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Like them or loathe them, voicemails are an important part of outbound contact strategies. Over 97% of all business calls now go to voicemail, so when we’re not leaving one, we’re missing an opportunity. The age-old, ‘don’t leave a voicemail, they won’t answer next time’ has gone. Over 79% of the UK population ignore numbers that they don’t know, or unknown numbers – period.  

In fact, a study found that 85% of Gen Z don’t view phone calls as being an important function of their phone, and 75% of millennials avoid phone calls if they can.

One recent article featured a journalist stating, ‘I have a confession to make: I love voicemails…I hate it when people call me and don’t leave one. How do I know what the caller wants otherwise?! They can text, but this gives no indication of tone. Or they can voice note on WhatsApp, but then they can see when I’ve listened, which – to me – can feel like an invasion of privacy, depending on who it is.’  

What are the benefits of using voicemails when outbound dialling?

• Remove any chance of silent calls

Leaving voicemails when outbound dialling prospects or customers ensures that your organisation is covered and protected from any potential risk of leaving silent calls.  

Many outbound diallers use Answer Machine Detection (AMD) which may not be accurate all of the time, equating to silent calls. A simple fail-safe would be to set up voicemails for every non-answered outbound call, which is crucial to remaining 100% compliant with zero silent calls. This is increasingly important to both provide a great customer experience and to ensure you’re operating within Ofcom guidelines, avoiding any chance of hefty fines of up to £2 million.

• Make better use of your sales teams’ time by leaving voicemails

Cold calls or outbound prospecting remain effective growth tactics, with studies showing that 82% of buyers will still accept meetings with sellers who proactively reach out. So if you are placing sales calls it offers a great way to give prospects an indication of why you’re calling. If they’re keen, you may even get a callback; if they’re willing to hear you out they might well pick up the phone next time.  

It’s the quickest way to get potential prospects that are interested, versus the ones that are never going to buy from you. Saving you time, effort and according to Outreach you can expect around 5% of your prospects to respond to your voicemail.

• Frame the conversation ready for the next interaction

If you’re using an outbound dialler for other purposes, perhaps to follow up on a customer service incident, your calls may go unanswered. Voicemails are great for teeing up the next conversation, providing context and details where appropriate. You can bet the next conversation that you have with your contacts will start warmer and your average handling time (AHT) might also reduce.  

• Ensure you get brand exposure

Putting your brand at the forefront of customers’ minds is important. For example, if you are collecting debt, your customers likely owe multiple businesses, so ensuring that your contact strategy puts your brand front and centre of your customer’s minds means you increase the likelihood of a successful outcome. The same goes for if you’re trying to make a sale. Leaving a message is a simple way to reinforce your messaging and brand name within your contacts’ minds.

What is the best approach to leaving great voicemails?

1. Achieve team efficiencies with voicemail automation

If you’re using an outbound dialler, there’s no doubt you’ll have various options as to how to set up voicemails for your operations. With MaxContact’s outbound dialler you have the option to set up preconfigured voicemails relating to your campaigns or business functions, saving an agent on average two and half hours each week, all whilst ensuring the quality and consistency of your messaging.  

And, when the MaxContact platform detects an answering machine, a voicemail can be automatically placed, whilst your user is moving on to the next call. You can also give your users the ability to leave more personalised messages if you feel a more tailored approach is needed.  

2. Keep it informative and to the point

Leave messages that give your clients the reason for the call and when you’re going to call back, including any contact details they need to reach you. Provide just enough information to encourage them to call you back or set up your conversations ready for them to be recontacted. Ensure the messages are to the point and ideally 20 to 30 seconds long — max.

3. Measure, coach and improve how you use voicemails

It’s one thing not leaving voicemails at all, it’s another simply setting it and leaving it. Voicemails should be tested, reviewed, and improved over time. Measuring metrics like inbound contacts after an outbound call is a great indicator that your voicemails are effective. As are a reduced average handling time of call when people are re-contacted after a voicemail is left.  

4. Personalise voicemails with key information  

Fraud and spam are an increasing concern for many astute consumers, with the average consumer receiving 144 spam calls last year – 58% of which were fraudulent. Including relevant information to personalise your messages will help the customer feel at ease with information shared that only their current provider will have, making them more likely to answer your call, rather than just ignore you.

