9 AWESOME QUALITIES THAT ARE EXTREMELY VALUABLE
Walk into a call center and there’s a lady sitting at the front desk with one headphone in her ear and a microphone by her mouth. You’re greeted with a smile and a soft voice says, “Hello! How can I help you today?”
You’re directed further into the office and you see cubicles being used by employees trying to meet goals. You see hard work and dedication. You take a moment to yourself and you ask, “Do they ever stop smiling?”
Our answer is no.
A smile is the key to success in this industry. A call won’t make it far without one.
You think to yourself again, “How did they find so many friendly people to hire?” Well, for the most part they found us. It took a lot of interviews to find these special employees but we’re going to let you in on our secret. Look for these nine qualities in the people you are hiring and you might just get as lucky as we did!
1. Active Listening
“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” –Bryant H. McGill
All successful telemarketers must be able to ask good questions while also answering questions, which involves active listening. They must know when to stop talking and how to react when they are interrupted.
Along those lines, successful telemarketers must have active listening skills so that they aren’t the ones interrupting the person on the other end of the phone. Customers and clients are looking for customer service representatives who care about what they are saying.
Next time you’re interviewing a potential employee, ask them if they have any questions or comments regarding anything previously said in the interview. If they have questions or comments, they most likely have active listening skills.
2. Asking Questions
“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers.” — Robert Half
A successful person in telemarketing must know when and how to ask the right questions. It’s important to listen to what the person on the other end is saying so that they can successfully develop strong questions and answers that will keep the client or customer engaged.
These can range from questions about the client or customer to questions about an issue that is being dealt with.
Asking questions is a great sign of intelligence. People who ask questions are eager to learn more and don’t think that they already know everything.
3. Motivation
“You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” — Jerry West
Working in a call center can be very intimidating. People hang-up, people yell or even call the boss and complain. It’s easy to get unmotivated when this happens. As imagined, somebody that works in telemarketing has to be prepared for these issues.
It’s also important that they keep motivation high even when these situations do happen. Telemarketers do an amazing job at picking up the phone and making another call, even when the person who just hung up on them gave them every reason not to.
When dealing with a call center, make sure that you are looking at the culture of the company also. These centers should be aiming to keep the motivation and spirits high around the office. Ask these companies how they keep their employees motivated.
Tip: When looking for a company that is in telemarketing, on your visit, pay very close attention to how employees are reacting to customers and clients on the phone.
4. Confidence
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”- Steve Jobs
When working with phones on a day to day basis, confidence plays a huge role. A tone of voice is always going to be heard through the phone. One thing that is great to hear when talking to somebody through the phone is confidence.
A person working in telemarketing can’t be scared to answer the phone or to call somebody else on the phone, granted this is in the job description. A person working in telemarketing must know what they are talking about and feel comfortable talking about it.
Hint: Encourage employees to smile when talking into the phone. Sure, it’s going to look and feel silly at first but along with a smile comes confidence.
5. Communication
“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” — Brian Tracy
A script is a common prop for telemarketers to be using. Communication skills are important in telemarketing so that employees aren’t always directly reading off the script.
It is also important to have communication skills because sometimes the script doesn’t have the answers. When somebody in the industry isn’t familiar with how to handle a certain situation, they need to be able to handle it with the best of their ability and communication skills are important for that.
This happens a lot in a call center which is why you should pay attention to how agents are communicating with people on the phone when considering hiring a call center.
Friendly voices are extremely important also!
Quick tip: Encourage employees to speak clearly on the phone! This way they won’t always have to repeat themselves and the customer or client will be happy!
6. Quick thinker
“The only way to win is to learn faster than everyone else.” — Eric Ries
Reaction is important when talking on the phone because a lot of customers and clients don’t have time. That’s why they’re calling instead of emailing. These consumers are looking for a quick fix which means agents must be able to think on their toes.
Unexpected questions are going to play a huge role in the telemarketing industry. Agents learn a lot about the companies and what they do but the answer is not always going to be in the script. Thinking quick is going to be a must when hiring somebody to talk on the phone.
When looking at qualities of a telemarketer, most can think very quickly and react well to almost any situation. They know how to handle themselves and how to present the company in a well-mannered fashion.
7. Problem Solver
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein
As mentioned, it’s pretty common to run into problems as a telemarketer. Maybe the system being used isn’t working the way expected but a customer is on the phone. What do they do? Who did they look to?
Sometimes the only person they can rely on is themselves. If this happens to someone who isn’t used to working in the industry then they may not know what to do. Many telemarketers are able to solve issues that are happening on the phone or get around issues that are happening in the system.
Many telemarketers are trained to be professional and this is something that the agents at QCSS always practice. They remain clam in almost every situation and keep the customer happy.
Part of our mission is to go the extra mile to turn our clients into raving fans. A lot of this is done through problem solving.
8. Competiveness
“If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” — Jake Welch
This can very well fall along the same lines of motivation. The only difference here is that we’re talking about competiveness in the office. Most call centers have goals that they need or want to meet.
Looking for competitiveness in a person who works in telemarketing means that they should have a competitive side and the drive to be better. They want to hit their goals AND MORE.
Competition is in the blood of telemarketers.
We know this because this is how our agents are. We go above and beyond in order to hit our sales goals. The only difference is that we do it as a team. We encourage one another to do the best that they can do every single day.
9. Friendliness
“Friendly makes sales — and friendly generates repeat business.” — Jeffrey Gitomer
Walk into a call center and all you will see is friendly faces. That is because this is extremely necessary when working in the industry. Friendliness is a quality all telemarketers need to have because positive relationships must be developed with customers and clients.
Friendliness can’t be forced or negative because then it’s obvious the sale is the only thing on the top of the mind.
Telemarketers are the front of the company and the first people that potential clients and consumers hear from which means that friendliness is necessary for success.
Do you want customers to rave about the customer service of your company? Look for these qualities in the employees you are hiring and we are sure you will get just that.
How do we know?We know because this is what we look for in our agents and they continue to impress us every day.
Here at QCSS, we are positive that our employees give our clients and customers this amazing service. The moment people walk into the doors of the office, smiles are delivered.
Our core values match those of our employees and we couldn’t be more proud!
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