Hot Tip - Improving Call Control

Here's two easy ways to improve call control. The first one is not for everybody but it delivers a measurable payback.

Stand up

Telephone staff who stand up often demonstrate better call control skills than those who sit down. And a change of position every now and then increases comfort.

In complaint handling, we've found that staff are less emotional when standing up and focus harder on resolving issues with shorter call durations. In telesales, we find a typical 6% increase in closed deals when telephone staff stand up for all or part of their calls. The down side is that some staff are embarrassed to stand up, so don't force them, and there is a definite increase in background noise. On the other hand, we've found the payback outweighs the negative aspects.

It's worth testing for a few days with some of your more confident and experienced telephone staff. Please let is know the results.

Making notes

The second easy way to increase call control is to ask the caller or person you're calling to grab a pen and make notes. This involves the other person's senses of hearing, vision and touch and allows the agent to communicate more effectively and quickly.

It's so easy it sounds too good to be true but it works. Test it!

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