Setting up the voicemail function in MaxContact is easy. You can record your version by uploading a WAV file or simply use text-to-speech to get started with leaving voicemails and learning what works for you and your customers.

Voicemails are one of many features that you need to make your outbound strategy successful. Learn about more of the must-have features you should be using in your outbound contact centre in this blog. For more information about our outbound dialling solution contact us on 0330 156 6550 or simply send an email to info@maxcontact.com

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At the same time, consumers have never been so prepared to switch provider or supplier, because switching has never been so simple. They’re also happy to detail poor experiences with brands and businesses on social media.

In this highly competitive environment, customer service becomes a key point of difference. Your products or services need to be spot on. Your after sales support needs to be equally excellent.

Proactive customer service is a new standard of excellence

More businesses are now impressing customers with proactive customer service.

Proactive customer service means that, instead of waiting for customers to come to you, you proactively contact customers who may be dissatisfied or having problems with a product.

Why’s that important? Customers know that products are sometimes faulty, and services are not always perfect. They won’t necessarily punish your business for an occasional glitch. According to Salesforce research, if a company’s customer service is excellent, 78% of consumers will do business with them again after a mistake.

Being proactive is an increasingly important ingredient in excellent customer service. By proactively contacting customers about a problem, you stop them having to take time out of their day to contact you.

By receiving a call or email unexpectedly sharing the solution to their problem (and any associated timeline), you reassure customers that something is being done and you care.

It’s all about being honest and upfront. When your train doesn’t turn up, you want to be kept informed of its progress, not kept in the dark. When your broadband goes down, a text message admitting to the fault and giving an expected fix time is the next best thing to a solution.

Proactive customer service isn’t just about problems. If something is genuinely beneficial, customers will usually be happy to be contacted about it, even out of the blue.

But it does work especially well when customers need help. That’s when they really appreciate informed, empathetic communication. It’s all part of a personal, customer-focused service.

How do you deliver proactive customer service?

So if proactive customer service is good for business, how do you do it?

Most importantly, you have to get to know your customers well. That means measuring customer sentiment and tracking it over time, so you can act quickly when satisfaction starts to wane.

Ask for feedback, monitor social media and dig into customer complaints. Do the same issues keep coming up? Is there a pattern to a recent rise in calls to your support centre?

Make sure agents know to note instances of customer dissatisfaction, even if they’re only mentioned in passing. Monitor use of online FAQs and how-to articles.

When you know the issues customers face, you can prepare proactive communications. For example, a problem that is starting to prompt calls to your support line might be relatively trivial, and easily fixed with a self-service article. Proactive messaging can direct customers to the right web page, so they don’t have to waste time on the phone.

Alternatively, a significant fault may require a lengthy fix, risking a wave of complaints. But proactively informing customers of the problem and keeping them updated on progress towards a fix is the best way to clear up confusion and diffuse anger.

And positive proactivity works too. An unsolicited call or email to help customers make full use of a great new feature or product release will create goodwill towards your business.

How MaxContact can help

Proactive customer service works. According to research, it can reduce customer churn by 3%-5%. Over time, that’s a lot of customers that stay with your business.

Proactive customer service relies on targeted, relevant and timely communication. With MaxContact, you can easily create and implement a proactive contact strategy, starting with the following features:

Omnichannel customer engagement

Sometimes a text is all it takes. At other times, a call is more personal. An omnichannel platform lets you proactively contact customers in a way that suits them.

CSAT and NPS

MaxContact lets you monitor important customer satisfaction scores, so you can act decisively if they start to slip.

Automated dialling

Segment customers and create automatic contact lists based on relevant data points, like “X days since support ticket closed” (ask them how the solution is working), or “X% reduction in usage” (get to the root of the problem before they abandon the service altogether). And if there’s a wider problem, automated dialling allows you to quickly contact customers before they contact you.

Bulk SMS

Target groups with bulk support texts, offering advice, a quick fix, or a simple “how’s it going?”

Analytics

Monitor data on things like wait times or first call resolution. If a customer has experienced sub-standard service based on metrics like these, send them an apology or even an email gift.

