Technology is one of the few things in life that perpetually gets cheaper over time. In past decades, call centers were a reality that only larger, more financially grounded corporations could afford. However, today this is far from the truth. As the prices of technology become more affordable, small and medium sized business owners begin to see the value in leaving open lines of communications available for their valued customers; and thus call centers have become a more achievable reality for SMBs.
This decline in costs of cutting-edge technology is allowing business owners to invest in technological solutions that offer them the opportunity to remain competitive in their industry, at an affordable price. The technology driven business landscape of today necessitates a need for such a competitive advantage, if the opportunity to succeed is to be permitted. The ability to launch dynamic call centers affords business owners (of all sizes) the chance to effectively interact and serve both their existing and prospective customers – an ability that is in high demand among buyers today.
Nevertheless, with all progressive movements comes the potential for positive advancement and negative hindrances. Efficiency is one concern of SMBs that are now able to employ call centers and rightfully so. It is hardly worth the cost of operating, if the call center is not boosting sales and enhancing customer experience in a cost effective and productive manner. Fortunately for business owners, is that there is much that can be done in order to safeguard the productivity of your call center in a way that promotes sales conversion rates in an effective and efficient manner. Here are 5 moves that might help to do just that.
Move One – Be Selective
Be selective about the type of call center employees that you hire. Extroverts tend to hold the attention of the caller for a longer period of time and statistically speaking, longer calls have better sales conversion rates than do shorter ones. If your agents are able to effectively hold the attention of the caller they will be more successful at establishing trust, and buyers purchase from people that they trust. Hiring employees that do not find it difficult to communicate with strangers is an integral part of a successful call center operation.
Move Two – Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is a key element in the call center and the voice quality of your phone call plays an important role in achieving this. You would not like to run the risk of static or interruptions that will only frustrate the caller. Integrating a VoIP based phone system like Switch.co into your call center is arguably one of the smartest moves that you can make to increase effectiveness and efficiency in your operation. VoIP phone systems do many things to enhance the customer satisfaction experience for your potential buyers, providing great voice quality is just one of them. This type of phone system will make it easier to communicate with your callers.
Additionally, VoIP phone system allows you to make customer service mobile. The ability to tie your mobile device into the call centers network means that you are able to offer your agents a bit of much needed mobility and also that you are able to take customer service with you. In retrospect, mobility equals improved quality of life for your agents, which translates to happier agents and there is no doubt that happier agents have higher sales conversion rates.
Move Three – Call Tracking
Regardless of your best efforts there will always be times where your agents are simply too busy to get to every call – at least, we would all like to hope so. During these times of heavy call volume and/or light staffing, it is possible that the opportunity will be missed to make a sale. Customers are much more likely to hang up and call a competitor as opposed to leaving a message and so by employing call tracking technology you will gain the opportunity to recapture these potentially lost sales. Such a technology sends call handlers “missed call” email notifications, which allows them the chance to productively utilize down time by returning missed calls from potential buyers.
Move Four – Encourage Healthy Competition
Healthy competition is important in any work atmosphere, but this is especially true in a sales-driven climate. Encouraging competition by implementing sales contests, in which you pair teams of agents against each other and motivate by way of desirable incentives, can be a very effective way to boost sales. This type of competitive work environment, encouraged by reward, is a great way to motivate your call center agents to be more productive. Not only that, but creating teams also helps to build beneficial relationships that produces a sense of fruitfulness and enthusiasm in the workplace. The ultimate goal being to boost sales, whilst improving the nature of the environment in which your call center agents work on a daily basis. Giving them a space in which they both enjoy and feel motivated to participate in, will in the long-run benefit your operation significantly.
Move Five – Go Global
It has never been more important for SMBs to try and go global. Not in the sense that they set up a full operation oversees, but at least that they extend their capabilities to reach into foreign territory. Thanks to technological advancements, going global has never been easier nor has it been more affordable. Cloud-based technologies (like phone systems) have made it possible for SMBs to broaden their horizons. By taking advantage of the capabilities that come as part of such a technology, you can quite literally communicate with customers and employees on the other side of the world.
The takeaway here is that not only are call centers now a viable solution for SMBs looking to grow their customer base, but they are also a great opportunity for business owners to boost sales at an affordable and achievable manner. Implementing the above five moves will help you as a business owner to promote sales within your call center. Additionally, taking advantage of the mentioned – now affordable – technologies, will allow your business to have the opportunity to leverage capabilities in a way that allows you to provide your customers with superior service, gain competitive advantage, and also control costs, all while increasing your bottom line.
If you have further insights as to ways in which business owners can improve their call center sales, then please share! We would love to hear your input!
Edited by
Maurice Nagle
