Three Tips For Success As A Live Phone Chat Agent
If you are articulate, great with people, and can keep calm under pressure, now is the best time of year to pick up a secondary income as a live phone chat agent. In December 2013, Christmas sales helped to boost online spending, and retailers have no reason to expect that this will not occur this year too. Hiring seasonal phone agents can help a business keep their customers promptly satisfied, while you earn extra money for your own Christmas spending. If you want to be successful in phone chat, keep these three tips in mind.
Speaking To Customers
One of the first things you should do when you become a phone chat agent is to learn all you can about the product you are supporting. One of the fastest ways to make a customer lose faith in the product is if you cannot answer their most basic questions.
Customers will not be concerned if you do not know the most intricate details, but basic knowledge must be available to them immediately. Other ways you can earn the respect of a customer include:
- Be clear about the words you are going to use before you open your mouth. Jumbled sentences, disjointed thoughts and hesitant pauses are signs that you do not know what you are talking about. This will not inspire confidence with your caller.
- Be honest when you do not know the answer to your question. Lying to the customers is going to give your employer a bad reputation.
- Make sure you come across as friendly and caring on every call. If you cannot fake this because you are not in a good mood, you should not be on the phones.
Once you have learned how to speak to customers, you need to be sure that your voice itself is up to the task ahead.
Caring For Your Voice
Let's face it, no one wants to talk on the phone to you if your voice is so hoarse and raspy it deserves its own starring role in a horror movie. If you are going to be a successful phone chat agent, your voice needs to be able to cope with the large amount of talking you will do each day. Here are a couple of ways that you can take care of your vocal cords:
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day. This will keep your cords hydrated and less likely to dry out. That dryness can cause coughing spells, which make it very difficult to help your customer.
- Avoid spicy foods the night before work. These can cause acid reflux, which is accompanied by stomach acids moving up into the back of your throat. Too much of this will affect your voice tone.
- Breathe deeply and often between calls. Taking deep breaths all the way down to your diaphragm will help oxygen to flow up into your throat. Air supply will carry moisture over your vocal cords, and keep them lubricated and clear.
Stress Free Approach
When it comes to dealing with customers on the phone, particularly at this time of year, you need to know how to cope with both their stress levels, and yours! The number one rule for an abusive, irrational or overly demanding customer is to keep your cool! Keep this list of "cannots" in mind while you are on the phone:
- You cannot take anything said to you personally.
- You cannot respond to a customer with aggression or rudeness.
- You cannot hang up on the customer.
What you can do is to politely ask the customer if they would prefer to speak to a supervisor, or to call back another time when they are prepared to discuss the problem in a calm manner. By doing so you are letting the customer know that you do will not to tolerate their behaviour, and this will give them a chance to stop and think about their demeanour.
A phone chat agent is a great way to secure some extra spending cash for you this Christmas. Tune up your vocal cords, plant a smile on your face, and get ready to help those customers with their online orders this year. The feel good feeling you get from helping people along the way will surely add to your Christmas spirit.
If you are interested in other phone-based jobs and hobbies, contact a company like Hot Gozzip Talk.