Speech analytics

MaxContact’s speech analytics platform can monitor customer sentiment even if a caller is not obviously complaining. Dig deeper to find the cause of dissatisfaction and proactively put it right.

Proactive customer service can improve satisfaction and reduce churn, but it’s difficult to do consistently without a smart and efficient communication platform in place. MaxContact helps in two ways. It offers the tools and analytics to monitor customer sentiment. It then gives you the contact options that make a proactive strategy possible.

Get in touch to hear how MaxContact can make a difference to your business.

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If you’re a debt collection agency or a consumer-facing billing, credit, or accounts receivable department, you may be getting a little nervous right now.

The cost-of-living crisis is affecting us all. Debt has increased across the UK, up by a whopping £63 billion in a year. The average unsecured debt per UK adult as of March this year was £3,797.

That’s a significant amount of debt, and it’s likely to increase. Inflation has just hit a 40-year-high, and gas and electricity bills are forecast to rise again in the Autumn.

All of which means consumers will have less money in their pockets, and bigger bills to pay. Debt and payment collectors are having to work harder to meet targets.

How do you ensure your own communications are heard above the din? How can you meet your targets in an environment of such intense competition?

The status quo is not an option

In many cases, the answer is not to simply carry on as before. Even before the pandemic, the average debt collection rate was below 20%, the lowest in 25 years.

In addition, outbound collection strategies are often costly and inefficient, with a success rate that is usually below 5%.

So, if standard outbound practices aren’t working, and competition for customer attention is getting fiercer, what can you do?

To ensure debt collection strategies are ROI positive, you have to adapt your processes, make them more efficient, act proactively and know your customers better than ever.

We’ll discuss what that means in practice.

Smart outbound communications

The key to successful payment collection is creating smart outbound communications. That is a three-step process.

Streamline your processes

It’s not unusual to still find payment collection processes that involve manual outbound dialling with no omnichannel option.

This is hugely costly and inefficient. By contrast, an outbound dialler takes the legwork out of customer communication, deftly handling missed calls and answer machines. It ensures your agents have more time to do what they do best – talk to customers.

Linked to a CRM platform, it also automates the management of customer accounts, and presents agents with the information they need when they need it, so they better understand customer challenges.

Meanwhile, omnichannel communications (text, email, chat, WhatsApp etc) let you contact customers in the way that is most likely to get results.

Match this with a secure automated payment platform. Too often, customers contacted in an outbound campaign will fail to pay because the payment facility isn’t available when they need it, or they have to queue to speak to an agent.

Automated payment means customers can pay whenever they’re ready, and before they use the money for other reasons.

Get to know your customer

When you link communications and CRM platforms you can segment groups and contact them in the most appropriate ways.

For example, you can send a text message to customers in danger of falling into arrears, to remind them to pay before problems arise. You can target indebted customers with messages about the help on offer.

In addition, pre-collection contact strategies can ensure your organisation stays front and centre of a customer’s mind. Being proactive, getting ahead of issues before they become problems. Build profiles for segmentation, based on the financial situation, payment history, vulnerability and more. Then plan campaigns that are relevant to each segment.

You should also capture preferred customer contact methods during onboarding. A customer might be more likely to act on a call, text or email, so segment them further in this way.

Create better experiences

The easier and more pleasant your business is to deal with, the more likely customers are to prioritise you for payment.

Automated payment is part of that, as is using preferred contact methods whenever possible. Another is training staff to be patient, understanding and genuinely helpful.

Continuous performance feedback should be part of your training regime. Implement a system that lets you guide agents during calls – this is especially useful for the most challenging customers – and give instant post-call feedback.

Track performance over time so you can use resources efficiently, allocating the most challenging customers to the most experienced and skilled agents.

Create and edit scripts for every circumstance. Empower agents to use all the tools at their disposal to engage customers and create positive outcomes.

Improve debt collection ROI

If your communications are on point, your payment strategies are likely to be more successful. That will in turn reduce breakage rates and improve the ROI of debt collection.

In the current climate, it’s important that you do everything possible to create better customer interactions and nurture goodwill. Customers are likely to prioritise payments to businesses they trust and respect.

