of the office was not what the specifications said.  I learned that they include hall space in the specifications.  The building was really old and very unattractive.  But, at least the windows opened, so I could breath.  
 
Midtown again…
I saw a nice office with two rooms separated by a wall with a huge window.  I found that the size of the rooms wouldn’t meet my future needs. I needed the back room to be smaller since it would be for me personally, and the other room to be bigger as it would need to accomdate three people during peak usage…  
 
The 1920’s building.
This was a real cultural experience.  The landlord was really nice and showed me around. The entrance had a wonderful classic Spanish architecture and a domed arch near the entry.  The tenants were an ecclectic mix of creative people including a singing teacher, an acupuncturist, and many varieties of small business owners.  I thought it was a really interesting place. 
 
Conclusion
It is hard to determine where would be the best work environment and why.  But, the work environments were so diverse, that it was an interesting tour of my own city, that lead to my eyes being opened in new ways.  My favorite was the shared office.  But, in the long run, I’ll need to find that perfect office that is the perfect size and configuration.