The customer’s interest in the product/service is the first step toward selling it. That’s the cardinal rule of marketing that call center units swear by. When the customer actively pursues information about something, there are better chances of sealing a deal there. BPO agents always smell an opportunity to make a sale when they find that the customer is asking questions. With websites and other promotional operations like radio and TV ads finding prominence, the customer is continuously being subjected to acknowledge, recognize and recall the brand. When they feel that they need some of the products/services that have been advertised, they will take up the phone and call. They may also log in to the website of the client and check for information. In either case, the call center services are presented with a rare chance to impress a sale upon the client.

The customer service department is primarily responsible for inquiry handling. The calls made by the customers can be classified into two different categories: one that requires information about prices, etc and another that wants to purchase it outright. Both are unique selling opportunities for the BPO agents. A proactive phone answering agent can quickly turn an information seeking call into something fruitful for the client. It’s not always the case that they generate leads on the very first call itself. Inquiry handling has to be subtle about the selling that they do. The main task here is to settle and answer the query to the satisfaction of the customer. Pushing for sales comes in later.

An important reason why inquiry handling can be used for sales lead generation is that customers are interested. It’s important to generate the right kind of interest in the customer before you can approach them for a sale. Call centers don’t have to invest that amount of effort when the customer has already heard about the brand and the products/services. That’s when they want to know some salient details because whatever they have heard about has already sparked off an interest. Telemarketing agents have to cash in on that opportunity. The customer wouldn’t have bothered to call unless something about the product or the offer has caught their fancy. The BPO agents have to figure out how they are going to utilize this chance to make the sale.

Agents who are working on inquiry handling have to be careful about the information that they are disseminating. There is little margin for error here because what they say will have a major impact on the sales chart. They have to answer the calls appropriately and with a sharp eye on opportunities to generate leads. The BPO agents must know what to highlight and what to talk less about. There are a few aspects about the offer or the product that are the weak links. Smart telemarketing agents would prefer to blow up the important USPs of the offer or product rather than inform them about something that will turn them off. This is an important tenet of smart inquiry handling.

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