Thursday, May 10, 2012

SeminarEdge Services from TeleDirect



Are you looking for the most efficient way possible to get all of your guests registered for your next seminar? Try out TeleDirect’s SeminarEdge services! SeminarEdge provides your company with the most professional and user-friendly online reservation answering services that you’ll find anywhere. Using SeminarEdge, you will revolutionize the way your company is perceived by all of your seminar attendees, and increase the efficiency of your operations!

This answering service is a type of program that provides you with online access to manage all of your seminar’s guests. When you use SeminarEdge, your attendees will be given a wide variety of helpful features to help make their seminar experience go as smooth as possible.

To start with, all attendees will be given exact driving directions to the seminar from their location so that they will arrive precisely on time to your venue. They will also have access to a free dedicated 800 answering service, giving them the ability to get answers to all of their questions no matter when they need them! If they prefer to have their questions answered online, SeminarEdge also contains a free message center with professional operators. Printable labels and letters are sent to these guests as well, giving an extra personal touch to your upcoming seminar. There even will be meal selections that fit every attendee’s tastes and preferences.

Of course, SeminarEdge isn’t just meant for the attendees—it’s meant for you, too! Should you need to change your custom scripts for calls, you can do so on the fly whenever you need to! The 800 answering service also provides you with confirmation call programs that keep detailed records of whether your invited guests are coming or not. This saves you time from having to deal with the inconvenience of bookings that get left unfulfilled.

The SeminarEdge you will also have toll-free numbers, online access to your seminars and constantly updated attendee lists. Any changes you make to your options are instantly updated so that our representatives can always give accurate information on your behalf.

Contact TeleDirect today to learn more about what SeminarEdge can do for your business. This 24/7/365 service is exactly what you need to take your seminar planning to the next level!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Important Customer Service Tips for All Representatives



Many people underestimate how truly vital excellent customer service is to a business. When operating at their best, customer service representatives can bring a level of helpfulness and professionalism to a company that will keep customers coming back for more.

At TeleDirect, we have a number of standards that we infuse in every one of our CSRs to ensure that your customers are getting the best service possible. Here are five of the best tips our representatives follow:

The Golden Rule – This is a great guideline to follow in customer service as well as in every day life: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Be polite, offer them extra rewards and listen when they speak. The person on the other side of the line will appreciate it!

Know your customers – Are you familiar with the general demographics of the customers you’re working with? If so, then you’ll have a pretty good idea of what they’ll be looking for when they call in. This will help you to be more helpful and empathetic in your dealings with them.

Never argue – You should always do your best to give your customer the benefit of the doubt. You shouldn’t work to prove to your customer why they are wrong; instead, listen carefully to their problem and try to help guide them to the solution in a positive, encouraging way. Arguments will just drive a customer away.

Ask for opinions – One of the best ways to get honest feedback about the company you’re representing is to simply ask the customer. You might be surprised at some of the helpful bits of information you’ll receive!

Say “yes” as much as possible – Some times in order to accommodate a customer in the best way possible, you have to be willing to bend company policy. In the long run, it’s better to make a few exceptions to the rules than it is to turn a customer away unhappy!

These are just a few of the best simple ways that you can ensure happy customers whenever you take a call. At TeleDirect, we train all of our customer service representatives to work their hardest to give the customer what they want. When you outsource your customer service to us, you can trust that it is in good hands.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

TeleDirect: A History of Outstanding Customer Service!




TeleDirect is well-known today for its extraordinary customer service, and this is because we’ve built up a long history of helping businesses communicate effectively with their customers. In fact, we now have over 50 years of experience in the call center industry! In these five decades, we’ve formulated the perfect recipe for customer service, and we continue to make improvements every single year.

TeleDirect was founded in 1961 and instantly began serving business owners with all of their inbound customer service needs. Like any company, TeleDirect had humble beginnings. However, the call center soon grew into what businesses see today: a successful full-service, on-demand center that is appropriately recognized as one of the leaders in its industry.

At TeleDirect, we have become particularly successful thanks to the wonderful customer service representatives that we have working for us. These representatives are trained to be as helpful and knowledgeable as possible. These days, everything about customer service is instantaneous and “on-demand,” and our representatives are trained to give your customers the best service in the most efficient way possible.

