How to Finish a Telephone Call Perfectly as a Call Center Agent
by Admin Joe
published – March 20th 2023
Ideally, the end of a call center phone call should result in the caller getting exactly what they want from the company in question (within reason). You will want to finalize matters by having whatever issue they initially arrived with to be resolved.
Sadly, this isn’t always the case however hard the call center representative might try. Employees often have to deal with difficult cases that are anything but simple and straightforward. Although, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we still can’t finish the call in a courteous and efficient manner.
How do call center telemarketers end their calls?
The very nature of how you finish a call center conversation will depend highly on whether you are working at an inbound or outbound call center. Inbound customer service-focused call centers receive most of their calls (rather than having to make them).
For this reason, the caller will want to keep you on the phone at least until their problem is solved. You are pretty much obligated not to end the call until it is absolutely okay with the caller.
On the other hand, a telemarketer who makes unsolicited sales calls will be fighting tooth and nail to keep the potential customer on the line. It might involve saying the right thing or explaining to the customer how they will benefit.
In actuality, this type of call center employee will be hung up on the majority of the time. Furthermore, in a telesales job, you would only end the call after you know that you’ve done your absolute best. Of course, you will want to bag a sale (or at least a lead).
If someone really doesn’t want to entertain your cold call then you should handle this gracefully. Let them go in a respectful way.
Who should hang up the phone first in a call center job?
Don’t be under the impression that you are one of two lovers flirting with one another while simultaneously arguing about who’s going to hang up first. You hang up. No, you hang up. Remember that you are there to do a job. Be direct while also being productive as you go about your work.
You should almost always let the customer hang up the phone first. Call center representatives don’t want to accidentally terminate the call if the customer has more they need or want to discuss.
Doing this gives them control which is how it should be in this scenario. Sometimes the caller will insist on you hanging up on them first. In this case, you should do as they ask.
On occasion, you might have to deal with an abusive caller. Depending on the policy of your employer, you might be okay to hang up (if worse comes to worst). This is usually true if you are being severely berated and at the same time, you know that there is no way that you or anyone else can help them.
What should a call center agent say at the end of the phone call?
It’s a good idea to thank the customer for their time, patience, and business as you wrap things up. This polite gesture also ends the call on a positive note for the customer.
Once you’ve completely dealt with their main issue, you can go on to ask if they need assistance with anything else in regard to the company.
What questions should I ask before terminating the call?
Try posing the question “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”. Again, this shows you care about them and are actively looking to provide support.
I wouldn’t ask anything overly familiar or personal. This can come off as a little inappropriate. However, if they attempt to make friendly chit-chat with you then it’s okay to humor them with a bit of small talk. This is fine as long as you are also getting on with the task at hand.
Moreover, you can also ask them for feedback or any advice on how you can improve relations in the future. Encourage them to tell you their thoughts on your own behavior and that of the company respectively.
You should also inquire about whether they are happy with the product or service that is being offered to them. Many companies find it beneficial to encourage customers to complete surveys and questionnaires for this purpose.
How long should telephone calls go on for in a call center job?
A good call center agent doesn’t want to end the call too early or too late. If you conclude affairs too quickly then you may have missed an opportunity to offer further help.
If you drag the call out longer than it has to be then the caller will grow extremely impatient. They may believe that you are wasting their time leaving a negative impression. It’s a fine balance so bear this in mind.
Clearly, you don’t want to be hung up on if you are making a cold call as a telemarketer. However, an overly long sales call can bore the person on the other end. They may terminate the call meaning that you will miss out on a sales commission.
A call center representative might be disciplined by their employer if their calls aren’t the right length, on average.
How do I handle transferring the call to another call center representative?
You should make it clear whether or not you are terminating the call altogether or if you are just simply transferring the caller to another agent. If it is the latter, let the customer know that this is the last time that they will be dealing with you on that day.
Will I be scrutinized on how I end a phone call?
In a lot of cases, phone calls are recorded so that they can then be reviewed by your superiors. These individuals will likely pick up on how you handle the final part of the call among other aspects of your work.
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Who can I ask for support with this aspect call center work?
If you need further advice you can always consult a supervisor or manager. Grill them on the best end-of-call etiquette and techniques.
You can also ask your coworkers for tips. Figure out how your colleagues personally go about this if you get an opportunity during your lunch break, for example. Obviously, this probably won’t be possible if you work on your own, from home.
The last thing call center employees want is to end a phone call on a sour note. After all, their job is to make the person on the other end of the phone satisfied.
We want the customer to be pleased and happy rather than having the experience of being drawn into a shouting match. The main thing to concern yourself with is to always act professionally. One should aim for this no matter how well the conversation is going.
Examine your own behavior in terms of how you wrap up phone calls in everyday life. If you introspect on this, I’m sure you can apply the right attitude to a call center job.
Ending a call the right way has so much to do with good manners. Taking this into account think about Why Call Center Agents Should Be Polite & Friendly At All Times.
Admittedly, call center work isn’t to everybody’s taste. If you want to unearth much easier methods of making money then you should definitely check out reward websites like SwagBucks. Here you can generate earnings by filling out online surveys and doing other simple tasks on the side.
You can pick up some more tips in regard to closing a call with callcenterhelper and ringy. Do you have any good techniques for ending a phone call on good terms? In minutes, how long do you think a professional telephone call should last, and explain why?
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