I remember the first time I taught myself how to ride my motorcycle.
I remember climbing onto my old 1981 Suzuki GS650E and feeling quite nervous as I reached for the clutch and throttle. I didn’t know what to expect. I always loved motorcycles and knew that in my life I would indeed be a motorcyclist myself, so I had to start somewhere.
As I gave it a good fistful of throttle and learned how to let out the clutch, I got better and better at riding and, ultimately, took it on the streets. Needless to say, I have had many back road adventures since then, on my days off from Incept. Sure, it was a little nerve-racking at first, but I got good at it and enjoy riding my Suzuki over doing almost any other activity.
Lately, especially around the northeastern Ohio region, there are many call centers hiring new employees. Sounds good, right? So if you are one of those new employees getting ready to hit the airwaves, you are reading the right blog! Working in the telecommunications industry can be exciting! Each day is a new day. Each person you talk to is a new person. Each call is a new start and chance at success. It is easy to feel apprehensive or a little unnerved, though, if you do not have prior experience. What should you expect? Here is some advice from a Conversational Marketing Expert (CME) – yours truly – with two years of consistent experience performing on the phone.
Tips for New Conversational Marketing™ Experts (CMEs):
- Your attitude is everything. Positive attitudes create positive results.
- Voice inflection is one of your biggest tools. Put vocal emphasis on key, actionable points in your calls.
- Do not take anything personally.
- Focus first on the quality of your conversations with your customers, and positive results will follow.
- Look at each new call as a fresh start to succeed.
- People do not like to feel like they are having a script read to them. Don’t be afraid to put key points into your own words.
- Listen fully to what your customer is saying before responding with an answer.
- Do not be afraid to try different approaches to your calls if something doesn’t initially work.
- Even if you are not able to close a sale or get an appointment, do everything you can to end the call on a positive note.
- Be open, and convey out loud to your customer the steps you are taking to help them out.
- Asking little things like, “How are you doing today?” and being professionally polite are easy ways to build immediate rapport with your customers.
- Do not be afraid to be a “real person” and actually have a conversation with who you are talking to. People want to feel like they are being helped and that you are on their side.
- Apologize for mispronouncing a name. It is a small step that shows you care about your customer.
- Smiling while you talk will naturally help you have a friendly tone.
These are just a few tips that can help anyone just getting started in the telecommunications field. Keeping an open mind and being willing to learn something new is also invaluable, as you will get better at your job with practice and time. Hopefully, a few of these tips help you out! If you have any other additional tips or helpful pointers, please feel free to post a comment with them below!