We now come to the final part of the series aptly titled “The Zen of Call Center Success.”

My favorite definition of Zen is this – A total state of focus incorporating togetherness of body and mind.

Zen is a way of being. It is also a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusions and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts.

Surprisingly, one can incorporate Zen in their quest for a successful call center career. Here are Zen principles that most successful call professionals internalize:

Learn
Empty your cup so that it can be filled. How can you fill your cup if it’s not empty? The same goes with your call center career. Get rid of all preconceived notions and ideas. Be an empty vessel, and allow new knowledge to flow into your being.

Being receptive opens the path to continuous learning and improvement, freeing us from the confines of limited knowledge.

Tranquility
Before coming to work, empty your mind of all distractions. Leave your concerns outside the door and focus on the now. “Dump the junk” to free your mind. With a tranquil mind, your goals become clear and your actions will be defined.

Adaptability
Moving, be like water. Still, be like a mirror. Respond like an echo. Be like water; water has form and yet it has no form. It is the softest element on earth, yet it penetrates the hardest rock.

It has no shape of its own yet it can take any shape in which it is placed. In a cup, it becomes the shape of the cup. In a vase, it takes the shape of the vase and curls about the stems of flowers.

Observe the adaptability of water. If you squeeze it fast, the water will flow out quickly. If you squeeze it slowly, it will come out slowly.

Water can be liquid, steam, or ice.

Be flexible and be open to change, adapt to your environment, let your call go with the flow – and you shall prevail.

Technique
There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet their combination is endless.

There are but eight notes – but there are infinite ways they can be melded and blended.

Each call you receive or make is different from the ones you had before – learn to adapt and use different techniques combining your skills and experience to ensure a successful call.

Zen is a matter of one’s state of mind, which could steer someone towards failure or guide them to success.

Maintaining a positive and successful outlook in life and in one’s work will ensure their success.

So in closing, do you want to be an epic fail, or an awesome pro?

The choice is yours.

In the last article, we discussed the basic strategies and tactics you can use to become a successful outbound call center professional. Today we will look at the different tools used to crack even the most uninterested prospects.

If you want to become a successful outbound call center professional – you have to remember two things.

Be persistent. Be polite.

Many outbound calls end in disaster because the caller did not have the patience or was not polite enough to the prospect.

Being persistent and polite may seem very simple, but in reality it is really hard to apply these principles in the high pressure environment of outbound sales.

Using the above mentioned principles, here are some tips you can use to crack even the most difficult prospects:

Listen carefully to what your prospects say and explain anything that is not clear. Ask them to elaborate by using prompts such as “ok,” “mmm-hmm,” and “what else?”

Use terms they can understand, avoiding the use of jargon they may not recognize.

Avoid drawing prospects into a long-winded discussion of what you can offer them until you thoroughly understand what they want or what they need. Use probes to gather this information and avoid being too assumptive of what they need.

Recognize that objections are a natural part of the process.  It is common for a customer to express several objections before they make the final commitment to purchase.

Never take these objections personally and do not assume that it means the other person is not interested. Understand that your prospect will likely have specific concerns about making a decision.

Hint for the sale. The goal here is you do not pressure your prospects into making a decision, so they will not be offended by your request.

Be subtle, have the confidence to ask for the sale many times within the call (the worst that they can do is say “no”).

Be polite. Many prospects want to be given permission to make a decision and look to the caller for that permission.

Again, never assume too much, as the maxim goes: “To assume too much equates to making an ass of you and me”

To sum it up – Polite persistence differentiates the most successful outbound call center professionals from the amateur.

They are not afraid of rejection, and don’t give up at the first sign of resistance. They know when to stop. (No one really likes annoying callers).

Hope this helps you in getting more sales.

The final installment of this series will cover The Zen of Call Center Success.

In the last article, we discussed inbound call handling tactics. Today we talk about surviving the perils of being an outbound call center agent.

As an outbound agent, you have two important goals – To close a sale and to meet your target.

