| Tip One: A successful call center must recruit and retain excellent problem-solvers and communicators. The calls that come into a call center from independent representatives often focus on problems that require resolution. An operator must be able to quickly understand and resolve these problems. The operator, therefore, needs to be confident and knowledgeable in order to handle these calls satisfactorily. To ensure such an outcome for most calls, you need to hire capable people, trainthem well, and pay them an attractive wage. As e-mail responses become more common, written communication skills become increasingly important. People with such skills are increasingly rare. Operators who work directly with independent representatives should be the best a company has to offer. The opportunity to work as the voice of the company should be a step up in such an employees career. If the position of call-center operator is perceived as a dead-end job, you will not be able to fill the position adequately. Tip Two: Role-playing can be an excellent way to demonstrate and practice new techniques and solidify positive techniques. Role-playing works best when the topic and pattern closely match the real conversation. You can transcribe and modify taped calls (to protect independent representatives and operators) and use them for role-plays. Role-playing helps operators to become comfortable with understanding the problems presented and solving them with confidence and competence. Taping calls may also allow operators to analyze their own communication styles. Tip Three: Gender may affect the interaction expectations. In our culture, men and women have different styles of communication. Operators can perform their jobs better if they understand these differences. Books about gender differences in communication styles can be quite helpful. Tip Four: Identifying the independent representative is obviously essential for the operator to access information. Identification of the independent representative need not come in the first line. However, identification not only allows for accurate information, but it also produces information vital for tracking the needs of independent representatives. Tip Five: The need for a sense of community may be a reason to emphasize a more personal greeting in a direct sales organization than is needed in other organizations. One reason people become involved in network marketing is to fulfill their need for a sense of community. They may feel betrayed if they find themselves in an environment they perceive as impersonal or hostile. Tip Six: The operator could seize the opportunity to further establish a positive tone with the independent representative by restating the solution, complimenting on recent promotion, or giving tips or sales promotions. One important application point comes in understanding the influence the operator has in a call-in center. The operator clearly opens, and most often closes, the interaction. The closing has potential power. Tip Seven: Excellent operators notice opportunities to help the independent distributor and offer that help. Calls typically have one topic (usually about product), with information being the most common response. A dedicated operator can give the caller more assistance than originally solicited. (Of course, the option should always be the independent representatives choice.) Tip Eight: Independent representatives may need to review their listening skills. Such techniques as paraphrasing (So what you are saying is . . .), asking open-ended questions (Tell me more about the situation. . . .), and clarifying questions (The credit card number you used was 5555-5555-5555-5555?) can improve from review and practice. Tip Nine: Research indicates that the ability to handle a question or concern in one call saves money and boosts customer satisfaction. Consequently, the more training on services, products, policies, typical exceptions, problem-solving, and seeing a call through to its conclusion can all help to reduce the need to transfer calls. Tip Ten: Operators who use questions effectively can serve as examples for other operators. Questions have powerful influence in interaction. The wide variety of purposes used for questions may also provide an excellent training topic. Tip Eleven: The perception of hostile and angry calls could affect successful operator interaction with independent representatives. Training for operators may help them understand their own tendencies to react in a confrontive manner and offer tips for diffusing angry callers. Debriefing sessions may also be necessary to help operators analyze problem calls and discover ways to handle future calls with more success and with less stress. **These tips are based on an analysis of over 400 calls in a large network marketing company.
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