MaxContact’s powerful customer engagement software can help. It includes intelligent outbound dialling, comprehensive omnichannel options, automated payments, on-the-go script editing and a sophisticated agent monitoring and training platform. It also integrates with your CRM systems to create a seamless customer service solution.

Book your free, no-obligation demonstration and we’ll show you what MaxContact can do for you >

Those working in contact centre roles say that work-related poor mental wellbeing is making them less productive, including answering fewer calls and taking more sick days – costing the industry over £990m in lost productivity every year. That’s according to our new study, Duty of Care Gap.

The contact centre industry is a huge contributor to the UK economy, employing over 800,000 people across the country. Yet the industry is facing a mental health crisis, with 83% workers saying their work is taking a toll on their mental wellbeing, with staff reporting high stress levels (62%), anxiety (48%) and feeling overwhelmed (46%).

This poor mental wellbeing at work is costing the industry millions in lost productivity at a time when staff attrition is already high. An overwhelming majority (95%) say that work-related mental wellbeing problems are making them less productive at work, losing on average six hours of work per month, or nine working days per year to poor mental wellbeing. This is also translating into sick days – staff report taking on average 2.78 sick days due to work-related mental wellbeing problems. This lost productivity is costing the industry £990milllion per year.

Encouragingly, the research also reveals many businesses are already taking steps to help. Over half (52%) have mental health first aiders in place, but this is in stark contrast to physical health and safety, where each workplace is legally obliged to have nominated first aiders and carry out regular risk assessments.

For businesses that do prioritise the mental health of contact centre workers, the benefits are clear. The overwhelming majority (75%) of contact centre workers say they would be more likely to say in their current role if their employer made a bigger concrete commitment to improving mental wellbeing in their workplaces. Also, 46% say they would consider another role in the contact centre industry if it would be better for their mental health.

To help those using their technology, MaxContact has launched a new Employee Wellbeing feature which provides helpful, unobtrusive tips throughout the day to help staff take steps to improve their physical and mental wellbeing while at work. The reminders focus on three key areas: body position, hydration and positive mindfulness. Contact centre leaders can monitor anonymous, aggregated data on these actions to track how their staff are feeling and offer more support if needed.

Ben Booth, CEO at MaxContact, says, “Contact centre workers work unbelievably hard behind the scenes to make sure our society works. We’ve worked with contact centre leaders to understand the challenges the industry faces. What we’ve discovered shows just how difficult the job is. What’s more, the problem is only getting worse as the cost-of-living crisis gets even more serious and contact centre workers are the ones who have to deal with the angry or upsetting calls about rising costs.

“We’re calling for businesses that employ contact centre workers to make mental wellbeing just as important as physical health and safety, with properly trained mental health first aiders in every organisation. It’s not just the right thing to do, it makes total business sense.

“We know we have a part to play too in making the industry better. That’s why we’ve launched our Employee Wellbeing feature as part of our making 2022 the year of the agent, focusing on both physical and mental wellbeing. It’s not an answer to the problem but it’s a step in the right direction and we’ll keep on looking for ways to put workers at the heart of our platform.”

Dr Andres Fonseca, Consultant Psychiatrist and Co-Founder at leading mental health care organisation Thrive: Mental Wellbeing, threw his support behind the findings, saying, “Employee mental health can seem like a difficult topic to navigate but creating an environment that supports and educates staff has many advantages. It is vital that we equip all employees, but especially those in such frontline roles, with the necessary tools and techniques to effectively manage challenging conversations. With more focus on the cost of living crisis, it is also imperative that we continue to open up the conversation around mental health and raise more awareness of the connection between physical and mental wellbeing while ensuring that everyone across the workplace knows that they are valued and supported.”

Whether you’re looking to supercharge sales, streamline debt collection, or elevate customer service, the right outbound dialler can redefine how you connect and communicate. So, continue reading to learn more about automated diallers and discover the potential they hold for your contact centre’s success

So, what’s an outbound dialler?

Put simply, outbound dialling is the process of making calls to customers or contacts, typically for sales or marketing purposes.

While outbound dialling can be performed manually on a mobile or business phone, this is not practical when dealing with a high volume of calls. A range of additional features can enhance outbound calling in a contact centre setting through the use of an automated dialler.

