Choosing a partner for handling your customers (or potential customers) over the phone is one of the most important decisions confronting most phone-based businesses today. 

Why is it then that the most valuable people to your organization – your customers – are handled by the least paid individuals – your inbound sales reps, outbound sales reps and customer service reps?  The answer is: “that’s just the way it is”.

But the secret (and the companies that figure this out, gain a return many times greater than the investment) is that you can have happy, effective telephone representatives handling your campaigns AND you don’t have to bring the calling process in-house.

This is where call centers step in.  Outsourcing is big business and call center outsourcing is one of the largest segments of outsourced services.  However, finding the right call center is not easy to do.

It is vital to follow a strategic approach in selecting an outsourcer to enable an empathetic and mutually rewarding relationship. Here are a few checkpoints:

• Check that the supplier has the capability needed for the task. It’s essential to gauge the type of expertise the partner will bring. Ask them what sort of work they carried out in the past. For example, if you need a response service providing high customer service or handling complex information, ask whether they have expertise in this type of area.

• Ensure they have a working culture that fits your own. You need to work with someone whom you trust as they will be the first point of contact in to your organization. Ask if they have worked with similar organizations in the past and assess if they are able to understand your ethos/brand and are able to communicate this effectively to callers.

• Check the organization’s background and quality standards. Do they have ISO approval or the Call Centre Association (CCA) Standard for Best Practice? Are they members of the CCA and the DMA? Also ask about their training policy, and which areas the telephone advisors receive training in. Are they trained in dealing with callers in a high service and supportive way; do they receive training on active listening skills and closing techniques? Staff turnover will also give you an indication of the culture of the organization.

• Do they maintain good levels of communication? It’s important to select an organization willing to invest time to make sure they fully understand your needs, not just by phone or e-mail, but also via regular face-to-face meetings.

• Ensure you understand the costs, which may include: set up; training; reporting; staffing; and management fees. How do they charge? Ideally, you’ll want to agree a budget for this type of work, usually based upon cost per call minute.

• Finally, once you’ve drawn up a shortlist of potential partners – and if time allows – ask to visit their sites and meet their teams. This will ensure that you are getting a ‘feel’ of their organization and enable you to check that they have the right resources and will be a good fit. Don’t forget to take out references, either.

Remember: it’s the people on the front line who will ultimately be the public face of your company, so it’s vital you get everything right – even if it’s only a short-term contract.

And finally, if possible, visit the site where your work will be carried out. There’s no substitute for seeing things first hand.