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Three Important Qualities of An Answering Service Agent
>> Sunday, January 27, 2013
Hiring an answering service company is a smart decision for your funeral home business. But, are you ready to start the selection process? Choosing one company to work with will be tough. These companies will try to get your business by making irresistible promises. You should know better than to believe them immediately.
Choosing An Answering Service Company
In an answering service company, their most important assets are their customer service agents. Clients expect that service providers will only provide qualified and highly trained agents to answer phone calls. Choosing an answering service company is a smart decision because this will save you money and effort. However, you should realize that you will be taking a risk here. You will let agents answer your customer's queries and these people do not work directly under you. Thus, to minimize the risk, you should do some digging to know which answering service company you should hire.
When choosing the answering service company, find out how long the business has been running. This will let you know about their experience in the industry. How many employees do they have? What companies are they working for? Read reviews and feedback about the company to make sure they are doing good business.
Top Qualities of A Customer Service Agent
Have you come up with a selection of companies to choose from? If so, you should move on and find out the skill level and competency of their agents. Here are the three qualities every good answering service agent should possess:
1. Good Listening Skills- Let's face it, not every caller will be patient enough when asked to repeat their answers. In fact, many callers can get annoyed by this. You need an agent with good listening skills to get accurate information without asking the caller to repeat themselves. Bear in mind that your callers want to talk to someone who is listening to them and not just someone who wants to get off the line as soon as they can.
2. Is Confident- A good answering service agent acts as a representative for the client. Even though they are outsourced, they should be knowledgeable about the clients they are working for. If an agent is knowledgeable, confidence will follow. Employees should speak confidently to customers. No customer wants to listen to an agent who doesn't really know what he or she is talking about. A confident agent can give customers peace of mind and assurance that their concerns will be handled well.
3. Always Professional- A good answering service agent handles calls professionally even if they are talking to irate callers. In the funeral home business, callers can get pretty emotional. The agent should be prepared to take these calls and gather information even if the caller is crying or angry. Agents should always be composed yet, can empathize with the callers too.
How will you know if the agents have these qualities? Listen to a call demo or better yet, give the agents a call. Be a frustrated caller and see how composed the agent will be. See how accurately they document the information that you provide.
Choosing An Answering Service Company
In an answering service company, their most important assets are their customer service agents. Clients expect that service providers will only provide qualified and highly trained agents to answer phone calls. Choosing an answering service company is a smart decision because this will save you money and effort. However, you should realize that you will be taking a risk here. You will let agents answer your customer's queries and these people do not work directly under you. Thus, to minimize the risk, you should do some digging to know which answering service company you should hire.
When choosing the answering service company, find out how long the business has been running. This will let you know about their experience in the industry. How many employees do they have? What companies are they working for? Read reviews and feedback about the company to make sure they are doing good business.
Top Qualities of A Customer Service Agent
Have you come up with a selection of companies to choose from? If so, you should move on and find out the skill level and competency of their agents. Here are the three qualities every good answering service agent should possess:
1. Good Listening Skills- Let's face it, not every caller will be patient enough when asked to repeat their answers. In fact, many callers can get annoyed by this. You need an agent with good listening skills to get accurate information without asking the caller to repeat themselves. Bear in mind that your callers want to talk to someone who is listening to them and not just someone who wants to get off the line as soon as they can.
2. Is Confident- A good answering service agent acts as a representative for the client. Even though they are outsourced, they should be knowledgeable about the clients they are working for. If an agent is knowledgeable, confidence will follow. Employees should speak confidently to customers. No customer wants to listen to an agent who doesn't really know what he or she is talking about. A confident agent can give customers peace of mind and assurance that their concerns will be handled well.
3. Always Professional- A good answering service agent handles calls professionally even if they are talking to irate callers. In the funeral home business, callers can get pretty emotional. The agent should be prepared to take these calls and gather information even if the caller is crying or angry. Agents should always be composed yet, can empathize with the callers too.
How will you know if the agents have these qualities? Listen to a call demo or better yet, give the agents a call. Be a frustrated caller and see how composed the agent will be. See how accurately they document the information that you provide.
About the Author:
Azalea M. Lynn works in the funeral industry as a consultant. She recommends a funeral home answering service for funeral directors looking to improve their bottom line. A funeral home answering service can help to reduce cost while improving customer experience.
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