Good day

By: Nathalie Schooling

I'm the first person to acknowledge that outbound call centre agents have a tough job. Generally, they need to call people after hours to ensure that they get hold of them. This means interrupting their evenings just when they're settling down for dinner or relaxing with the family. Talk about 'hard' sell! Add to this the fact that the vast majority of these calls are 'cold' - so the consultant has to still convince the prospect that they should keep listening despite their frustration, and you can see why this is a job for which very few people are truly cut out.

So, given these massive hurdles that the consultants need to overcome before they can even begin to sell their product or promote the brand they're representing, one has to wonder why so many of the calls are still so obviously scripted?

I don't know about you, but when I allow a call centre agent to get past the 'hello, how are you?' opening, there's a good chance they have caught me at a good time and I might just allow them to punt their wares. Heck, they may even make a sale if the product is good enough.

But all that counts for nothing, when the next words out of their mouths are obviously being read from a script! Having someone read to me is the quickest way to make me interrupt them and bid them farewell. What's more, a scripted call is not only a quick way to lose a potential sale, it's also an instant brand killer - because I know of very few people who retain positive perceptions about a brand or company that treats them in an impersonal way. And there can be nothing more impersonal than having your name plugged into a script.

The way I see it, outbound call hit-rates would improve dramatically if call centre managers simply adopted a greater level of quality control over the way their agents are speaking to prospective buyers. It really can't be that hard for agents to familiarise themselves with the content of a script, internalise it, and convey the message in their own words. If they can't, they are definitely in the wrong line of work.

This simple act of 'making the message your own' would add a whole new dimension to the caller/callee dynamic. Not only would the credibility of the consultant, product and brand be massively improved, but it would be so much easier for the consultant to develop a rapport with the person he or she is calling - which will, almost certainly - translate into a better conversion rate.

Of course, achieving an unscripted call approach requires commitment - from the consultant and the call centre manager. Training, product knowledge, and brand awareness are non-negotiable to this equation - all of which require dedication and hard work, before you even pick up the phone and dial the number. But the pay-off for the committed consultant could be massive, whether in the form of more responsive prospects, increased sales figures, or just fewer hang-ups - in every sense.