‘Did I catch you at a bad time? Should I call again later? Ummm… it will take only a minute…’ and this how the bumbling lad lost a lead.
Quite contrary to common beliefs, being a customer care representative is a high skill profession. Given that every word spoken and every tone delivered bears the power to either convert a lead into lifetime customer or, march them off to the next competitor; it is required of them to be those ultimate soft-skill units that hold the gold for their companies.
Did you know, opening a call with ‘Did I get you at a bad time’ reduces chances of booking a meeting by 40%!
Why Is Soft-Skill Mastery So Important?
95% organizational leaders consider uncompromised customer experience a tactical priority while 75% consider the same as an unputdownable competitive advantage. Whether inbound or outbound, being polite is not enough. This key attribute needs to be topped with scientifically researched skills that can influence customers at a deeper level of consciousness. The idea is not to create a superficial sense of care and concern, but authentic connections that are built around trust and respect.
Therefore, at Coderootz, we emphasize soft-skill mastery in our outbound and inbound call center professionals that plays a critical role in –
Cementing trust among customers
Handling difficult / conflict situations
Upselling and cross selling successfully
Strengthen brand loyalty in customers
Saving critical resources like time and investment for client companies
Creating memorable interactions with personalized experiences
An adept inbound/outbound team with strong soft skills is crucial for customer retention and fostering continual engagements that inevitably lead to positive reviews, repeat purchases, referrals, enhanced brand image and profits.
Did you know, using the word ‘Our’ can increase cold call success rates by 55%, closely followed by ‘We’, which can increase success rates by 35%.
Critical Soft Skills We Focus Upon
All skills need to be honed in order to grow, improve and eventually, manifest the desired outcomes at its best perfection. So does soft skills; given that the technical slope of this talent is seldom innate. At Coderootz, we choose the best fit talents that display sizeable mettle in listening, comprehension, language and communication. Post onboarding, we regularly train our professional customer care / outbound team on critical soft skills like -
Active listening – Mindful attention to customer queries and issues, with active verbal and non-verbal cues to affirm undivided focus towards the latter. Active listening is the key to eliminating misunderstandings in customer communications.
Empathy – The art of empathizing with customers’ emotions and needs, to forge indissoluble connections at deeper interpersonal levels.
Problem solving – The ability to understand, track and solve customer issues successfully preferably at the first contact without escalations, call transfers or delays.
Cross-cultural proprieties – Understanding, respecting and following diverse cultural etiquettes of different nations / regions, to uphold growth and inclusivity.
Critical thinking – Quick analysis of situations and information to predict possible problems, solutions and opportunities.
Conflict management – Handling verbally-violent / heavily dissatisfied customers tactfully, smooth de-escalations and dispute resolution without denting brand image.
Stress handling – Resilience and prevention of burn-outs that emerge from work related stress; with strategized stress management approach.
Effective articulation in speech and formal writing – Clear, to-the-point, grammatically /tone accurate verbal and written communications that customers can easily understand and act upon.
Assertiveness – Expressing ideas and solutions assertively yet respectfully to generate positive upshots for brands and customers, equally.
Did you know, 83% customers expect empathy and compassion from brands as against transactional / mechanical approaches.
Activities undertaken by Coderootz to hone key soft-skills – Enjoyable Learning
Training Presentations –
An umbrella demonstration where our reps get to learn from the masters. The presentations include key objectives and importance of inbound and outbound support, focusing on
- soft skill strategies to maximize customer experience
- verbal, non-verbal, psychological strategies to comprehend problems and address them promptly
- examples of customer handling based on real-life experiences
- introduction to tools and AI in omni-channel support / contact platforms
- Q&A / doubt clearing sessions
Besides PPT, we use smart AI backed presentation applications that act as a welcome detour from conventional training practices.
- soft skill strategies to maximize customer experience
- verbal, non-verbal, psychological strategies to comprehend problems and address them promptly
- examples of customer handling based on real-life experiences
- introduction to tools and AI in omni-channel support / contact platforms
- Q&A / doubt clearing sessions
Besides PPT, we use smart AI backed presentation applications that act as a welcome detour from conventional training practices.
Role Playing / Customer Experience / Crisis Communication Simulations –
This is where we choose 2 volunteers from among our trainees and put one in customers’ shoes and the other as the BPO representative. A problem / issue is presented for one volunteer to place and the other, to solve. This has by far been one of the most enjoyable and exciting learning experiences for our team.
