If you’re considering a role as a call center agent—or you’re already doing the job—you know it takes a broad set of skills for success each day. Being highly organized, demonstrating a friendly demeanor, and performing under pressure are just a few of the things necessary to do your job.
These skills are the basics for any call center agent. But if you’re an agent with an eye on a promotion down the road, there are three skills you have to do really, really well to take your call center career to the next level.
1. Know the Company and Products
This might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised to learn how few call center agents are willing to go beyond the initial training they receive. Yet putting in the extra effort will pay off.
Dive deep and find out everything there is to know about your company. Learn the products and services inside out. This is the real difference between superstar call center agents and the folks just there to collect a paycheck.
Memorizing scripts and reading the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual will only get you so far. Consider these the bare minimum of what you need to know to do an average job. If you stop there, you are merely on par with every other agent you work with.
To stand out and catch the eye of your managers, you need to go above and beyond.
You do that by solving more customer problems than anyone else on your team. You solve problems effectively by knowing more than the other agents. You get that knowledge by doing your homework. Unlike the homework you remember from school, though, this extra effort can pay financial dividends in the very near future.
There are tons of resources at your fingertips. Product guides, support manuals, and whitepapers are just some of the things you can read to get up to speed. These will provide a foundation on which to keep building your company knowledge.
Go through any available company training, too. Webinars, classes, and product videos all offer a wealth of information you can use to help solve customer problems faster and more effectively.
Diving deep into an industry and learning everything there is to know about it is a strategy that works to bolster your success. It’s also a strategy followed by businessman Mark Cuban—and one he touts as the recipe for success. He’s a firm believer that understanding what people need and want is the key to growing your career, no matter your role.
But knowing about the products is just half of your success equation. Understanding your company culture and how the business operates is equally important. You learn this by keenly observing the day-to-day operations in your department and the company overall.
When can you bend the rules? Who can you go to when you need solid advice to navigate a tricky situation? When should you follow official channels versus back-channeling an issue to get something done quickly?
These are the questions you’ll be able to answer quickly when you take the time to learn about your organization. Every company is different, and the better you know yours, the more impact you’ll have.
The best part about these success strategies is that few of your colleagues (perhaps none, actually) take the time to do this. So even if you go through just ten percent of the available materials, you’ll know ten times more than anyone else on your team. It’s that simple.
When you do, your customers will notice and your performance metrics will skyrocket. Before you know it, you’ll be the go-to person for solving complicated problems.
It’s inevitable that your manager will sit up and take notice, too. And when they do, you’ll be front of mind when they consider who to promote.
2. Consistent Performance
Most people start a new job and give it 110% in those early days. They come out of the gate charging and have a super star week or two. But for most employees, things start to slow down after that initial honeymoon period. They end up settling into an average performance routine after that.
The real top performers, though, keep showing up and giving 110% week after week, month after month, long after the honeymoon is over. They build a reputation as being super reliable. This is how you get truly noticed over the long term.
So what goes into being a top performer? The basics, of course, like always showing up on time and meeting all your deadlines. That goes without saying.
But the real secret to being a consistent top performer is not just meeting goals but regularly surpassing them.
Start overdelivering on a regular basis, and not just your teammates will notice— your supervisor and managers will, too.
Of course, there’s something important to understand here. No matter how great you are as a call center agent, if you’re trying to succeed in a company with broken programs or a toxic environment, you’re facing an uphill battle.
How can you tell if your company is there to support your growth or crush it? Take a look around at your colleagues in the call center. If the vast majority of good workers are struggling or have a negative outlook, that’s a strong sign you aren’t in the most nurturing environment. It may be time to switch teams or find a new company altogether.
But if you see signs of a winning and supportive environment, then it’s time to get to work and learn from the best around you.
Seek out the top call center agents and get to know them. Have lunch with them and ask for tips and tricks to do your job well. Ask to listen in on their calls or shadow them for the day. The best way to become a consistent performer is to learn from those who already are.
Take the things you learn from these superstars and experiment with what works for you. Following this strategy for a long enough time will help you also reach that top tier. You will eventually become a top agent others look up to for guidance.
These strategies are something most call center workers overlook. So even if you only put in a little effort, you’ll still enjoy big gains compared to your competition. Once you’re ahead of the curve and maintaining top levels of performance, it’s only a matter of time before you get promoted.
3. Help People Feel Heard and Validated
Thriving as a call center agent usually depends on your performance metrics. That data often comes from customer satisfaction surveys taken after your call with them is complete.
It’s relatively easy to get high marks from a customer whose problem you solved quickly and efficiently. The good news is that if you’re working hard to go the extra mile and become a top performing agent, these satisfied customers will make up the bulk of your ratings.
Realistically though, no matter how much you know, you won’t be able to solve every customer problem. Some people want the impossible. Other problems simply can’t be solved at all. In both scenarios, you end up in the middle.
So what can you do?
Make sure the person on the other end of the line feels heard and understood. This is a skill based in empathy, but simply having empathy isn’t enough. It’s essential that you get the customer to feel your empathy.
The great news is that this isn’t an impossible task. There are some tricks you can use to make this happen.
When someone describes their problem, take a moment to restate the problem in your own words. Saying something like “Here’s what I heard you say…did I get that right?” is a powerful way to let the customer know that you’re actively listening and trying to fully understand their issue.
When people feel listened to and understood, it has an enormously positive impact on them.
Sometimes, truly unfortunate things happen to a customer using your company’s product or service. When this happens, validating the person’s experience is essential. “I understand why that would be so frustrating. I’d be really upset, too,” lets the customer know you understand them and take their problem seriously.
Whenever possible, give customers several solutions to choose from. Someone might demand a full refund, but you know that isn’t something you can offer. If the customer has a variety of other solutions to consider, the process of resolving the issue won’t seem so adversarial. They may not get exactly what they wanted, but they won’t feel like they totally lost either.
Even if you use all these techniques, there will still be times when you encounter someone who cannot be helped. These people are likely going through something hard that has nothing to do with the reason for their call. You just happen to be the unlucky target on the other end of the line.
In these situations, do what you can, show you’re listening, validate their experience, offer options, and then wrap things up as best you can. Luckily, these folks are the minority.