Tag Archives: How to acquire call center clients

How to acquire call center clients — looking like a big company

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

Getting respect
Many small companies feel that they can’t get any respect unless people think they are a big company. If you live in a 3rd world country, it is hard to get past these narrow-minded opinions. 3rd worlders have nonsensical and narrow-minded opinions about almost everything. In America, we don’t think that bigger is better. The coolest companies in America are small companies. Small companies often don’t want to become bigger companies.

Keeping your roots
Some larger American companies still maintain a lot of the charm that they had when they were smaller companies. Some people think that you can’t get ahead without the big company image, but charm sells — and don’t you forget that!

Small time call centers
Many small time call centers feel that they can not get clients unless they look like a big company. Nothing could be further from the truth. Often, the reps at these companies will be very impersonal and distant to maintain their big company image. However, when you ask them anything about their company and workers — they can not produce any content — it is always private. The bigger question is, how can you acquire call center clients if you don’t answer any of their questions? People don’t want big companies, they want answers! So, start giving them.

Being helpful — not being big
Indian call centers are famous for having people with typical thick Indian accents pretending to be in America, and having a fake American name. They think that the only way to be liked is to be American. This is not true. The way to be liked is not to be American, and is also NOT to be a big company. Being HELPFUL is the way to be liked. At my company, clients don’t like it when we are NICE to them. They don’t want NICE, they want HELP. This is why I succeed in my business — I am not nice — But, I am helpful.

Skills — not size
When I interview call centers, I don’t care if they are big or small. I want to know if they have employees who can do my work the way I want it done. If they have 100 workers of various skill levels, but refuse to give me one who has the skill set that I want, I will not be happy. I would be better off with a call center with 1 seat, that has the worker that I want. It is about skills — not size.

The moral of the story
What you should learn from this blog entry is: Don’t pretend to be a glamorous large company (unless you are). Rather, pretend to be a small, helpful, and skillful company that answers all of the client’s questions. Then, you will impress people. You should be flexible and nice too if you want to attract call center clients!

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!

You  might also like:

The 2 minute contact rule

Mistrust and phone interaction

Indians who ask a million questions