You will do this through cold calling, and more often than not (it can really be frustrating) to both the caller and the party being called.

Sometimes, it is a matter of making the right call at the right time. Skillful outbound call center agents have several tricks up their sleeves to stack the deck in their favor. Here are some of the best practices that successful outbound agents use:

1. Persistence – Outbound call center professionals pitch a product or service, and client initially declines. Although the prospect may not sound interested in the beginning, the determined agent remain unfazed from asking.

2. Options, Options – The agent pitches several options to entice the prospect and close the sale. That offer may be in the form of a discount, free item and the like.

3. Never Say Die – True-blue outbound call center professionals are relentless; they refuse to give up. No matter how many times prospects say “no”, they will continue offering alternatives until they finally persuade them and close the sale.

Of course, agents have to follow the engagement rules set by their campaign (DNC, no rebuttal, etc). As previously discussed, outbound call center professionals can use a modified version of the WASP technique. In this case, it is called GASP.

G: Greet
*Greet the caller properly
*Introduce yourself, and state the purpose of your call

A: Ask – Collect Information
*Ask questions relevant to the product or service you are pitching
*Probe on what the prospect wants. Look for hints
*Observe the prospect’s reaction

S: Supply – Give Information
*Give the prospect information about the features of the product or service
*Provide pricing information
*Entice prospects by telling them the benefits of the pitched product or service

P: Part – Close the call
*Ask the prospect about taking advantage of the product or service today
*Close the call. Make the sale. If you fail to close it, at least you have a potential lead.

Be careful not to annoy potential customers too much. Some people give up too early in the sales process every time they hear a few “no’s” and decide to turn their attention elsewhere (that’s where your soft skills and sales training come into play). It is the responsibility of the agents to convince the potential customers to make a decision. They cannot expect them to make the decision of getting the product or service on their own.

Next article: Call Center Guerrilla 3: Survival Guide for Outbound Agents.

After rebooting your résumé (finally getting the attention of the call centers) and surviving the interview process, you have finally landed a call center job. Then what?

In this installment, we will discuss and simplify the call handling process if you are assigned to the service that handles inbound calls.

How you handle these calls spells a difference between an irate and a satisfied caller.  In this article, we will discuss the WASP method in handling inbound calls.

WASP stands for:

W – Welcome, A- Ask, S – Supply, and P –Part. Here’s how you do it:

W = Welcome
*Greet the caller properly
*Introduce yourself

A- Ask = Collect Information
*Ask questions
*Probe on what the caller needs
*Observe the caller’s reaction

S – Supply = Give Information
*Give the appropriate response (based on the established call flow procedure)
*Try to answer the caller’s concerns
*Provide the information the caller needs
*Empathize with the caller (if necessary)
*Escalate the call, if you cannot resolve the issue in your own

P -Part – Close the call
*Ask the caller if you have resolved his/her query
*Inquire if he/she needs anything else
*Close the call- confident that you have made another caller happy

Hope this helps.

Stay tuned, the next installment will be “A Survival Guide for the Outbound Call Center Agent“

Some job seekers think that they meet the minimum requirements for the job. The reality is – They may need some improvement in some areas. In this installment, we will analyze a typical call center job ad and discuss what call centers are looking for in candidates. Let’s look at a typical ad:

Call Center Agent

Requirements:
Excellent command of the English language
Aggressive or strong personality
Strong tolerance to stress and pressure
Flexible in terms of work schedule

Now, let us discuss what kind of message the call centers want to convey in the ad:

1) “Excellent command of the English language” – Call centers are not just looking for candidates who can speak and write English. They are looking for people who have great verbal and written english communication skills. Job seekers must have excellent grammar, great voice quality, impeccable spelling skills, as well as the ability to convey their thoughts articulately (both verbally, and in writing).

Knowing how to speak in English is not enough. Candidates must show language mastery.