What does an outbound dialler do?

An outbound dialler is generally a cloud or software solution that automatically dials phone numbers and makes calls on behalf of your sales, collection or customer service teams. As such, it’s an essential ingredient in any organisation where you need to make outbound calls to clients and prospects throughout the day.

What are the different types of call centre diallers?

The main options are a manual dialler and an auto dialler.

Manual Dialler

A manual dialler is like a traditional phone. A call agent manually dials numbers from a call list, one after another.

Auto Dialler

As the name suggests, an auto dialler automates much of the dialling process. It digitally dials numbers, and can also dial multiple numbers at once, passing answered calls to available agents.

Manual vs Auto Dialler

Why would you choose one over another? Most call centres now opt for auto dialling, because it significantly boosts productivity. Agents spend more time talking to customers and less time dialling unresponsive numbers.

Manual dialling can still be useful, but only for campaigns involving a small number of high value customers who demand a more personal approach.

The different outbound dialler modes

If you’re using an auto-dialler, there are likely three dialler modes that you’ll frequently use, depending on the type of outbound calling you are doing. These are predictive diallers, progressive diallers and preview diallers.

Predictive dialling

What is it? When most people think of outbound dialling software, they tend to think of predictive dialling. Predictive dialling places calls based on the software’s predictions of agent availability. It dials multiple numbers simultaneously, so that when agents finish one call they can be instantly connected to the next.

What are the benefits? The best predictive diallers minimise abandoned calls (and the amount of time customers spend on hold) and maximise the time your agents spend having conversations. When should I use it? Predictive dialling is the standard for straightforward, high volume sales campaigns (like commodity sales) or debt collection activity.

Progressive dialler

What is it? Progressive diallers are predictive diallers that slow the pace down by only dialling a number when an agent is available to take the call. Dialling is instant and automatic, so the system still allows for a relatively high number of calls.

What are the benefits? Progressive dialling eliminates the risk of customers abandoning calls or waiting a frustratingly long time before being connected to an agent. Because an agent is always available, the customers you have painstakingly nurtured over a period of time feel valued and importan

When should I use it? It is often used in campaigns that target current customers. It’s a low risk option that can improve customer experience and effectively help agents upsell additional products and services.

Preview dialler

What is it? A preview dialler takes the pace down another notch. When an agent indicates availability, information about the next call is sent to the agent for preview.

After a set amount of time – say, one minute – the number is automatically dialled. This delay lets the agent prepare for the call, using information typically taken from the company CRM system – which are often integrated into the dialler.

What are the benefits? Agents can have more in-depth, focused conversations, based on a customer’s real experiences and challenges. It can improve customer experience and increase the number of positive outcomes.

When should I use it? Preview diallers are particularly helpful when the reason for the call is complex or sensitive. For example, following up with web leads or dealing with customer complaint calls.  

Explore the three dialler modes in more detail >

How are automated diallers used?

Outbound diallers can be integrated into many industries. Any company with an outbound contact centre who are cold calling or making high volume phone calls can benefit from outbound dialler software.

Power up your sales teams

Sales campaigns are often high volume and low touch. Predictive dialling is the gold standard for straightforward, high volume outbound campaigns (like commodity sales). It can quickly and efficiently work through large datasets, making sure leads are contacted while they’re still warm.

The best predictive diallers minimise abandoned calls (and the amount of time customers spend on hold) and maximise the time your agents spend having conversations. They can be set to play messages if they meet an answerphone, and will recycle numbers (placing unanswered calls back into the call queue) in a way that ensures your customers or leads are contacted, but never pestered.

The right outbound dialler can make selling straightforward by helping to connect your sales people to the right customers at the right time. Combined with the contact centre-specific features mentioned earlier, it can offer powerful tools for contacting customers, winning business and exceeding customer expectations.

Increase debt collection rates

Your credit and debt resolution teams can use effective targeting to reach priority customers at times that suit them. Maximise collection rates using advanced data segmentation and encourage self-serve with automated communications. Automate payments with self-serve options providing customers choice and improving satisfaction.

Preview diallers are particularly helpful when the reason for the call is complex or sensitive. For example, debt collection calls are more likely to end positively if agents have the time to gather all the information they need beforehand.

