Telephone Skills Training Materials For Call Centres And Customer Services

Telephone Skills Training Materials for Call Centres and Customer Services

by

Chelsea Elm

Call centres have grown in numbers significantly in recent years and the role of customer service has become a lot more significant. A customer service representative, or CSR, should now be able to handle a wide range of customers and callers. To be effective, CSRs must become masters of customer service. The following 10 techniques can help anyone to improve their telephone skills and handle customers better.

1. Put Yourself in Their Place

In your mind, imagine it was you who is calling. How do you want to be treated? Do you want to be treated with enthusiasm or just another caller? Do you want respect for your valuable time or want to be put on hold now knowing when the other side would come back?

2. Establish Rapport

Communicate with your customer on a positive emotional level. If your customer is buying something new, share their enthusiasm and feel excited. If they are experiencing faults, understand that they could be upset and empathise with them.

3. Double Check

Always check with the customer what they have told you already. Not only this shows that you have understood what they have said, but it also shows that you are putting effort into handling their query. For example you can say, ‘Let me double check that for you.’ This is a particularly effective phrase as a customer feels that you are going the extra mile to absolutely make sure everything that can be done is done for her.

4. Do Something Extra

Customers love to be treated in special ways. A little extra, something free that they did not expect, can make them very happy and loyal. The something extra doesn’t even have to be tangible. You can give a ‘thank you’ note, email or card or even call the customer to see how they are doing after purchasing your product or service.

5. Focus

A customer service representative which is drifting away and doesn’t appear to be listening doesn’t impress anyone. By focusing on the conversation and the needs of the customer, you stand a much better chance to understand their world better and subsequently help them more.

6. Ask Questions

Asking questions from a customer suggests that you care about them and are here to solve their problems. Questions also allow you to control the flow of the conversation and move into other directions to obtain more information. This is a critical telephone skill that you must master as it lets you to remain in control of the conversation.

7. Use Correct Diction

Don’t use incomplete sentences, ’emm..’, ‘ahh’, ‘you know what I mean’, etc. that don’t project a professional image. Speak slowly to allow yourself to form complete sentences in your head so you can use proper diction when you deliver them.

8. Show You Care

If you show you care, even the angriest people calm down. If you show you don’t care, even those who are naturally calm will get agitated.

9. Smile

Experienced customer service personnel can swear that people on the other side of the line can hear them smile. It is amazing how this works, but more important is that it does. Place a mirror in front of you and before picking up the phone, look in the mirror and smile. Then pick up the phone and start talking. Do this for a month until you fully develop the habit. You can then remove the mirror and continue to smile just before you pick up the phone.

10. Laugh

Laughing is contagious. Smiling allows you to appear happy and helpful. Laughing helps you to establish rapport and make an emotional connection. It also shows that you are enthusiast and energetic. Customers love energetic customer service representatives, because they are more likely to be more helpful and do something.

Use these 10 techniques to master the art of telephone skills and customer service skills. The best way to master these techniques is to try them in a controlled environment of a training course. Organisations and call centers can also benefit from customer service skills training materials to set up their own custom courses and train their staff to become better at telephone skills and how to handle customers.

Obtain more training resources from

telephone skills training materials

. In addition, you can get

training materials on Customer Service Skills, Sales Skills, Communication Skills, Customer Care, Conflict Resolutions and many other training resources

.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com