If you have been less than thrilled with the performance of your telesales campaigns as of late, perhaps it's time for a bit of a change; perhaps an outsider's perspective on your telesales operation. It is important to provide the best possible customer service in order to retain the customer loyalty you've worked so hard to gain. Your telemarketers should not be a reason for your customers to go elsewhere for the kind of product or service you offer.

Many companies pay far too little attention to the way that their telesales campaigns work, or are recorded. Reports are skipped and maybe numbers are a little bit down, the work is still being handled, isn't it? Management generally lacks in depth training in the field of customer service and also may not have the aforethought to evaluate trends in the field as they develop - this can lead to the call centre being neglected as a crucial part of operations. Before a problem can be identified and handled by management, the damage has already been done; i.e. - existing customers are going elsewhere, and newly delivered leads aren't of sufficient quality.

Also call centers or internal telesales departments need to make a concerted effort to keep up with the pace of the constant evolution of technology and ever changing customer expectations. New challenges and new expectations will be placed before them and they must rise to the task.

Using the services of a telesales consultant, a company can spot the coming trends which may cause problems for their campaign and begin to work on the problem before it seriously affects them. A telesales consultant should be independent from both client and telemarketers so as to be able to give an objective opinion if the operations of the call centre. This enables the telesales consultant to make recommendations free of influence from client or telemarketers.

The consultant will chiefly be responsible for conduction an audit of the telesales campaign's performance as it currently stands. This will entail analyzing operational data, observing the centre and listening in on telesales staff as they interact with customers. The consultant should also perform a thorough review of management, human resources and training and quality assurance procedures which are in place at the call centre. This will ensure that you are getting your money's worth for your call centre. The consultant will then make recommendations, including new training or changes to the training procedures currently in place in order to improve performance. Error rates and call rate analysis will also be a part of this process.

A review of software and scripts will also be needed to assess whether the correct information is being conveyed by telesales staff and that quality is a paramount consideration in all interactions with customers. Technology used at call centers can sometimes be at fault for difficulties with customer service response. A thorough review of hardware and software in use should be part of the review done by any telesales consultant, along with recommendations for improvements in these areas.

The ever-changing field of telesales necessitates keeping on top of your customer service - to stop problems before they become a problem. In the current financial climate it is more important than ever to make sure that the telesales that your company is paying for, whether that is internally or externally is delivering the results your company needs.

Source: Dave Powell link