‘Say No Without Saying No’ Game –
Using positive words to address negative situations is one of the biggest challenges of inbound and outbound call centers. At Coderootz, we thus endeavor to train our reps in perfect articulation to address negative situations smoothly and successfully. An example is the game of ‘Saying No Without Saying No’; an
activity that cracks us up while we’re training and delivers continual positive experience to customers’ day after day.
Mock Calls Drills -
activity that cracks us up while we’re training and delivers continual positive experience to customers’ day after day.
Mock Calls Drills -
Here, our representatives participate in drills where they handle simulated customer calls under time constraints or challenging scenarios, allowing them
to demonstrate quick thinking, adaptability, and stress management.
to demonstrate quick thinking, adaptability, and stress management.
Game of ‘Chinese Whispers’ –
As much fun as this game is to any of us anytime, anywhere; it is a critical component in honing listening skills. We try and make the situations as audibly impossible as we can; the end result is always something that makes us want to carry on with the game. The outcome of this otherwise hilarious game
doesn’t just show in enhanced customer satisfaction where the latter feels easily understood, but in resetting the office ambiance to a stress-free, happy and motivated work unit.
Emotional Anchoring –
doesn’t just show in enhanced customer satisfaction where the latter feels easily understood, but in resetting the office ambiance to a stress-free, happy and motivated work unit.
Emotional Anchoring –
Stress, and resultant impact on psycho physical system of representatives is common in outbound and inbound call center solutions. We therefore, carry out extensive emotional anchoring training to help our reps respond to triggers in a positive and uplifting manner. Emotional anchoring, especially through powerful techniques like NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) empowers representatives to cultivate resilience and emotional intelligence dramatically, thereby enabling them to navigate an array of tense customer interactions with confidence and empathy.
Integrative Workshops for Sensitivity Training –
Integrative Workshops for Sensitivity Training –
At our sensitivity skill training workshops, we empower our representatives to navigate sensitive topics and address queer customer concerns with empathy and more importantly, cultural awareness. This goes a long way in building trust with global customers while enhancing Net Promoter Scores.
‘Information Retention Memory’ Game –
Customer care and outbound selling / follow-ups is all about retaining and recalling information about the customer so that the latter does not have to repeat their credentials or expectations over and over again. With fun information retention memory games, we train our executives with effective strategies
to remember data offered by dummy clients and create customer personas thereafter, based on the recalled information.
to remember data offered by dummy clients and create customer personas thereafter, based on the recalled information.
Impromptu Speeches and Writing Exercises –
Words have power and the pen is mightier than the sword. Therefore, whether in speaking or writing, it is critically essential to reflect the right tone with right delivery using the right words to address customer concerns / queries or diffuse tense situations smoothly and with a smile on the face.
Impromptu speeches and writing exercises in various topics under the sun, help enormously in honing verbal and written communication skills of our representatives. The best part is, our BPO geniuses always look forward to these stimulating and thought provoking sessions.
Impromptu speeches and writing exercises in various topics under the sun, help enormously in honing verbal and written communication skills of our representatives. The best part is, our BPO geniuses always look forward to these stimulating and thought provoking sessions.
Interactive Quizzes –
On our 10 th most potent activities to hone soft-skills in customer care representatives is quizzes and know-how challenges. Our approach is to gamify
quizzes and knowledge challenges, by dividing our team into groups and holding inter- group competitions, focusing on questions relevant to the subject. It’s not just a test of knowledge but a rewarding experience in the part of our representatives as well.
quizzes and knowledge challenges, by dividing our team into groups and holding inter- group competitions, focusing on questions relevant to the subject. It’s not just a test of knowledge but a rewarding experience in the part of our representatives as well.
Did you know, the tone of your voice in professional customer care or outbound telemarketing can increase success rates by 38%!
Final Thoughts -
At Coderootz, we’ve always believed that call center companies that invest in innovative soft skill training activities reap the rewards of empowered, engaged, and highly skilled executives who are equipped to deliver unparalleled customer experiences. That’s why, our training activities are specifically chosen and undertaken to equip representatives with the tools and techniques they need to excel in their roles.
Did you know, the most successful outbound call center executives have an average monologue time of 12 seconds!
Need to know more about Coderootz BPO training activities? Write to our experts at info@coderootz.com for information.
Reference:
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https://www.learningeverest.
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https://www.linkedin.com/
https://www.centumlearning.
https://callcenterstudio.com/
https://www.learningeverest.
https://zapier.com/blog/best-
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