Call centers rely heavily on well-trained agents to help them be successful. Unless a telemarketing agent is on-the-ball and properly trained it will be very hard for them to perform at a peak level. Since answering services must depend on the quality and performance of their call center agents, it is vital to the success of a telemarketing business to have well-trained agents. It is not enough for an agent to simply know how to answer a phone. Answering services agents must also know how to provide the kind of assistance needed by the call centers’ customers. There are several things that can be done to train your telemarketing agents properly. Here we will look at some very basic tips that will get your agents to outperform every time.

Answering with a smile

It might seem trite, but it is true – knowing how to answer a telephone properly is a skill that must be taught. If your agents answer a telephone abruptly, or in a dull, expressionless voice, they will turn callers off. Call centers need to have agents who are enthusiastic about their work and therefore the first thing that all telemarketing agents should learn is how to answer the phone lines with a smile. It is commonly accepted that a smile can be heard in a person’s voice when they answer the phone. The sunnier disposition will automatically translate into more enthusiasm and better satisfied callers.

Phone etiquette

Knowing how to talk to people is also very important. Answering services providers must ensure that their agents are always polite and well-mannered on calls. Their agents must be taught that it is necessary to always use “please,” “thank-you” and “excuse me” in their vocabulary along with any other polite words that may be required during a conversation. Callers can get indignant and irritated with agents who are too casual or rude when answering a call.

Product/service information

Make sure that all of your agents get basic training about the products and/or services that they will be speaking about for your customers. Regardless of whether they are acting as receptionists or if they will be required to field customer service queries, they will need to have as much information as possible to be able to answer basic questions. It is best to have refresher meetings every month or so, to update your agents in case things have changed with your customers. Making sure that all of your agents clearly understand what their mandate is when answering phones, they will be able to provide you with good service.

Incentives

Many call centers offer their agents incentives to meet monthly goals. Rewarding agents for performing well is one of the best ways of getting them to consistently provide you with their best efforts. Combined with the proper training, incentives can help to push your agents to greater customer service heights.

Work place atmosphere

Along with incentives, agents have demonstrated that they will automatically perform better when they are happy in their workplace. Therefore, permitting them to take breaks with their friends and encouraging an atmosphere for camaraderie will always work in your favour.

There’s now a training and accreditation body called the Wellness Council of America. It’s trying to catch the wave by establishing standards for all sides of the equation, namely the employers, the employees, the medical profession, wellness professionals and the insurance industry. This is like trying to herd cats. Most employees come to work and fail to see any benefit to them in participating in any fitness exercises or comparable activities. Indeed, many grow deeply resentful if their employer tries to push them into dressing in something sporty and getting out of breath doing something aerobic. They see this as an invasion of their privacy. If they want to be overweight or merely unfit, that’s their business and their employer is not paying them to lose weight or prepare for the next NY Marathon. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, three-quarters of all employers are now offering some type of program. We all know this enthusiasm for encouraging greater levels of activity in their employees is rewarded by lower premium rates from the insurers, but why has it become so popular?

This is where statistics hit the wall of prejudices from all the individual employees who resist being rousted out of their comfortable offices and set workplace routines. The evidence suggests that every $1 spent on a comprehensive wellness program saves about $3 in health costs. Even more interestingly from the employer’s point of view is that healthy employees tend to have better morale and work more effectively. When you add in better attendance and greater productivity, employers tend to be pleased by the outcomes. So how are employers persuading their employees to play ball (literally and metaphorically)? The answer comes in two completely different elements.

First, the program must be well-designed. This starts with an analysis of the health records of all the staff. When the employers look back through all the health claims made over as long a period as possible, it’s possible to identify the health problems most consistently affecting the loyal workers. Pleasingly, this may indicate changes to work practices to reduce the incidence of these problems. For example, if too many staff are affected by repetitive strain injuries, a simple redesign of the work may avoid the problem. This will improve the attitude of the staff who will no longer feel victimized and save money on health claims. To speed this process along, it’s often a good idea to establish employee committees to discuss workplace problems and suggest improvements to minimize injuries. Again the evidence shows directly involving the employees in changing workplace routines to make life easier and safer is highly motivating.

