Don’t Buy Cowboy Boots if You Need to Run a Marathon
Quora is a fascinating website that is part education platform, part newsfeed, part social experiment. A few days a week I will take time to visit the site, learn something new and possibly answer a few questions.
Frequently I am asked to answer questions about call centers and outsourcing. The question I answer most is some version of this: “What is a good call center to take calls for my business?”
I thought I would tackle the subject here with some tips on how to choose a call center outsourcing partner.
Let’s think about shoe shopping for a minute. If you are thinking about taking up running, you know you are going to need shoes. Running shoes. You know you can’t wear cowboy boots for a 5K because not only will you be uncomfortable but, cowboy boots are not meant for running they are meant for doing cowboy stuff. Instead of cowboy boots, you know to go to a store that sells running shoes and ask some questions about different types of running shoes and discover which shoes will meet your needs.
Selecting a call center outsourcing partner is like buying shoes. You need to understand your end-goal so you can select the proper partner. Call center outsourcers come in all shapes and sizes. It is important to find a call center that is the right fit for your needs and goals. Some are strictly inbound customer care, some specialize in inbound sales, others are outbound collections, there are those who only do Tier ll technical support. If you are looking for a call center partner to assist you with customer care for your cable television subscribers, selecting a call center that specializes in outbound debt collection is not your best choice. You will be trying to run a marathon in cowboy boots.
One of your first steps when narrowing the choices for the right call center partner is to create a list of your current needs and the problem you are trying to solve.
- What is your current call type?
- Inbound or Outbound? Sales or Customer Support? Lead Generation or Lead Qualification? etc.
- How are you currently handling these calls?
- You don't
- In-house call center
- Outsourcer
- What is your current call volume?
- How many calls do you receive each week?
- How long do your calls normally last?
- How soon do you need a solution?
- Yesterday?
With these basic questions answered, you are well on your way to finding the right partner.
by: Tracy Thompson