2) “Aggressive or strong personality”  – Call centers are all about KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas). Your targets may be based on sales, average call handling time, accuracy of information among other things. Successful call center professionals have that go-getter attitude. They walk the extra mile and have a “never say die” attitude when it comes to accomplishing their tasks.

Aggressive call center professionals push themselves to the limit. They exert their best effort all the time.

3) “Strong tolerance to stress and pressure” – A call center career is not for the faint of heart. There will be instances in the day when they encounter rude and unreasonable callers. If one wants to be a great call center professional, he or she must have a strong tolerance to stress, maintain their cool and composure amidst a pressure, and to meet their targets in spite of these obstacles.

4) “Flexible in terms of work schedule” – Working in a call center is not a bed of roses. Not everyone is cut-out to become one. It might even require work during weekends or holidays, and on shifting schedules. Believe it or not: Some people prefer this setup. As long as the candidate is open minded, and can adapt quickly to flexible work schedules, then there is a bright future ahead of him or her in this field.

Sometimes, it pays to do research, and read between the lines when looking at the job ads. They will help you find the best match for your skills and preferences, ensuring a successful career in the call center industry.

In the fast moving world of the call center industry – many agents now have a fear that their constant hopping from one call center to another call center may affect their chances of career growth based on the employers’ opinions regarding career “butterflies.”

The truth of the matter is – not everyone is lucky enough to land their “perfect job” on the first try. It is a matter of luck – and a period of trial and error before you can land a career that best fits your skills and interests.

There are two schools of thought on this issue. On the one hand, some employers view candidates who frequently change jobs as an indicator of a candidate’s instability or incompetence. On the other hand, frequent job changes can also demonstrate ambition and achievement (the person is so good that he got “pirated” by the competition).

In my opinion, it is important for all call center professionals who experienced this to take a step back and look at whether each job change in their call center career indicate they are becoming better or have sought out greater challenges.

Companies often do a background check on their candidates’ past companies, contributions and performance level – to shed light on an applicant’s potential value to their company (who is planning to take the risk of hiring a potentially unstable candidate).

The other side of the coin shows the many reasons that could motivate an individual to change call center jobs, some of which are beyond their control (company closed down, expectations were mismanaged, zero growth, etc).

In addition, longevity in a company does not always equate to stability and competence (i.e. employee Y has stayed with company X for a period of 5 years but has shown no growth, or contributed anything to the organization during that time).

In the end, don’t let constant career moves dampen your enthusiasm. Call center careers can be comparable to relationships – it’s not a matter of who you met first but a matter of finding the right one for you.

Fresh college graduates are often clueless on how the real-world call center industry works.

Call center services can be diverse – they can range from 1. Back-office support, 2. Technical Support, 3. Inbound Sales, 4. Outbound Sales, 5. Technical Recruitment, 6. IP Relay, 7. Voice Transcription, 8. Directory Assistance – and many more. The list can be longer with new and innovative outsourced services being introduced by providers.

If the current educational programs are ineffective in retooling or improving workforce value, the call centers and the academe should form partnerships to create a program designed to keep track of a graduate’s training and career advancement – from college and all throughout their career.

In my opinion, Industry-Academic partnership can help in building a better Call Center workforce. In one of my previous work assignments, I helped forge ties between several prestigious schools and my company. Our partnership would focus on providing training, internships, and knowledge transfer to the student. The schools would then provide us with their best and most promising students to train, offering us an edge over the competition because we were recruiting the finest students in the program.

Most schools have curricula that are considered outdated or that fail to teach their graduates the skills demanded by the job market. An Industry-Academic partnership is mutually beneficial to both parties because it exposes colleges and universities to the latest call center trends. Through this, they get the right feedback from industry peers, making their curriculum attuned to the times. This produces professionals with competitive call center skills.

Ultimately, the industry will benefit from this on a long-term. Schools will be producing graduates with skills the industry requires, and will need little training to get them up to speed. Students will also learn corporate values early in their studies, preparing them for the challenges ahead.

by Arthur Kevin Rabago

What recruitment or hiring “best practices” have you found in your career, whether with a company or a staffing firm? As a corollary, what are the worst practices have you encountered?

