How to Be More Personable with Your Callers

Posted by Ahmed Macklai on September, 16 2019 7:29 pm

People who are cheerful and sound chipper on the phone are more successful as contact center agents. That’s a fact that is easy to understand. After all, wouldn’t you be happier as a consumer to interact with someone who sounded happy to speak with you?

The problem is most people who work in call centers either field or make hundreds or even thousands of phone calls every day. Often, these calls are very similar in their pattern or scripting. This makes the work tedious and frustrating at times - and it can make it very difficult to remain happy and positive on the phone.

Here are a few industry insider tips for being the best version of yourself as a call center agent and sounding as pleasant as possible while you chat with your callers or clients. By the time you finish reading these tricks, you just might be smiling for real!

Fake It Until You Make It

It isn’t always easy for contact center agents to get into the right frame of mind to be happy at work. Whether it’s the environment they work in or the sometimes-stressful work they might be asked to do, being peppy on the job can be difficult. However, one of the best ways to create a genuine feeling of cheerfulness on the job is to pretend you have one until you really do.

Science has shown that smiling - even when you don’t feel like it - can trick your brain into creating the feel-good hormones that will make you want to smile for real. In one simple act, you can convince your brain to relax, see the sunny side of things, and refresh your perspective. Before you know it, you’ll have a real reason to smile!

Improve Your Workspace

Contact center agents don’t always have the freedom to dress up and beautify their workspace. If you do, though, you should take full advantage of this privilege. Why? Research shows that a personalized workspace can greatly improve mood and morale on the job. You would be surprised what a few pictures and a decoration here and there can do!

Ask your supervisor if you can decorate your space - and if not, what you might be able to do instead to make it feel more like your own. If you feel at home in your space, it will translate to the way you speak to callers and the level of pleasantry you deliver in these interactions.

Rethink Your Workload

One of the biggest reasons for call center employee burnout - and the bad moods that lead up to it - is a feeling of being overworked. Whether it’s too much work or simply feeling ill-equipped for the tasks being asked of the agent, this feeling has ruined far too many blossoming careers in customer service or sales.

Talking to your superiors at your facility can help you reorganize your workload to make it more manageable. Ask if you can be reassigned to a department or to tasks that are better suited to your expertise and the type of work you would like to participate in. Ask for feedback and assistance in meeting your goals. No management team will ever begrudge you pursuing improvement - and the better you feel about your performance, the better you will feel while interacting with consumers!

Talk to Other Contact Center Agents for Support

There are some aspects of working as contact center agents that other types of professionals simply wouldn’t understand. These elements of the job can be unique - and uniquely stressful.

If you find that you need moral support and encouragement, try to make friends either within your own facility or within the industry. That way, you’ll have like-minded, understanding people with which to have meaningful discussions - and let off a little steam while you’re not chatting with consumers!

Lose Your Fear of Asking Questions

Feeling stressed? Overwhelmed? Not sure if you’re doing your job right but too afraid to ask at this point?

Get out of that mindset! Nothing positive will come from worrying about your performance. Instead, you will only continue to struggle. That struggling will translate into the way you interact with your callers or clients; they will be able to hear it in your voice. It’s a negative cycle that will begin to feel unbreakable before long.

To keep this from happening, speak openly to your management team members about your concerns. Try to step outside of your comfort zone and ask questions when you need to. Get the help you need to feel happier at work and successful - and soon you will be!

Get Comfortable

Many contact center agents are uncomfortable at their desks or in their cubicles. They may believe that they have no other option, since it may be all they have ever known in their center. However, there are numerous ways to improve the comfort of your space - which in turn will make you a happier, more personable agent on the phone.

Look for ergonomic furnishings and office accessories, from keyboards and accessories to chairs and more. These will help you get comfortable so you can make your consumers comfortable on the other end of the line!

Make Sure You Have the Right Equipment

It can be difficult to remain positive when you feel stressed by the inefficient technology you are working with. To prevent this from happening, it’s a good idea to upgrade your tech - starting with the software you’re operating.

If you suspect your company is years behind on current software trends, speak to your management team about upgrading with the industry-leading technology available through ChaseData. We offer everything your entire team needs to get caught up with your competitors - and pull ahead in the race to keep consumers happy or land more sales.

For more information about getting the tools and technology you need to have better, easier workdays, contact ChaseData today!

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