The type of Management Training that is needed for a Telemarketing Manager or a Call Centre Manager or Supervisor is varied.
So often I see business hire someone with proven telephone skills and results to take on a Management role. This is fine, but what about the other skills needed to lead and manage staff? Management Training provides that and so needs to be provided on an ongoing basis.
Before we go on, let’s look at the type of experience needed to run a call center. Then we can talk about the type of training that is most often needed.
Should a Telemarketing Manager have telemarketing experience?
In short, yes they should. However don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a great telemarketer will make a great Telemarketing Manager, as this is rarely the case.
I believe that the Telemarketing Manager should not be telemarketing themselves, so call performance is actually one of the least important skills you need from a manager. There is one exception to this rule and that is if you promote a telemarketer from your team to a management position. In this case, you should only promote a strong telemarketer as they will need to command instant respect from their team (formerly their peers) and being the best telemarketer in the room will do just that.
However, when hiring someone altogether new, they should have some calling experience as they need to be able to understand and on some level empathise with their team, but extensive experience is not necessary.
The most important qualities are the leadership and management capabilities of the manager and their understanding of a sales process. All of which can be taught.
Leadership/ Management Training
Anyone leading a Telemarketing room must have management or leadership experience. If you are in this position, or are hiring a manager then I strongly suggest a management or leadership course to work on these invaluable skills.
If you have ever had to work under a manager who has poor people skills or under-developed communication skills and who is unsure of how to be a good leader, then you will understand just why this is so important.
The telemarketing team need to be well recruited, trained, managed, supported and motivated to get top telemarketing results! It is well worth the investment in time and resources to help the manager to feel equipped to handle the task set for him or her.
Industry Training
Making sure that the person leading the room knows everything they need to know about the business, the product and services you are offering and how the Telemarketing Department fit into the business is essential.
It can take a few weeks to fully initiate a new Telemarketing Manager. To run the room to the highest standard, they need a full belt of tools available to them.
Conflict Resolution Skills
Conflict may arise between staff members as well as between client and telemarketer. If a call escalates, the Manager should know how to confidently handle the call and leave that client feeling satisfied with the outcome. For this reason, confilct resolution skills are very useful.
Sales Training
Regardless of what you are selling over the phone; An appointment, product or service- a sales process is always involved. Taking the client through that sales process is a must for telemarketing success.
It pays for the Manager to understand this process, even if not all of their staff do. By understanding why we do what we do, they are better equipped to keep staff on scripts and quality control calls.
Listening Skills
A huge part of Managing a Call Centre is listening to your staff. In the ideal environment you can regularly monitor calls that your telemarketers are making. But every day you should be able to hear your staff’s end of each call.
When you are alert to what is going on in the room you can deal with any issues as they arise. But you will not know unless you are always actively using listening skills.
Know what motives staff
Keeping your telemarketers motivated is a big part of a Telemarketing Managers’s role. Motivated, happy staff means better staff retention and far more successful results.
Click here to check out the Staff motivation page for great tips and ideas on motivating anyone!
On top of all this; prioritising tasks, multi-tasking, being organised, reliable and good at reporting are also must have skills for a Telemarketing Manager.
Management Training can be provided by the employer or by an external Consultant like myself. Ongoing Management Training is also necessary to keep a Manager fresh and up to date in the industry.
The Telemarketing manager is the person in the room who leads by example. They need to always be positive and they need to always be “on”.
The employer can help them to achieve this by providing not only a good level of Management Training, but also by looking after their Manager well, by supporting them and giving them ownership of the room.