In my experience as talent acquisition consultant, here are the things I have observed:

Best Practices
1) Transparency with regard to the job’s duties and responsibilities
2) Managing the candidate’s expectations by giving the pro’s and cons of the job
3) The employment contract is clearly worded, with well-documented employment terms and conditions
4) Candidates are given proper on-boarding orientation, and partnered with mentors to ensure that the candidate is assimilated to the organization in the best possible time
5) Honesty in providing feedback to a candidate’s application

Worst Practices
1) Candidates are treated only as a means to an end
2) Candidates are given false hopes by exaggerating and embellishing the job’s true scope
3) The employment contract is poorly and vaguely worded, and the benefits are verbally committed – but not included in the contract
4) Candidates are plugged into their tasks without proper guidance and orientation
5) Candidates are not informed of the true status of their application (i.e. the position is already closed, but the recruiter informs the candidate that he or she is “still under consideration”)

Many times I have come across consultants who are merely “Yes” men to clients. They accept any assignment given to them by clients without analyzing the requirement, making market research on current rates, giving any consideration on the availability of these skills or doing a background check on the client’s reputation particularly previous relationships with other companies.

The same goes with some job applicants I met. I have perused thousands of applications, with the goal of separating the best candidates from the not-so-good ones. Many top providers engaged in inbound call center and outbound call center services have been employing the best hiring practices to attract the finest workforce. They understand the efficiency that comes with these practices full well, and that by integrating them into their work, they see stellar results at the earliest possible time.

In the race to attract and retain the best talents in the market, many call centers have integrated talent acquisition and retention strategies in their business plans.

The cost for keeping top employees is far less expensive than training new ones.

When you lose your best performers, they will take with them their knowledge, skills, and experience to competitors who will benefit from your loss.

There are no hard and fast rules for attracting and retaining the best people. It is applicable to all contact centers. The best call centers obviously attract and retain a highly skilled human capital because they have the following in common:

1. Established career and growth path for employees based on performance;

2. Continuous improvement training programs and skills upgrade initiatives;

3. Clear and defined rewards/bonus system;

4. Mature, transparent, and dependable management;

5. Policies are clearly defined and documented;

6. Recognition of the employees’ value and contributions;

7. Work environment that is not too restrictive; and

8. Having compensation and bonus packages that are above industry standards.

Motivating employees is not limited to bestowing financial rewards. A simple pat on the back to recognize their contributions, kind words, and leadership by example can go a long way in winning an employee’s trust and confidence in a company.

If your people are assigned to order taking for customers or to an outsourced customer service – you must offer them the best.

While a résumé can open the door to a job, it is how you perform in an interview that will determine whether you will get an offer or not.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to call center interviews, but the underlying principle is pretty much the same in almost every interview, namely:

Step 1 – Defining the job

Step 2 - Assessing the candidate

Step 3 – Documenting the findings and making a decision based on the information you gathered.

Usually, there are two types of interviews; interviews for fresh graduates; and interviews for tenured candidates (2+ years work experience).

Interview questions for fresh graduates usually focus on your basic knowledge, attitude, school accomplishments, and interests -  to gauge if your skills, qualifications and attitude fit the company norm.

Sometimes, interviewers ask these questions to gauge your ability to express yourself, your speech-thought patterns, as well as you confidence (not to mention your communication skills).

For more experienced candidates (those with 2+ years experience), the focus is usually on the contributions they made in their previous jobs, the skills they acquired, and their past performance.

Some contact centers are already happy asking “standard” questions (tell me your strengths and weaknesses, why should we hire you, tell me something about yourself, etc) while some call centers use the STAR Interview technique to probe candidates; STAR = Situation or Task + Action you took + Results you achieved.

So, investing some time in preparing for a big interview can make a big difference in your chances in landing a career in a customer service call center.