Some may think that working in a call center to make or receive calls from customers is easy. There are those who consider that for getting a job as a call center agent, they only need to know how to take a telephone and talk with people; but really, this is something that goes beyond. Being a good agent require more than just good communication skills, speaking multiple languages or adapting to a work routine; it is accepting the responsibility that during that during that moment when you are talking with a customer, you represent your company and you are the only responsible for giving that customer the attention he needs, solving his doubts and problems and beyond that, being able to make of this contact a pleasant experience.
I want to share some skills that from our experience at Toky can help you become a great call center agent and improve your profile either to be a sales agent or customer service:
Learning skills: You must have more than the ability to learn how to use your phone system, CRM, procedures, scripts and others; It is also important that you learn the best way to answer questions from customers. Knowing about your product and service properly can make a difference. You may have knowledge bases, documentation or even other your teammates at your hand, but believe me that when you answer from your knowledge, customers not only feel better served, they start trusting to be talking to the right person.
Patience and tolerance: This is perhaps one of the reasons why many persons quit to this job as agents since not everyone can calmly tolerate a customer who is dissatisfied with something and who sometimes can be rude. It is important to learn to stay calm and handle those difficult customers who can act aggressively; we have seen that these difficult situations make good agents stand out; not only because they do not lose their temper, but because they ignore the emotions of the customers and themselves and try to reach a solution.
Organization and responsibility: It is very important being very organized, you must take notes when necessary, record the information of each contact with your customers and generally create an adequate work routine. This will not only help you to better carry your day, but it will improve your relationship with your team since no one likes to receive a call from a customer and find wrong information in the CRM or call center software, a good documentation of events and situations is important for the business itself. Being organized and responsible will help you much more if you get a virtual call center agent job from home since day-to-day interruptions happen and it could make harder to achieve the goals.
Creativity: You must accept the fact that not all the situations you will face, will be described literally in a procedure or in a knowledge base and this is where you should take advantage of the knowledge acquired, good relations with your team and your own intelligence to find a solution for your customers. It is important when your customer feels confident of being connected to the right person and knowing that this person not only understands his situation but is dedicating their effort and brain to serve it properly.
Kindness: This is not just to say hello; It is always being a person. Many persons could believe that being nice is reciting a sales call script that starts with "Good morning"; but it is also to understand that on the other side of the line there is a person who wants to speak with a human being and not with a machine. Being kind is to talk with your customer with a smile on your face, which although you may think it is not noticed in a phone call, it is really perceived since it puts you in a better attitude to offer an adequate service. Kindness could be a valuable resource to improve conditions for difficult customers who are having problems with your product or service.
Empathy: A customer who calls you upset is not necessarily a bad person; it's just someone with a problem that needs an adequate solution. It is important to put yourself in your customer's shoes to be able to really identify his needs and establish an adequate communication; again, it is to behave like a human being and not forget that you are part of the customer service and that therefore you are there to serve and help find a solution to the problems of those who contact you and you must be prepared to offer great customer experiences.
Communication skills: Proper pronunciation and grammar is important, but also an adequate use of vocabulary depending on the type of customer. At Toky, for example, we know that not all our customers know about technical terms related to cloud telephony, so when is possible, we try to use a language free of technicalities. Our agents use a technical language inside the team to deal with the problems, but they use much simpler terms to explain to customers, solution alternatives or the causes of their problem. Learning to communicate with your customer properly and talk about your product or service in his terms, is part of your learning process as a call center agent.
There are many skills that you will get with the experience, but we believe that these can be a very good start for those who wish to be good call center representatives and being part of this growing work market. Being a good at a call center job is more than just excellent communication skills and learning a call center software, is about offering great customer experiences and going beyond those skills listed in the hiring process.
Try Toky and learn how our virtual phone system is the best option to start the call center for your business. Try Toky free!