Second, staff have to feel motivated not just in theoretical discussions but also in participation. This relies on financial incentives. Look at bonuses for completing a course of activities, or in hitting a weight target, or being able to meet a jogging target. This can be in cash or in contributions to the health savings accounts. The more employees receive incentives, the better their active engagement. The result of the best programs is cheap health insurance rates for all active participants. The word of mouth generated by those with savings encourages the slackers. Health insurance rates will be lower if all if employers plan and reward their staff.

There are many aspects of insuring your car that may seem a bit strange and even unfair. The price formation of policies is usually conditioned by factors that an ordinary consumer may consider irrelevant yet the insurer will see a precise way to asses the risk of insuring a particular person. And of all the factors that will affect your insurance premium one of the most strange is the gender. Yes, that’s right the price of insurance will vary depending on whether you are a male or a female. Sure, it may sound sexist and discriminatory but there are real facts supporting such an approach. And if you think that male drivers are charged less because they are better while behind the wheel you’re in for a big surprise!

Yes, it’s a fact that you can get a different premium just because of your gender. But before you start calling in the court for a discrimination case take a look at the facts that drive the insurance companies to act so strange. First of all you have to understand that insurance companies are crazy about assessing the risk they take upon themselves when insuring someone. They will use any awkward factor that will allow them to predict how it is likely for a person to file an insurance claim. And while the place of residence, education and marital status may seem logic from that perspective the gender of the driver isn’t something rational from the customer’s point of view. Yet, the statistics state otherwise and insurance companies are happy to use them in order to support their approach.

According to statistics female drivers file less claims then male drivers. And not because there are more men on the road in general. In relative terms the percentage of women filing claims is less compared to men. Moreover, female drivers tend to end in far less serious accidents, causing less damage and implying less costs to cover. Because of that the insurance companies usually charge female drivers with lower auto insurance rates than men. Of course, this doesn’t mean that all female drivers are good on the road and don’t cause any trouble. There are always good and bad drivers no matter the gender, age, social status and place of residence. However, the general trend is as described above and insurance companies take in consideration every aspect of the statistics that allows them to handle their risks.

If you are a male driver and find yourself offended by such a trend in auto insurance price formation there’s only one solution available – shopping around. There are many companies out there with different statistics concerning their customers, so there is a chance to find a company that has as many accidents with female drivers involved as men. Still, the best thing to really set your mind to is having a good auto insurance policy. Does it really matter who is paying more or less? The really important thing is that your policy would be adequate to your personal needs and priced as competitively as possible.

Anyone can get on a phone and read a sales script…right? Unfortunately that is a tremendously oversimplified approach to one of the most powerful marketing tools available to a company. Telemarketing is a comprehensive concept which addresses call centre activities and every phone call between employees and customers.

In other words, telemarketing is a marketing concept that encompasses customer service and customer relationships in order to build a market responsive company. Telemarketing concepts applied properly can lead to increased sales, increased customer retention, a steady influx of new customers, and more profits.

Companies that approach telemarketing as strictly cold calling sales are missing an opportunity to use the contacts as a foundation for building a strong marketing program.

Yes, it’s true that anyone can get on a phone and read a sales script. But if the employee has no commitment to the company vision, the call will be simply a telephone call and not a marketing call. This is an important distinction and it takes call centre training and sales coaching that begin with a foundation composed of the mission of the company.

Marketing Working Harder

A marketing program has many components and telemarketing can be one of the most important because it is an opportunity for direct and personalised contact with an existing or potential customer. It’s an opportunity the company needs to take full advantage of so that the most marketing force is exerted.

It’s easy to see that simply having someone reading from a script and not prepared to really promote the company can be counterproductive. In fact a poorly handled telemarketing call can result in lost business far beyond the potential customer on the other end of the line. People network with friends and families and can just as easily badmouth a business as they can promote it.

