Outbound call centres help shape your business image. But it’s all in vain when your agents’ performance is stuck in a never-ending loop.

Your teams grapple with performance challenges, hindering both efficiency and customer satisfaction.

In this article, we dish out 7 outbound call centre best practices that can supercharge your team’s performance and elevate customer satisfaction.

To help you further, we also address your outbound call centres’ challenges.

Let’s begin!

What is outbound call centre software?

An outbound call centre is a customer service centre where your agents call existing customers or leads.

These agents proactively contact customers for research, telemarketing and feedback purposes.

It’s repetitive work for the agents – pick up the phone, dial a number, talk and repeat. That’s why you need reliable contact centre software like TelebuHub to automate some processes.

Outbound call centre software automates the calling process through seamless integration with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.

The software also comes with Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology, which allows your customers to respond to recorded messages.

According to the Grand View Research Report, in 2021, the market size of contact centre software was 23.94 billion. This market is set to grow by 23.2% from 2022 to 2030. 

Some of the many uses of outbound call centres include: 

• Collection for overdue bills 
• Customer survey/ care 
• Appointments reminders
• Telemarketing/ cold sales calls 
• Market research 
• Fundraising 

However, even with top-notch outbound call centre software, you might encounter challenges in achieving your desired results.

What are the challenges that outbound call centres face?

If your outbound contact centre isn’t performing well, it’s likely grappling with a combination of these challenges:

• Untrained agents: Your agents lack the creativity to engage with your customers. They remain unskilled with changing times and aren’t driven toward results. 
• Calling wrong customers: An ill-defined team target results in poor connection rates. Also, outbound call centres must not call numbers on the Do Not Call (DNC) list.
• A saturated market: Many of your agents try to reach a single customer, who sooner or later filters the call. 
• Busy customers: Customers prefer ignoring calls from agents because they are short on time. 
• Scammers: Scam calls hamper the authenticity of your services. This can lead to mistrust between customers and your call centre agents.

In the face of such challenges, you must follow best practices and processes to keep your team’s performance top-notch. 

Top 7 best practices for your outbound call centre 

Despite all these challenges, call centres are valuable to your business. The best practices below can change your agents’ output levels, boosting overall sales figures. 

1. Automate tedious processes 

One of the reasons your agents disengage with customers is because there’s too much back-end work.

But when equipped with the right software, the same agents dance to a different tune. They will show keenness in engaging with your customers.

Here is what you need to do:

• Use reliable software, like TelebuHub, that offers you a dashboard to toggle between screens. It must also track call metrics, including the number of calls, duration, and missed calls.
• Validate numbers through automated dialers and suppress the unnecessary ones. 
• Use an outbound IVR to push out recorded messages and add a personalisation feature.

2. Set call metrics

A list of measurable factors will highlight areas that need revisiting. Set a starting point for every representative. Check key performance indicators (KPI) like:

• Conversion rates: You can calculate this by dividing the number of sales by the total number of calls. 
• Answer success rate: How many calls were successfully connected compared to attempted calls?
• Customer satisfaction score (CSAT): Calculate by dividing the positive responses by the total responses. Multiply the answer by 100. For example, if your agent receives 26 positive responses out of 43 total responses, they have a 60.5% CSAT score.
• First call resolution (FCR): This score shows how satisfied customers felt the first time they called. The higher this score is, the better the call centre’s performance is.
• Closure percentage: This KPI shows your team their effective closing sales rates. You can calculate this by dividing the number of sales by the number of proposals. Then, multiply the answer by 100.

With these metrics, you can track your call centre’s performance and what you need to improve on.

3. Abide by standard operating procedures (SOPs)

Your customers must have a consistent experience no matter who calls them. 

They shouldn’t feel like they are talking to someone reading a written script. Instead, they must always report having the same amazing experience. 

How can you do that? 

To implement clear SOPs, try this: 

•  Create a document that guides agents in carrying out their tasks from start to finish. 
•  Prepare a written protocol on how to respond to specific situations. 
•  Update the SOPs as changes happen, and audience personas change occasionally. 

4. Focus on the representative’s persona 

The first call by an agent defines the agent’s success. That’s why you need to know the first impression your agent creates before your customer. 

Was your customer happy with the agent? 

Did they get instantly bored or disconnect the call without responding? 

It matters who you are hiring as your customer agent because they will handle your outbound call centre calls. 

Here is what you can do about this: 

• Create hiring processes focusing on candidates with the right attitude and skill set. For instance, look for interactive people who want to connect with customers. 
• Create training processes to equip them with skills to cater to different customers. 
• Focus on how they can excel at their job. Sometimes, the job of a representative can become mundane. Empower them with incentives and upgrades to boost their morale.

5. Create opportunities for customer engagement

Your customers want to speak to representatives who connect at an emotional level. They believe in a conversation more than a robotic exchange. 

On the other side, representatives speak to a diverse set of customers each day. Some are responsive, while others are short on time and speak hurriedly. 

So, your agents must vary their conversation style from call to call. 

Here is what your agents can do to engage customers better:

• Call customers by name: This is one of the best ways to personalise conversations. Make them realise a common purpose. Instead of making the product/ service the centre of your discussion. 
• Talk about the pain points: Focus on their challenges. Then, offer the benefits or product/service as a solution. Create a productive and valuable experience for the customer.
• Be authentic: Over-enthusiastic representatives tend to offer/promise beyond their potential. Make sure you establish trust and clarity before you sell to your customers. 

6. Craft compelling scripts 

Scripts give a step-by-step direction to your staff. They help both newbies and experienced members. 

What kind of conversations can you script?

Basic tasks such as transferring calls and dealing with various situations. You can also lay out the best organisational practices for everyone. A perfect script can drastically change your sales figures. 

Here is what you can do with scripts to improve team performance:

• Have dedicated representatives speak to specific customers. Use a database or invest in CRM software for this.
• Not all conversations should be 100% as per the guided script. Let agents be natural. 
• Give incentives to deserving agents who can achieve more. This will boost their morale, and their feedback will help you improvise the scripts.

7. Focus on quality above quantity 

Do outbound call centres favour high conversion rates only? 

The truth is your centre can only run successfully when you focus on quality. This is possible when you have more qualified leads than unwanted ones. 

Use the following tips:

• Focus on your customers’ needs rather than making random calls. Learn about your target market’s location, industry, and interest.  
• Remind your agents to keep tiny details in mind. Are they polite? How do they start the conversation? Are they actively listening to what the customer is saying?
• Before ending the call, ensure they fulfil the purpose of the call. Incomplete and purposeless outbound calls lead to calls getting filtered by customers. 

Implementing these best practices alongside a reliable call centre solution can empower your agents to score big. 

That’s why you need the right contact centre software to help your agents perform at their best. 

Boost your call centre standards with TelebuHub

Do your agents have the best call centre solution to provide the best customer experiences? 

Your team needs TelebuHub. 

TelebuHub is a single-window, secure, easy-to-use contact centre software. 

It gives your agents everything they need to run a blended contact centre that keeps your customers happy. 

So, schedule a demo today, or move right ahead and sign up for free on TelebuHub.