TELEPHONE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Course: TCS
Duration: 1 Day
Level: I
Course Summary
Success within most organizations hinges on how well the telephone contact or call center operates. In many organizations, the call center is an important entity as it has responsibility for customer relationships and often a significant part of sales as well. There is a proper business communication etiquette that needs to be applied to business calls. 58% of customers stop doing business with companies simply because of a bad telephone interaction with a call center according to Harris Interactive. 78% of customers abandon a sale because of bad experience with a call center.
Handling challenging callers appropriately is an essential skill for any telephone agent. This course equips you with the ability to recognize different types of challenging callers and provides techniques to handle them confidently. Turn angry callers into happy customers, and decrease the average handle time and speed of answer while doing so.
This one-day workshop will improve interpersonal and telephone communication skills and enable employees to provide successful interactions with customers.
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Topics Covered In This Course
Telephone Service Fundamentals
- Importance of Telephone Etiquette
- Places in a Call Where Manners Matter
- Good Telephone Service
- Attitude and Interpersonal Skills
- Greeting Customers
The Warm Welcome
- Importance of First Impressions on A Phone Call
- Two Main Parts of a Proper Greeting
- Options for Welcoming and Orienting the Caller
- Options for Taking Possession of The Call
Effective Call Handling
- Identifying Customer Needs
- Handling Difficult Calls
- Setting a Positive Tone
- Asking Appropriate Questions
- Using Questions to Guide Callers Through the Decision-Making Process
Managing Telephone Procedures
- Identify Hold and Transfer Scenarios That May Impact Caller Perception
- Placing a Customer on Hold: Recommended Techniques and Words to Use When Placing Callers on Hold
- Recommended Techniques for Transferring Calls
- Documenting Calls: Capturing the Crux of the Conversation
- Gathering Metrics: Call Volume, Call Length, etc.
Voice Messaging
- Leaving Good Telephone Messages
- Top Etiquette Offenses Related to Voice Messaging
- Describe Problem Messaging Behaviors and How to Avoid Them
- Identify the Components of an Effective Voice Mailbox Greeting
Etiquette Essentials
- Most Common Phone Manners Mistakes in Telephone Communications
- Best Practices in Use of Names, Titles and Accents
- Some of The Most Desirable Words to Enhance Communications
- Words and Behaviors to Avoid Over the Phone
- Ways to Develop Rapport with The Caller During A Conversation
- Active Listening Approaches That Support the Caller
- Listening and Confirming What Is Said
- Communications Styles and How to Adapt to Each
Gracious Goodbyes
- Identify the Components for a Successful Call Closure
- Describe the Importance of First Call Resolution
- Outline the Words and Phrases to Use in a Call Closing
Power Phrasing Overview
- Importance of Using the Right Words
- Common Wording Problems and Opportunities for Improvement
The Power of Positive
- Universal Positive and Negative Words
- Negative Words and Phrases to Avoid
- Options for Replacing Negative with Positive Words
- Message Makeover for Common Telephone Scenarios
Saying Positively ?No!?
- Changing Negative to Positive Wording
- Ways to Communicate "No" to Customers
- Simple, Yet Final "No" Responses
Types of Challenging Callers and Appropriate Responses
- Talkative Callers
- Confused Callers
- Impatient Callers
- Emotional Callers
- Complaining Callers
- Dealing with an angry, aggressive customer
- Communication skills to de-escalate situations involving angry customers
Taking It Personally
- Challenges of Communications When the Customer Is at Fault
- Pinpoint Words That Convey an Accusatory Tone
- Replace Accusatory Words with Less Personal Alternatives
Finding the Right Words
- Words Never to Use in Customer Communications
- Commonly Misused Words
- Commonly Mispronounced Words
Summary: Best Practices
What You Can Expect
At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Effectively open and close calls.
- Avoid the most common telephone etiquette problems and bad habits and build rapport with callers.
- Reduce communication barriers by showing empathy to the customer.
- Used techniques for transferring callers and putting them on hold.
- Leave appropriate messages.
- Document conversations and gather metrics.
- Handle difficult callers using several different customer service methodologies.
- Provide techniques to expertly close the call and leave the customer with a positive impression.
- Use various techniques to say ?No? and overcome caller dissatisfaction.
- Use appropriate language and avoid inappropriate communication.
- Review best practices when relying on voicemail communications.
Who Should Take This Course
Telephone agents that have difficulty with phone skills or want to learn new skills, newly hired telephone agents (as part of onboarding) and supervisors or coaches that manage telephone agents.
Recommended Prerequisites
None.
Training Style
Lecture and Labs
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EFFMTG |
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Details |
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a certificate good for $100 toward their next public class taken
within a year.
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single student in any of our public or web-based classes.
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