If you manage to kick off and sustain a call centre business, you can start signing clients and smiling to the bank. But just like any business, starting a call centre business can be a lot of work. Especially if you want to offer the best services.

This blog will guide you through five steps to start a call centre business.

Excited?

Before we jump into the main points, let’s unlearn some misconceptions about running a call or contact centre business.

What are common myths about contact and call centres

Let’s look at five of them.

• Myth 1: Call centres only handle customer complaints. False. Call centres also provide information and support for various products and services.
• Myth 2: Call centre agents are untrained and low-skilled workers. This depends on the call centre. If you want your call centre to be different, it depends on how well you train your call centre agents.
• Myth 3: Call centres are costly and only for large corporations. Not true. You can serve businesses of all sizes. It all depends on what you want from your business.
• Myth 4: Call centres are only telemarketing operations. False again. Your call centre can serve various purposes beyond sales, such as customer support, technical assistance, and information dissemination.
• Myth 5: Call centres are not essential for businesses that have an online presence. Wrong. Businesses with an online presence still need contact centres. They need call centres to handle customer queries and complaints and to provide assistance.

There are definitely more of them. But let’s leave myths and get to the meat of this blog.

Love the wordplay?

How to start a call or contact centre business in 5 steps

Start acting on these steps today, and you’ll be on your way to launching your call centre business in no time.

You’d need the best call centre software to serve your clients well. Check out the best call centre software you can choose from.

Step 1: Research and plan

You need this to develop a solid business plan.

Here’s what probably comes to your head when you hear the word: research. You picture a tedious and hair-pulling process of reading hundreds of reports, blogs or websites.

But it doesn’t have to be so.

Here’s a more convenient way to do your research for your call centre business. Just answer these three questions:

• What’s your target market?
• Who’s your competition?
• What services will you offer?

Start with your top 3 competitors. It gets difficult to track once it goes beyond three. You can learn all you need to know about them from their websites and social media pages.

Your target market is simply the description of the businesses you want to serve. Make it detailed and specific. Do you want to work for SMEs or large corporations? Will businesses from every industry be accepted, or do you want to focus on a specific industry?

The last part is the services you want to offer. Do you want to offer inbound or outbound services, do you want to make it strictly a call centre, or do you want a blend?

The answers you get are all the research you need. There’s no point complicating it. You can do it alone or work with your partners.

Step 2: Find the right location for your call centre

If you want to operate a physical call centre, your location can be the difference between your success or failure.

How do you choose the best location for your call centre business?

Consider these 5 factors:

• Cost: The location should be affordable and within your budget.
• Infrastructure: It should have reliable and fast internet, phone, and power connections. Ensure adequate space, ventilation, lighting, and equipment for operations.
• Accessibility: The location should be convenient and safe for your customers, employees, and partners. Consider the availability of public transportation, parking, and nearby amenities.
• Competitiveness: The location should give you an edge over your competitors. Research the market demand, customer preferences, and competitor presence in the area. Look for opportunities to collaborate with other businesses or organisations.

If you want to run a virtual call centre, the location of your business also determines if your target market will want to work with you.

In this case, incorporate or register your business in locations your target clients will be more inclined to work with. This is where your research on your target customers comes in.

For example, if you’re in the GCC, your target audience is in Europe and may not want to work with you because of your location, you can partner up with people in Europe and register your business there.

Next is choosing the best call centre solutions for your business.

Step 3: Choose the right contact centre technology and equipment

Who goes to plant grains, then digs the soil with a rake?

Sure, you can work through digging the soil with a rake. But you’d agree it won’t be as good or effective as using the right tool.

When starting your call or contact centre business, the tools you use and their efficiency is everything.

You need reliable and scalable call centre tools that scale with you as your business grows.

In addition to using the best call centre software, you’d need the best of every tool you’d need, from team communication to sales, to marketing, to HR and so forth.

For your call centre software, we’d recommend TelebuHub.

TelebuHub is the complete call centre software you need to start and scale your call centre business. TelebuHub is simple to use, with call tracking, recording, supervision, ticketing, CRM, IVR, etc features. Learn more about TelebuHub and see the seven features you need in a call centre.

Step 4: Hire and train your contact centre staff

The truth is no matter how passionate you are about delivering the best services for your clients and helping them serve their customers, you won’t be making the calls or responding to queries by yourself. You need a team of call centre agents.

At the same time, if you don’t hire right, you’re in equal trouble.

So, who are the right call or contact centre agents, and how can they help you start your business successfully? What level of experience should you look out for?

To help you, think about this scenario. You want to go on an adventure into unfamiliar places.

Who will you choose between a seasoned adventurer and a rookie eager to explore uncharted territory?

Both have their pros and cons, so evaluate your options carefully and ensure you conduct thorough interviews. Especially if they are virtual interviews.

Whether you choose experience or potential, training your agents is the secret to a thriving call centre. You can also create library of learning materials and scripts that your agents can always refer to.

Step 5: Organise your call centre operations and management

How will this step help you start your call or contact centre business?

Here’s how. Proper organisation will ensure your business is running like a well-oiled machine. It’ll also help you track essential call centre performance metrics, such as average handle time, first call resolution, and customer satisfaction. The best call centre tools, like TelebuHub, can help you.

Remember, find the right people. Then, invest in their development.

Challenges of starting a contact or call centre

Starting a contact or call centre can get challenging and daunting. Most business owners face these common challenges when starting a contact or call centre:

• Choosing the right location
• Finding and hiring the right employees
• Securing funding
• Selecting and implementing the right technology and equipment
• Developing effective processes and procedures for call handling and customer service
• Ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements
• Managing costs and maximising profitability
• Preserving high levels of customer satisfaction and retention.

Remember, your goal must be to bring value. Let that goal drive you to success. Only then can you thrive and stand out in your industry.

How to thrive in the customer service industry

What’s the backbone of any successful business? It’s simple: customer service. It’s the most significant difference between the best and the rest.

Your business success lies in keeping your customers coming back for more.

That’s right. Your customers should be your focus and your driving force. They can either make or mar your business. So, ensure they’re happy.

To do this, follow these 8 best practices:

• Prioritise customer satisfaction
• Hire suitable agents because they’re the face of your business
• Train your agents to produce fantastic customer experiences
• Give your agents the right tools they need to achieve success
• Use customer feedback and other means to track your agents’ performances
• Use technology such as AI and chatbots to enhance customer satisfaction
• Use incentives and recognition to boost team morale
• Embrace omnichannel communication

Take these tips to heart, follow these call centre best practices and get ready to scale your business.

Start your call centre business with TelebuHub

With TelebuHub, you can start and grow your contact or call centre business quickly and set it up for success.

TelebuHub’s advanced IVR, analytics, and call recording features ensure seamless omnichannel communications with your customers. Schedule a demo to learn more and see how it works.