Good telesales services are a
reflection of the agents who are
answering the calls and fielding
the queries that come in at a
very high rate. Telesales
offices need agents who are
on-the-ball and who are able to
handle high stress situations
and remain pleasant and polite
at all times. Despite their mood
and whatever might be happening
in the rest of their lives,
outbound telesales agents must
always show up to work with a
smile on their face and a
"can-do" attitude. There is no
room for telesales services
agents who are not happy to
speak with people and who would
rather be left alone.
Choosing the best agents can be
a tricky affair. When people
show up for interviews, they
generally tend to bring their
best game face and project and
image of who they think the
interviewer wants to hire - and
not show their true colors.
However, there are ways of
determining whether the person
sitting across from you is the
right material for a telesales
agent. Here are a few
characteristics to look for when
choosing outbound telesales
agents.
Attitude
A person's attitude is the best
indicator of how well they will
perform on the job. If someone
walks in and does not look
chipper and bright and happy to
be there - then that person will
certainly not be the right fit
for an agent. After all, agents
are expected to be "on" during
their entire shift. They have to
speak to people all day long and
unless they have the right
attitude for that, it will never
be a good fit.
Experience
When hiring a telesales services
agent, it is not necessary for
the person you are interviewing
to have experience working in a
call center. However, what you
must look for are indicators
that they have worked with the
public before and that they were
good at it. They might have
experience working in retail,
volunteering at a community
center or hospital or they might
even have experience as camp
counselors or other activities
that put them right in the
middle of the public's eye.
Asking them questions about what
they did in these positions and
how much they enjoyed it will
give you an idea of how well
they will do as a telesales
agent.
Friendliness
At silly as it might sound;
being a good telesales services
agent requires that person to be
very friendly and out-going.
They should be able to speak
easily and comfortable with a
wide range of people and they
should be good at diffusing
tough situations. Therefore,
asking the person being
interviewed about a tough
situation that they were in and
how they handled it would be a
good way of judging how
competent a person would be as a
call center agent.
Choosing the right people to
staff your call center can be
challenging. However, if you
take the time to find people who
are intelligent, out-going, and
friendly and who want to be an
agent, then you will get good
people to work for you.
Source: Jake
Freeman
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