Elevate your customer service teams

Customer service teams often use progressive dialling to target current customers with after sales information or courtesy communications. It’s a low risk option that can improve customer experience, help nurture loyalty and effectively help agents upsell additional products and services. Because an agent is always available to have a conversation, the customers you have painstakingly nurtured over a period of time feel valued.

5 must-have outbound dialler features

Answer Machine Detection (AMD)

Answer Machine Detection (AMD) lets your auto-dialler software identify answering machines before connecting calls to agents. This means agents only spend time on live conversations, saving them valuable time and boosting productivity.

AMD is particularly helpful for high-volume sales campaigns where every minute counts. MaxContact’s AMD boasts a 90% success rate in detecting answering machines, freeing up agents to focus on reaching real people.

Speech analytics

Forget manually reviewing call recordings! Speech analytics uses AI to analyse every conversation, automatically identifying customer sentiment, call quality, and agent performance. This lets you:

• Spot frustrated or vulnerable customers who need extra care.
• Ensure agents follow compliance guidelines.
• Understand what customers are saying about your products and competitors.

Speech analytics gives you valuable insights from all calls, not just a select few. It saves time and helps you improve the overall performance of your contact centre.

A secure payment manager

A secure payment IVR gives customers the payment options they want, while giving teams the time they need to deal with more complex or sensitive cases.

Payment automation helps you speed up debt collection and improve cash flow. When you give customers more convenient ways to pay, they’re more likely to stick to payment schedules.  

MaxContact’s payment IVR is fully PCI compliant, protecting customer information at all times. We offer both assisted payments, in which staff safely guide customers through the payment process, and automated payments, which are fully self-serve and available 24/7.  

Analytics and reporting

You can only improve contact centre performance when you can measure it. When you’ve done that, you need to present the data in a way that is easy to understand and act on. That’s where analytics and reporting come in.

MaxContact’s pre-configured reporting gives you complete visibility around productivity, issue resolution rates, revenue and customer satisfaction, to name just a few. You can set targets for campaigns, channels, teams and agents and track performance over time.  

All teams – sales, service and debt resolution – benefit from better information. Pre-configured reports give you the data you need in the quickest and most hassle-free way.

Easy integration

A powerful dialler is even better when it works hand in hand with your existing systems. Imagine a sales agent having instant access to customer history, preferred contact methods, and past feedback – all within the dialler interface (thanks to CRM integration).

This allows for personalised conversations that address specific needs, leading to happier customers and improved outcomes. Easy integration applies to after-sales and debt resolution teams too. By connecting your dialler with other systems, you can put all relevant information at agents’ fingertips, reducing hold times and boosting overall efficiency.

The benefits of auto-dialler software you can’t ignore

Improve contact centre metrics like AHT

Average Handling Time (AHT) is a calculation based on the time agents spend talking to a customer, the amount of time callers are on hold and the time taken on follow up tasks, divided by the number of calls handled. The lower your AHT, the better. It means you can handle more calls, improve efficiency and reduce costs. A good dialler can improve AHT and a host of other contact centre metrics, by allowing agents to handle more calls, more efficiently.

Excel at sales and debt collection

Whether it’s sales or debt collection, the best results happen when good agents talk to customers. Whether it’s a high volume, low touch sales campaign, or more sensitive debt resolution calls, the right dialler means your agents spend more time in conversation with customers, and less time processing unanswered calls or connecting to answering machines.

Keep your contact centre compliant

A powerful predictive dialling algorithm speeds up and slows down depending on the conditions in your contact centre. If fewer agents are available, the dialling slows down, helping to ensure you stay within compliant boundaries for abandoned and dropped calls. Or you can switch to progressive or preview modes for more personal contacts. The dialler can also ensure that the frequency of calls to a contact never exceeds official limits.

Seamlessly integrate with your CMS

A dialler that integrates with your CMS system is a huge advantage. It means that the systems feed information to each other, so your agents always have the details of previous contacts at their fingertips. That reduces the risk of customers becoming annoyed by having to repeat information they’ve already previously given. It can also provide insights into customer satisfaction rates, preferred times and methods of communication and so on.

