subject: Answering Service Woes: Tackling Misuse [print this page] The inbound call center service really has it tough at times. The agents who handle customer calls have to deal with a lot of peculiar callers who misuse the call center numbers. Primarily pranksters, there is no end to their playful antics. These are not so welcome if you are a BPO agent. The work comes with a lot of responsibilities and work pressure. No agent would like to entertain a punk kid calling up because he has nothing better to do. This does not mean that the business outsourcing agent can roll things and be rude to the caller. You never know if this same caller would pay for the product/service. That is when the telemarketing skills of the agent come into play.
The inbound call center agents have some tools up their sleeves by which they can control the misuse of the call center numbers. The BPO agents involve the prank caller in some sort of conversation. If the telemarketing agent has the skills, the conversation will definitely end on a positive note. There may not be any immediate sale, but if the prank caller liked talking to your business outsourcing agent, there are very high chances that the call will come again. It comes across as no surprise that some agents are such smooth talkers that they can make these pranksters end up buying the products/services on offer!
BPO agents use two telemarketing techniques. One is the cross sell and the other is the up-sell. With these tools, the inbound call center agent will be able to market their products to the ones who do not really know what they are looking for. More often than not, customers are not sure what sort of a plan will be ideal for them, or what sort of a product would best suit their needs. That is when the call center agent steps in. The caller is ably guided and in the course of the discussion, the sale is made. There is always a chance that the caller would be willing to be convinced if hes not sure about what his needs are.
The trouble comes along with the caller is aggressive and is on a complaining mode. The inbound call center agent has to draw upon all the reserves of restraint and patience to deal with such a caller. There is very little scope for making a sale when the caller is in no mood to listen. The call center agents work then is to pacify the caller before making any fruitful exchange of words. There is a strict policy in the BPO world that the agents receiving the calls or making calls are not allowed to raise their voice. Any untoward behavior from the business outsourcing agent would affect the project. It also reflects poorly on the brand value of the company who also happens to be the client. It does not mean that the agents are not prepared for this. They are trained to keep the voice leveled and calm at all stages of a call.
