What are the Top Qualities of a Good Answering Service Agent?
>> Thursday, October 3, 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.
The Right Answering Service Company
With every answering service company, the customer service agents are the most important component. Answering service companies must have trained and professional agents to get the job done right. These companies are aware that they are hired because their clients want to save resources but still, high quality services are expected of them. Hiring an answering service company to answer your business phone calls can be a risky move. The best way to deal with this matter is to be smart when choosing your service provider.
How do you go about choosing the answering service company? Knowing the company's background is necessary. Know how long the business has been running to gauge its experience. Who are their clients and how many agents do they have? Do some research on the company's reputation and credibility too.
Qualities of an Answering Service Agent
Now that you know more about the service provider, you should know more about their agents. How competent are their answering service agents? Will they be trained to answer phone calls from grieving callers? Here are the top qualities to look for in a good answering service agent:
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. Knowledgeable- A good answering service agent should be knowledgeable about the company and their callers. The agent acts like a representative for the client's company in a sense. Callers can sense if an agent really knows what she is talking about and if she knows the steps to take. When an answering service agent is knowledgeable, her confidence will show. Customers prefer speaking to a confident agent rather than someone who doesn't know what she is doing. Give your callers peace of mind that their concerns will be attended to properly.
3. Calm and Collected- Being calm and collected is an important quality of a good answering service agent. Sometimes, callers will voice out their disappointment with the services and are very frustrated. Agents who stay calm appear more professional. For funeral home business callers, agents should learn how to sympathize with their emotional callers.
Listening to a call demo or giving the agents a test call might be the best way to see the qualities of the answering service agent you are about to hire. Test the agent by showing our frustration or being in a hurry to see how the agent will handle the call.
The Right Answering Service Company
With every answering service company, the customer service agents are the most important component. Answering service companies must have trained and professional agents to get the job done right. These companies are aware that they are hired because their clients want to save resources but still, high quality services are expected of them. Hiring an answering service company to answer your business phone calls can be a risky move. The best way to deal with this matter is to be smart when choosing your service provider.
How do you go about choosing the answering service company? Knowing the company's background is necessary. Know how long the business has been running to gauge its experience. Who are their clients and how many agents do they have? Do some research on the company's reputation and credibility too.
Qualities of an Answering Service Agent
Now that you know more about the service provider, you should know more about their agents. How competent are their answering service agents? Will they be trained to answer phone calls from grieving callers? Here are the top qualities to look for in a good answering service agent:
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. Knowledgeable- A good answering service agent should be knowledgeable about the company and their callers. The agent acts like a representative for the client's company in a sense. Callers can sense if an agent really knows what she is talking about and if she knows the steps to take. When an answering service agent is knowledgeable, her confidence will show. Customers prefer speaking to a confident agent rather than someone who doesn't know what she is doing. Give your callers peace of mind that their concerns will be attended to properly.
3. Calm and Collected- Being calm and collected is an important quality of a good answering service agent. Sometimes, callers will voice out their disappointment with the services and are very frustrated. Agents who stay calm appear more professional. For funeral home business callers, agents should learn how to sympathize with their emotional callers.
Listening to a call demo or giving the agents a test call might be the best way to see the qualities of the answering service agent you are about to hire. Test the agent by showing our frustration or being in a hurry to see how the agent will handle the call.
About the Author:
Azalea M. Lynn works in the funeral industry as a consultant. She recommends a funeral 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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