These companies boosted performance with auto diallers

We worked with these companies to replace ageing systems with modern cloud-based diallers – and the results are impressive.

Compare My Insurance

Compare My Insurance is one of the largest independent insurance and protection specialists in the UK. But dialler downtime, data issues and missed opportunities were hampering the business.

MaxContact’s dialler solution integrated seamlessly with the company back office systems. It has significantly increased contact rates while providing complete transparency around performance and progress.

APJ Solicitors

APJ Solicitors, a leading financial mis-selling specialist, needed to increase call volumes and boost efficiency, but its basic VOIP phone system was no longer up to the task.

MaxContact’s solution increased call volumes by 110% in the first year, and improved average agent call efficiency by 36%. Productivity has risen five fold over the company’s previous solution.

Improve your call centre performance with MaxContact

MaxContact offers the most sophisticated outbound dialler currently available. This continually improving cloud-based dialling solution gives you the flexibility to run your contact centre your way, letting you choose the right blend of productivity and compliance for your business needs. With over a 1,000 unique features, MaxContact’s outbound dialler helps meet your contact centre challenges in new and powerful ways.

Learn about how MaxContact’s auto dialler can improve your contact centre operations. Book a demo today to find out more.

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One of the simplest and most effective tools in your contact centre armoury is your call centre script. A call centre script is a set of predefined questions, responses and conversation pathways for agents to follow when communicating with customers over the phone.

This helps agents communicate confidently and effectively with customers, no matter how little experience they have. Meanwhile, quick and efficient conversations with positive outcomes for customers lead to more sales and a better brand reputation for your business.

This means it’s crucial to write a call script that demonstrates efficiency, understanding and a real desire to help customers. Not only does this make average handling time (AHT) more efficient and valuable, but also improves customer experience (CX) and makes life considerably easier for stretched employees.

Wondering how to write a call script that gets results? Writing your own call centre script can feel daunting, but in most cases, it’s just about following a few simple rules. Here are six steps to writing an effective call centre script:

1. Keep your call centre script simple

Call centre scripts are all about focus. Only ever try to sell one product or service. Have one goal in mind for the conversation, whether it’s a further call or scheduling a demo.

It’s the same with support and debt collection scripts. Keep the focus on one thing (problem A or payment B). Don’t encourage a wider conversation about customer support or the cost of your product.

Be polite and – if relevant – sympathetic, but get to the core point of the script as quickly as possible. Don’t waste words, and use simple language at all times.

A well-focused script will contain questions and responses directly relevant to the point of the call, with examples of ways to redirect the conversation in case you start to veer off-topic. A cluttered script will include irrelevant offers or unnecessary questions.

For example, with a cold call, you want to cut straight to the chase with a concise opening to introduce yourself and explain your offer.

You could start with something like this: “Good morning, Mr Smith. I’m Dan from ABC. We’ve got an offer on right now that we think you’d be interested in. Is this a good time to talk?”

Be prepared that the likely answer is no and have a response ready that encourages the client to agree to a callback. For example: “No problem at all. When’s a better time to call? It should only take five minutes or so and I’m happy to fit into your schedule.”

2. Introduce yourself

Start every sales call centre script by introducing yourself. It’s important that you build rapport, so use your first name and personalise the conversation by using first-person phrases – “I can”, “I understand”, “I will make sure” and so on.

If you know anything about the customer – do your research beforehand – bring it into the conversation. Be sure to know how to pronounce their name before calling, and use it throughout the conversation in a natural way.

If relevant, mention the company’s latest product, or an earlier conversation a customer had with your company.

If the customer is calling with a problem or complaint, acknowledge their problem, offer an apology and be proactive in taking steps towards a solution, like so: “I’m really sorry that you’ve had this problem. Let me see what I can do to make it right.”

3. Write professionally

That means making sure you don’t make obvious spelling and grammar mistakes. This is important for both phone, webchat and email communications. You should use professional language at all times – “Good morning, Mr Smith” is better than “Hi, Mr Smith” or “Hello, Mr Smith.” On no account say “Yo, Mr Smith”!

If you can’t be bothered getting the details write* in an email, a customer might wonder if you’ll bother to get them right in other areas of your business. A difficult customer may see it as more evidence of a lax attitude to customer service.

