What makes an outbound sales agent??

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IanT

Barclays

After spending many years working in contact centres on customer service or inbound sales i wondered what it's like to be an outbound sales person and what makes a good outbound sales person.

I guess they need to be confident and resilient, but what else do people think??

06 Jan 2011 15:18:41

lee-roy

they need to be warm and welcoming, with an open mind.

06 Jan 2011 16:02:35

Jonty Pearce

Editor

Call Centre Helper

I have found that some of the best outbound people are also very good at inbound.

Resilience is also quite a key attribute - particularly if it involves cold calling. But also good listening skills, product knowledge and empathy are also very important skills too.

07 Jan 2011 12:37:28

mathewe2s

Sr Manager Operations

Idexcel Ltd

An outbound call center agent needs to have , lots of patience, perseverance and Passion towards sales ! The 3P's which make it All clubbed with 3 A's , ATTITUDE , ATTITUDE AND ATTITUDE

11 Jan 2011 10:03:24

Jason

Telemarketing Manager

CCT

Once you have someone with the right motivations, I think the ability to communicate a message with clarity is the main point. You can have the most sales hungry person in the world but if they can’t explain in 30 seconds who they are and why they are calling then its game over.

I test people on this in interviews by asking them to explain what their previous employers business was and why I as a consumer/customer would use them. If within a reasonable period of time I understand then they have a fair chance of succeeding on the phone.

Motivation is very hard to test, people talk a good game but it’s really hard to tell if someone is going be able to make the effort when responsible for their own actions.

11 Jan 2011 11:20:47

John B

I think that perserverance and discipline to the three rules of sales success is importnat

Rule 1

See the People (replace see with talk in a call centre

Rule 2

See the People (replace see with talk in a call centre

Rule 3

See the People (replace see with talk in a call centre

While activity is key ther ehave to be quality conversations that add value to the customers business (why else would they take the call)

I do not think scripts work if they are calling on a set bucket of customers.

Everything else above is also very relevant

20 Jan 2011 21:49:19