It would be nice if we could wave a magic wand and have all workplace disagreements disappear. In the close confines of a call center or an inside sales organization, conflicts will happen. As the manager, you may be asked to assume the role of a mediator. It is...
In the old days, managers saw their direct reports daily. They may even have eaten lunch with them or been on the same company bowling team. However, today, managers often oversee people around the globe, in places as far away as India, Kuwait or Korea. The days of...
Managers of phone reps all want to see their reps exceed customer expectations each day. But, today’s worker isn’t automatically committed to excellence. John Naisbitt in Re-Inventing the Corporation said: 88% of today’s workers want to work hard and do their best on...
Nobody is born as a peak performer. Just ask Serena Williams or Simone Biles. They achieve excellence by being coached and by practicing. They never accept that they are “good enough.” They strive to get better. To coach peak performance in a call center environment,...
It would be nice if we could wave a magic wand and have all workplace disagreements disappear. In the close confines of a call center or an inside sales organization, conflict will happen. As the manager, you may be asked to assume the role of a mediator. It is...
People always wonder about the best way to coach phone reps so that their organization can deliver world-class customer service. If you want your reps to improve, you must understand the performance issues, know how to break down any problems into manageable steps and...
Call centers are the heart and soul of an organization. Customers form an impression of you and your organization within seconds based on the person on the other end of the line. If the first impression of a call center representative is positive, customers will be...
Susan works as a technical support person for a large corporation. Her days are spent answering up to forty or fifty phone calls each day. In her annual review, Susan’s new supervisor told her, after listening to some of her calls, her voice doesn’t sound warm or...
In any call center organization, there are times when we are very busy and times when we are very slow. When it is hectic, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Don’t despair. There are some things that you can do as a manager that will help you survive peak periods. Start...
There are a lot of reasons why I hate calling Customer Support. It doesn’t matter what company. The issues remain the same. If I had a wish list, these are the things I would like to see changed- immediately! The first thing that bugs me is long waits with a message...
Customer service organizations spend thousands of dollars each year on training. The hope is to improve skill sets, increase productivity, close more business or create customer loyalty. While typically there is a “bump” in improvement after any class, over time, the...
Now more than ever, managers and supervisors need to motivate their inside salespeople or their customer service representatives. Obviously, the more motivated people are the better sales and approval ratings will be. What managers and supervisors don’t often remember...
Being a Trusted Advisor, in the eyes of many experts, is the Holy Grail. It’s what you should strive to become if you are selling a product or a service. It takes time and perseverance to develop such a relationship, but the rewards for both parties are enormous. However, be aware there are some things that will erode the relationship. Assess what follows to insure that you are doing nothing that puts this all important relationship in jeopardy.
Customers have choices today. Their loyalty depends on how you treat them in challenging situations. While there is no magic solution to out of control customers, a common sense approach, coupled with TLC and good listening skills, is definitely your best bet.
Bias — the uncomfortable truth is that everyone biased. Stereotypes about groups of people are ubiquitous. Some of these preconceived ideas or feelings operate at a level below consciousness, and these are called implicit or unconscious biases. They are not limited to race, gender, age or sexual orientation, but may also include many other issues, […]
In today’s business world, it is almost a rarity when people answer their phone. Mostly, we reach people’s voicemails. This is extremely frustrating for those of us who need information or want answers. What compounds the issue is that when we leave a voicemail, people seem to ignore it. The original design for voice mail […]
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