Telemarketing Merchant Account Offshore Alert: Six Key Points in Listening for Inbound Calls

Every telemarketing merchant account holder knows that operating a telemarketing business is not only a high risk business, but a notch more demanding than the average profit-oriented endeavor. You've got to make the most intelligent in your entire life in choosing who'll be on the front lines, the inbound telemarketers.

The keys

More than any other customer service tool, listening spells all the difference in the world. Listening in the inbound telemarketing arena is is affected by by a lot of factors. Your inbound telemarketers are bounded by time pressure. Time is money, right? But this also puts pressure on the way they handle the calls. Also, the metrics that you, as a telemarketing merchant account holder, have set also add to the competitive atmosphere on the floor. So, it will be beneficial train your agents on how to be effective listeners so that all the goals are met. Knowing the key points in listening will definitely make them be up to the challenge of inbound telemarketing.

Train them to..

> Make Up Their Minds
Tell each and every one of them to decide to be a better listener. Mushy as it may sound, but taking calls eight hours a day must be fueled by passion as well. Why is this so? The job can become boring for your agents, for it will turn as a routine to them. So, the passion should be in them, when they are passionate 'bout their job, they will decide that they will to every call.

>Use Welcome Words
As an owner of a telemarketing merchant account you know in your veins that words being spoken over the phone make or break your bond with the customer. Making the customer feel the welcoming mood can be done by saying “thank you” at the beginning of the call. This makes them feel that you appreciate that they took time to call. But this should be used in the right cues.

> Concentrate
Make them remember to don't interrupt the customer. Let the caller finish what they want to say. But, there is an exception, if they are already saying foul words and they have already aired their concern, then you can interject. Also, in order to concentrate, make your agents take note of what the customers are saying.

> Be Objective
Some customers, especially the frustrated ones, tend to talk a lot and end up saying other matters that are part of the other universe of the main concern. So, a substantial product knowledge of your agents is imperative so that they won't be swayed by other irrelevant issues.

> Let 'Em Hear You Listening
Since everything is done over the phone, customers will take whatever they hear. They won't see the agents' facial expressions, so tone and the choice of words are everything. Give feedback clues to signals that you're listening and use a variety of verbal clues to avoid sounding robot-like.

> Put In Their Hearts That Every Call is Note-Worthy
Make it a point that every inbound telemarketer has a paper and pen by every phone. Or better to have a NOTES tab on the system to make note-taking easier and more effective. Lastly, to make them feel that they were truly and fully understood, include in your call flow a step of repeating back to the customer a summary of the concern.

It isn't the easiest job to run a telemarketing business, but it can't be that hard as well. Learn how listening can make a great deal of positive difference by reading the whole article:

Telemarketing Merchant Account Offshore Alert: Six Key Points in Listening for Inbound Calls

Inbound telemarketing strategies in dealing with Irate Callers

The business of inbound telemarketing poses quite a number of challenges. One of the challenges of every inbound telemarketer is dealing with irate customers. Crossing paths over the phone with this group of customers is inevitable. Reasons why they turn ballistic are varied. Some have valid demands, others are just easily angered, some unintentionally lash out their frustrations in life in general.

As a telemarketing merchant account holder, you will agree that to some extent, irate calls eat a large of percentage of the daily calls that come in. So, how do owners of telemarketing merchant accounts who run telemarketing businesses proceed in calming down this irate callers? Below are some of the ways you can take note and teach your agents.

• Instill in your agents' minds that it's nothing personal. When a caller gets angry and goes on saying nasty things, it's not because they're angry at the person they're talking to, but at the situation. Tell your phone receptionists to not be rude, never hang up on the caller, and remember, it's not personal. They have to treat it in a business-like way.

• Teach them the ASAP technique. This is a way to calm the angry caller's nerves. Apologize for the inconvenience, Sympathize with the feelings, Accept responsibility for the error, and Prepare to help.

• Let them know that they can satisfy most people most of the time. Nobody can please everybody all the time. So, if after every effort has been done and still fails to calm down the angry caller, then that's it.

• Make them use the swear stopper. The situation gets really heated up when the caller is already swearing non-stop. Your agents should not panic nor answer back. Once this ranting begins, teach the agents to interject immediately, calmly reassure the caller, address directly the main concern, and ask follow-up questions immediately.

Know how to calm your angry callers by reading the article in its entirety :
Inbound telemarketing strategies in dealing with Irate Callers