The Do’s and Don’ts of Outbound Call Center Software
From customer support, generating sales, and encouraging survey completion to general call campaigns, outbound call center software is a game-changer for businesses of every stripe.
That’s only if managers and agents use it correctly, however.
In the words of Peter Parker’s uncle, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
That’s certainly true about making outbound calls, in light of the legal pitfalls.
Get started, below, to uncover the top dos and don’ts of outbound call center software.
Do’s
Try Advanced Predictive Dialing
Whenever call center executives create a vital sales objective, they then need their managers to coordinate with agents to execute a big calling campaign.
Executing a campaign like this doesn’t mean working harder, though. It means managers and agents need to work smarter.
That’s where using a smart predictive dialer comes in.
This behind-the-scenes wizardry allows managers to kick off a campaign by quickly…
- Uploading the target contact list
- Choosing a template
- Scheduling calls
- Sending live-answered pickups to agents
- Sorting pending phone calls down the line
While the predictive dialer automatically calls customers, the bulk of the savings goes into how it automagically sorts live answers, answering machines, busy signals and ongoing rings. The masterful handling of these time-wasters results in agents staying on the phone far longer than basic call/ring/answer processes.
Learn More About Customers
Customers love to have their voices heard. The quality of a company’s product and service help determine whether its customers are blasting it on social media or spreading word of mouth.
The most successful, younger companies continue to talk to their customers even after hitting the big time. When this trend began, some actually talked with customers in person.
Regardless of a call center’s status, proactively connecting with customers and making them feel special is smart.
And using outbound call center software like Agent Gateway makes it easier.
Depending on its objective, call centers can follow up about a recent purchase, making sure the customer is happy and getting the most out of the product.
Also, an agent could offer a customer an incentive to filling out a quick survey.
Either way, Agent Gateway empowers agents to:
- Create customer profiles and update existing ones
- See in-depth customer information across their journey
- Manage profiles during a call
That’s not all Agent Gateway does. It guides agents away from committing some of the “don’ts” of outbound call center software, too.
Don’ts
Automated Calls Without Prior (Express) Customer Consent
Any reputable call center manager knows spamming and robocalling customers and leads is bad for business. Especially if that particular customer is on the National Do Not Call Registry or did not provide prior express written consent.
Not only is it against the law, which can lead to massive, ever-increasing fines, but using these tactics to increase sales is risky – at best.
However, sometimes the laws on contacting customers aren’t so black and white.
A call center that has a previous relationship with a customer is not enough. Again, the law stipulates the customer must provide prior express written consent.
Agent Gateway, as part of a comprehensive call center compliance suite, populates Do Not Call Lists automatically, enables call center managers to contact customers in a legal, honest ways while continuing to grow their business.
Over-Reliance on Scripting When Contacting Customers
While the best outbound call center software supplies agents helpful scripts to use when contacting customers, it’s a best practice to not over-rely on them.
Think about it – when an agent contacts a customer, they’re interrupting their day. They’re busy, working, taking care of family and friend obligations, and more. The last thing they want to do is talk to someone chattering off a script.
Agents need to provide value and quickly. They must empathetically connect with the customer early and often, immediately stating their calling objective.
They need to do it quickly, too. Sure, keeping a script handy is a must for agents. They might need it to emphasize essential points and stick to the objective. Agents cannot use it as a crutch.
Why? The customer will know. And that could sour the whole relationship, depending on how tired or hungry the customer is at that moment.
The data bears it out – customers prefer unscripted calls. A recent survey found 78% of customers believed unscripted calls improved the call’s effectiveness. That same survey continually pointed to the importance of…
Empathy, empathy, empathy. That’s what agents need.
What if they lack empathy? That’s when managers need to review agent call recordings and other KPIs, using handy software tools, to devise an agent improvement plan.
In short, don’t over-rely on scripts, waste the customer’s time, and lack a clear objective.
Safeguard Your Outbound Calling Campaign
While contacting customers using outbound call center software can be a very profitable strategy, it comes with its risks.
Agents could aggravate customers, potentially slowing down or turning off the sales spigot forever.
Out-of-date software could inadvertently break the law, leading to enormous fines from which most call centers can’t recover.
That’s why we feel it’s our duty to arm contact centers with free, practical information they can use to upgrade their center’s compliance game.
Download our free Complete Guide to TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) today! It also comes with a helpful Call Center Compliance Checklist, too!