Use online tools like Grammarly and Google’s plug-in spell checker to help, but always get someone else to read your scripts for a second opinion.

When you make mistakes in a call centre script, the agent might accidentally say them out loud, or stumble over their words while they self-correct your mistakes.

*You see what we did there, and doesn’t it make the sentence feel unprofessional?

4. Give customers opportunities to talk

A difficult customer may want an opportunity to vent. It’s important that you let them. In general, getting customers talking is good, because it engages them with the conversation. If it’s appropriate, include questions in your call centre script to encourage conversational flow. You can also mark in the script where the agent may want to pause to allow the customer to speak.

If the customer has a problem or complaint, you should direct the agent to repeat the customer’s concern back to them to ensure they understand it correctly, before moving on to a solution. This helps the customer feel heard and validated.

Agents also need to be able to escalate the issue if there’s nothing they can do to calm the customer down or the conversation is becoming confrontational.

In this instance, you should include an escalation prompt such as “I’m sorry that you’re not happy with this conversation. Would you like to speak to my superior?”

5. Ensure your call centre script is compliant

Always write a call centre script with compliance in mind. Check your industry’s compliance rules before you put pen to paper or finger to keyboard. This includes rules on collecting data from customers, recording calls for training and monitoring purposes, or the inclusion of specific legal statements and disclosures.

If your customer is signing a contract or agreeing to a sale, you may need your agents to read out specific rights or terms and conditions, so don’t forget to include these in your call script.

Double-checking everything from a regulatory standpoint paves the way for a watertight call centre script that ensures your agents stay compliant.

6. Consider every call centre script a work in progress

A call centre script isn’t a one-off, it’s a work in progress. Refine it over time using feedback from advisors and evidence from call recordings.

What works, and what doesn’t? Are customers ever confused? Do conversations feel too rushed? Tweak your scripts accordingly. The best way to do this is with a call centre script editor that includes reporting and analytics with simple tools to help you make the tweaks efficiently.

The MaxContact call centre scripting tool lets you add questions, create branching paths, and integrate third-party data, in real-time and in just a couple of clicks. It also lets you present your teams with useful in-the-moment information on one screen, so they don’t have to jump between multiple windows.

This helps your agents stay adaptable to your client’s needs as the conversation progresses.

Why writing call centre scripts can be a challenge

There are lots of reasons why you might struggle to write a call centre script. Some of the common challenges include:

• Sounding natural and not robotic: It can be hard to write pre-defined prompts and responses in a way that feels light and conversational.
• Adapting to different personalities: A traditional call centre script is often too static, making it difficult for agents to adapt to different types of customers and unexpected situations.
• Keeping information concise: Staying on topic can be tough when you can’t control what the customer will say. A clever call centre script is one that includes subtle ways to redirect the conversation as needed.
• Creating scripts that react to emotional responses: There’s no way of knowing exactly how your customers might react in any given situation. This means you need an emotionally sympathetic call centre script paired with effective training to help agents deal with heightened situations.

How to write a script with call centre scripting tools

If you struggle with any of the above challenges when writing your call centre script, you could benefit from the MaxContact call centre scripting tool. It helps you:

• Create easy-to-digest conversations that flow: With top tips for writing call centre scripts, templates, and a drag-and-drop editor, you can make and edit conversations that agents can see at a glance, helping them adapt and respond rapidly in the moment.
• Demonstrate empathy and understanding: Our call centre scripting tool can be edited on the fly, and features a straightforward presentation of multiple pathways to help agents respond to a range of emotional responses.
• Quickly get to the heart of customer challenges: Data validation and customer checks can be built into scripts to streamline conversations and save time and resources.
• Helps you deal with difficult customers: Our latest ebook is filled with scripting templates to help you deal with difficult customers.

Put simply, good scripts work. They lead to higher sales, better service and easier debt collection. They also create trust and build rapport.

MaxContact’s powerful call centre scripting tool helps you write, edit and refine great scripts, as part of our wider customer engagement solution. It means your teams always have the right messaging to hand, can counter objections naturally and have the information they need to double down on your best features and benefits.

Find out more here, or download our free call centre scripting e-book, filled with helpful tips and templates.

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