Telemarketing should be viewed as a chance to make the company marketing program work harder and longer but also in a more personal manner. So it’s critical that telemarketing skills be developed and honed so that the most benefit is achieved by the personal contact made with consumers or other businesses.

For example, a telemarketing call can try to promote a single product or service. But what if the contact indicates they are interested in a different type of product? Does the salesperson just say, “Sorry, we don’t sell that particular item.” or does he or she say, “It just so happens our company can offer you a different product that meets your needs.”? After the first response the call ends. After the alternative response the call may continue and lead to the sale of a company product even if not the one originally promoted.

In other words, a “no, thanks” can possibly be turned into a “let’s talk more about your company”. This is power marketing.

Skills That Work

Developing effective telemarketing skills takes training in order to get maximum results. A qualified trainer can provide valuable resources for developing selling skills using the company vision as the starting point.

* Develop effective sales approaches using the telephone
* Learn how to handle conflict
* Master turning a rejection into a sale
* Learn how to manage calls in a way that creates a sense of outstanding service quality
* Motivate salespeople within the organisation
* Learn how to develop rapport with potential customer
* Develop cultural sensitivities
* Develop sales closing skills

These are just a few of the telemarketing skills which can build a solid and successful sales program that supports a comprehensive marketing program. The skills learned for application in a call centre are the same skills which should be used whenever a customer contact is made on the telephone.

The call does not have to originate in a telemarketing department to be a marketing tool. Throughout the company there are managers and staff on the phone with potential and existing customers all day long. They just need to recognize the amazing opportunities.

Before buying that first or next home, there are 3 things you should really do before calling your real estate agent or mortgage broker. It is important to understand where you are financially before your heart becomes set on that perfect house. By figuring out your net worth, your monthly budget, how much debt you pay every month and what your Gross Debt Service (GDS) and Total Debt Service (TDS) ratios are you will have a better understanding on how much you can afford on that new house.

1) Net Worth

Simply stated your net worth is the difference between your Assets what you own and your Liabilities, what you owe. It is important to analyze your net worth prior to jumping into the house buying market. One it gives you an accurate look at your current financial situation, and two when it is time to talk to your mortgage broker or lender you will already know the answers to their questions. It is better to be aware of your financial information prior to this meeting so the feedback you receive will not come as a complete surprise. Knowing your net worth will give you a good indication of how much of a down payment you will be able to afford.

2) Budget and Debt Payments

If you haven’t done so prior to buying your house, you should at least create a list or budget of your monthly finances and debt payments. It is good to know how much of a mortgage payment you can realistically afford. A monthly statement of your expenditures and debt payments will give you a breakdown of where your money is being spent. Once you know how much you spend on heat, electricity, cable, groceries, and all those monthly expenses that seem to creep up on us, you can see what kind of mortgage payment will fit comfortably into your budget.

3) GDS & TDS

Almost always lenders will use two methods to determine what you can afford as a monthly mortgage payment. The GDS determines the monthly housing costs as a percentage of your total gross monthly income. Your total housing cost payments can not exceed 32% of your gross monthly income. These costs usually include principal and interest of a mortgage, taxes, and heating expenses. For example if you paid $1000 monthly mortgage payment (Principal & Interest), with $100 for taxes, and $100 for heat, you pay $1200 total monthly housing cost. If you make $5000 a month in gross income your GDS would be $1200/$5000 = 24%. The TDS is an expansion of the GDS, along with monthly housing cost payments all other debts such as loans and credit cards are also considered. In this case your TDS can not exceed 40% of your monthly gross income. Taking our last example if we add $500 a month in other debt our TDS would be $1700/$5000 = 34% As you can see there is a lot of pre-work before you decide to hit the pavement. It is always a good idea to sit back take an hour or two and figure out where you are financially before talking to that mortgage broker or real estate agent. It may save a lot of people, a lot of time or you maybe very happy to learn you can afford more than you expected.