Running a business · 10 guides
Call Center: problems and fixes, explained by Karl
Karl Haddad is the only call center member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- Your call team is live: how to read the reports and tell whether it is working A call team can look busy on paper and still miss the point. Here is how to compare against your starting numbers, which report figures matter, and how to check the work yourself instead of trusting a summary. Three checks that tell youCompare against where you startedWhat a useful report should showOutcomes matter more than activity
- Will callers know, and will it cheapen the brand? Myths about outsourced phone teams Most fears about outsourced phone teams come from bad experiences with providers that were never set up properly. Here are the myths we hear most, what is actually true, and the mistakes that really do damage a brand. What callers notice, and what they do notMyth: callers can always tell it is outsourcedMyth: you lose control of how customers are treatedMyth: it only makes sense for big companies
- What an outsourced call center costs a small business, and what actually moves the price There is no honest flat price for an outsourced phone team. The quote follows your hours, your volume, what the agent has to do on each call, and how much of the work can be automated first. So what will it cost?Coverage hours are the biggest leverVolume and the length of each conversationWhat the agent has to do on each call
- Spanish-speaking callers and an English-only front desk: what Dallas businesses lose Callers who cannot explain their problem in the language they are comfortable with rarely call twice. Here is how to tell whether your business is losing them, and what bilingual coverage takes beyond a translated script. The short answer for a business in this marketWhat happens when a Spanish speaker reaches an English-only officeHow to estimate your own Spanish-language call shareOne bilingual employee is not a plan
- Seven signs your phones need help before your customers tell you Most businesses do not notice they have outgrown their phones until the calls they missed have already gone to a competitor. These are the signs to watch for, and a one-week test that settles the question. If three of these sound familiar, your phones need helpVoicemail is doing your receptionist's jobYour best people keep getting pulled to the phoneQuotes and web leads wait until tomorrow
- Missed-call text-back and auto follow-up: what you can set up yourself, and where it stops A text that goes out the moment you miss a call can hold a lead until someone calls back. It is a job many owners can set up themselves, as long as they respect the consent rules and know what automation cannot do. Yes, partly, and here is where the line fallsWhat a missed-call text really doesThe four pieces you have to wire togetherWriting a text people actually answer
- In-house receptionist, outsourced agents or software: which fits your call volume The right answer depends less on price than on how your calls arrive and what callers need. Here is how a receptionist, an outsourced team and software compare, and why many businesses end up with a mix. It depends on how your calls arriveWhat a receptionist on your payroll does wellWhat a hire really takes onWhat an outsourced team does well
- From first conversation to live calls: how an outsourced phone team gets set up Setup time depends on what you ask the team to do, but the order of the work is always the same. Here is each step, what you need to have ready, and why a small first launch is the fastest route to full coverage. How long it takes, without the sales pitchBefore any setup: a conversation and written findingsDefining what a good call looks likeBuilding the scripts and rules agents will follow
- Before you hand over your phones: the questions that expose a weak call center A call center will speak for your business to every customer it touches. These are the questions that show whether a provider will protect that voice, your data and your options. Eight questions to ask before anything is signedDo they study your calls before they quote?Where will the agents work, and who keeps the records?How are scripts and off-limits statements agreed?
- The phone rings more than your team can answer: fixing missed calls and slow follow-up Every unanswered call is a customer who called someone else. Here is how to find out how many you are losing, what you can tighten yourself, and how an outsourced support or sales team is actually set up. The problem shows up as quiet, not noiseWhy growing companies around Dallas hit this wallMeasure the leak before you buy anythingWhat you can tighten yourself, and when that stops being enough