Call Coaching is proven to improve conversion rates – and can be even more effective when using a third party coach instead of an internal authority figure.
Once you have decided if it seems like the right time for your company to start a call coaching program, it’s time for the call coaching conversation. The coaching conversation is the way in which coaching is delivered to your call handlers. It’s a dialog between the coach and the call handler; the employee is fully involved in the communication process and the call coach frequently solicits the employee’s thoughts, feelings and feedback.
The conversation follows a process that engages and empowers the call handler to be proactive in any performance improvement. This process is important: undisciplined conversations do not follow any process and often result in a false sense of performance improvement. Skilled coaches allow for an interactive dialogue with the call handler, but simultaneously guide the coaching conversation towards the specific and pre-planned conversation stages.
In many of our clients’ businesses, while there are people with many varieties of skill sets, most of those do not include skilled call coaching. Many owners and managers are too busy to dedicate the time necessary to truly coach their call handlers and set aside enough of that one-on-one and group time for true coaching sessions. This is where a skilled, seasoned call coach comes as a reasonable option.
Coaching is a pretty personal activity, and can make for a difficult discussion between manager and employee. There is a delicate balance of ensuring improvement by giving helpful and critical feedback while not offending, yet also delivering true recommendations and results. It is easy for an employee to feel more intimidated by having their boss be their call coach, yet comfortable with a third party coach whose job is to make them a better employee without judgment.
Utilizing a third party call coach not only provides a better, less intimidating experience for employees, but it also frees up time for managers to dedicate to other important tasks. Depending on the size of your call handling team, coaching can be a full-time job. Not only does it entail the time of the actual coaching session, but there is also preparation of listening to calls to coach off of, preparing the coaching conversation and follow up. While it is important for managers to follow through internally with what is learned during an employee’s sessions with their external third-party coach, it requires far less time than actually completing the full coaching on a regular basis.
Many clients enjoy using CallSource because of its third-party call scoring since it takes a weight off of their shoulders and gives unbiased feedback; using a third-party call coach provides those same benefits.
To find out more about CallSource’s third party coaching process, contact a representative today.