This training is extremely important to the success of TeleDirect. All customer service representatives undergo constant training and reviews even after they are first hired by the company. After all, the nature of the world of customer service is constantly changing, so it’s important that all our representatives are able to adapt with the ebbs and flows of the business. Most importantly, our representatives are trained to create the perfect “moment of truth” with your customers, to ensure the best possible customer service experience.

The technology used by TeleDirect has also significantly helped it to become the success it is today. Our online tools like Instant Project Expert, Work the Lead, SeminarEdge and more have revolutionized the way businesses operate. Our instant 800 numbers, SMS messaging services and CRM tools all add to what is truly a cutting-edge call center service.

We’ve been going strong for 50 years, so clearly we’re doing something right! If you’re interested in learning more about what TeleDirect can do to transform your business’s customer service operations, contact us today. We’d love to get you started.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Leadership Tips for Customer Service Managers




Working in customer service can be extremely rewarding, but it can also present a unique set of challenges. Customer service representatives occasionally have to deal with difficult customers to solve problems, or answer difficult questions. However, customer service managers also deal with a set of challenges of their own. After all, keeping representatives happy ensures that they are more likely to keep customers happy.

So what are some things that you can do as a customer service manager to encourage happiness and high-quality work? Here are a few ideas:

Be optimistic! It’s easy for customer service representatives to become discouraged if they encounter rude or demanding customers. The best way you can counter this is by promoting an optimistic and encouraging work environment. Be sure to let employees know that they’re doing a good job, and their hard work is appreciated. They will appreciate this!

Empower your employees. Your representatives can’t make customers happy if you don’t give them that ability. Give your representatives the power to issue refunds, give extra incentives or discounts and other things of that nature. When they can make customers happy, this will drastically decrease the potential stresses that they can encounter.

Be consistent in your methods. Your standards for customer service should always remain steady, so that representatives know what it is they have to accomplish and how they can accomplish it. Always maintain that the customer should be treated with respect as a top priority. It also helps to occasionally send out emails or memos to maintain customer service focus.

Provide the necessary knowledge. Your representatives can’t help your customers if they don’t have the knowledge to do so! Ensure that they are thoroughly trained and knowledgeable before they go on calls, and the likelihood that they can diffuse problems over the phone will greatly increase.

Go above and beyond. Quite simply, let your employees know that you appreciate them, and do little extra things here and there to let them know. Birthday cards, small office parties, thank you notes and more are great, personal ways to encourage a friendly, enjoyable work environment.

TeleDirect has a great deal of experience in providing top-notch customer service, and it’s thanks to these methods that we continue to make customers everywhere happy. Contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about the services that we can give to you!





Tuesday, April 10, 2012

How to Stay Productive in a Call Center



Every business occasionally has to address the issue of productivity in the workplace, and call centers are no exception to that. Working in a call center has its own set of challenges, and as such there are a unique set of ways that customer service representatives or other call center employees can maintain a high level of productivity.

Stay comfortable. If call center employees are uncomfortable, chances are that they’re not going to be able to focus on all of their tasks. They may even grow irritable with the customers they’re speaking to, which could have tragic results. All employees should have a desk large enough to hold all of their supplies, with enough space under the desk for their legs to fit comfortably. Chairs should comfortable to sit in, and the climate in the center should stay comfortable. As long as employees are comfortable, there’s a greater chance that they’re happy!

Use mirrors. This is actually an old trick in the call center business that many people don’t know about. Encourage customer service representatives to keep a mirror in their personal space, and have them look into them while on calls. It’s crazy how it works, but if a representative is smiling, chances are that the person on the other line will hear that and respond accordingly!

Give constant feedback. This is important for the supervisors in a call center. Everyone wants to hear how they’re doing, especially if they’re doing a good job. Be sure to praise employees when they’re doing well. If they’re doing something wrong, remember that it’s almost surely not intentional. Give them constructive criticism in a friendly manner, and then afterwards reassure them that they’re doing well. Treat all employees with this same respect, and it will go a long way toward creating a healthy work atmosphere!

Keep a code of conduct. Every now and then, representatives will encounter difficult customers. Be sure that you have plans in place to combat a wide variety of different, difficult situations. This will help you to avoid having representatives get in heated, awkward debates with customers. Document this code in a written form and make it easily accessible.

Show appreciation! Just like you have your representatives show appreciation to the customers, show appreciation to your representatives. Go out of your way to make them feel like the work they do is noticed and truly appreciated.

All of these are great ways to keep productivity levels high in a call center, and it’s methods like these (and others) that help make TeleDirect such a success. Learn more about our services today by visiting the TeleDirect web site!


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

TeleDirect’s Work the Lead Software





TeleDirect has a number of programs designed to make your customer service more streamlined than ever, and our Work the Lead software is just one more way that your outsourcing is made simpler than you’ll find anywhere else! With Work the Lead, you can take the contact center to a totally new level, ensuring that your all of your business’s leads are captured and then routed in a direction that is most profitable for your business.



This multiple-location lead management system gives you faxing and emailing features, as well as password secure web reports that can be created, accessed and managed online. These features come with absolutely no extra charge; instead, they are automatically included in our basic per-minute pricing.



Changes to FAQs and scripts are extremely easy to make, and go live to our customer service representatives as soon as you make them! If you have an active account with TeleDirect, you can also take advantage of toll-free and point to numbers, which will be activated immediately. There’s no waiting involved!



Getting started with Work the Lead is simple. First, create a FREE account to access and explore our software. You’ll be surprised at how easy to use it is! Once you’ve got your account set up, you can build a custom script or your calls. This script shows up whenever any of our representatives field one of your calls. The third step is to set up your lead management. Your leads may be assigned to multiple locations, all with a few keystrokes. Finally, you can choose to fund your account if interested in the service, and get a working toll-free number for your business. All of these toll-free numbers work immediately, so you don’t have to wait a second to get started with Work the Lead!



Once your account is up and running, you have full online access to your leads, toll free numbers and order data, all day on every single day of the year, no exceptions. If you ever need to make last minute changes to scripts, on call schedules or lead distributions, don’t worry! Work the Lead gives you this option, and it’s extremely simple to do any of these tasks.



If you have any further questions about our Work the Lead lead management software, feel free to contact us at TeleDirect. Don’t wait a second longer to get the lead management abilities that you need!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Tips for Attracting Long-Term Customers





One of the most important aspects of business is ensuring that one-time customers can become long-term customers. You need to make an effort to reach out to the people who give you business even just once in order to see substantial long-term success.



Here are some ways that you can keep customers coming back, over and over again:

Sell your company’s image. You’re not just selling a product; you’re selling a brand. Think about what it is your company does that makes it different or better than any of its competitors. What do you do well besides your product or service? The fact is, your customers can get a good product from a number of different places, but if you find a way to make them loyal to your brand, then you’ve truly succeeded in making them a long-term customer.

Don’t focus on the competition. Just because one of your competitors is doing something that gets results doesn’t mean it will work for you. Everything your business does should be based on the opinions and responses of your customers, not on what someone else is doing.

Build relationships with existing customers. If people have already bought from you, they’re statistically more likely to buy from you again. You might consider developing specials for “preferred customers” who come back and do business with you. This gives them the feeling that they’re “inside.” You could even let them in on developments with your company before you announce it to the public.

Work with other companies. There’s a natural tendency in business to have an “us or them” mentality when it comes to other companies, but reciprocation can be extremely profitable for both sides. Give recommendations of each other’s products or services, or work with retailers to advertise special deals for your company.

Do the extra things. Send out messages and discounts during the holiday season. Provide customer service that is helpful, friendly and welcoming. Go out of your way to do all of the extra things that make your customers appreciate the service that you’re providing to them. People want to feel like their business is appreciated, and if you make it clear that it is, then they’ll come back.



TeleDirect can help your company convert customers into return business with the outstanding customer service that we provide. Our helpful customer service representatives have extensive training to field calls and queries from your patrons. For more information, visit our website or contact us to see how you can get started with our services!