Have You Considered A Home Based Customer Service Business?

If you are thinking about a Work-At-Home Customer Service Business the first thing you need to consider is whether you would prefer to handle outbound or inbound calls. Though the two seem similar, they require very different temperaments to be successful.

An outbound Customer Service Agent may handle collections, telemarketing of products, telephone surveys, etc. In this line of work you need to have a lot of patience, keep exceptional records and have previous customer service experience. One of the good things about making outbound calls is that they are scheduled and most of these jobs have 9 to 5 work hours. If you're a good telephone salesperson you may enjoy this type of call centre business.

An inbound Customer Service Professional may handle online orders, dispatching, scheduling, service opt-ins, customer inquiries or complaints, auto association emergencies, etc. Inbound calls are unpredictable and require a good deal of compassion and professionalism. Inbound calls would be well suited to a person who is energetic and has intuitive problem-solving skills.

Many franchise restaurants that have delivery services hire work-at-home call centre representatives. This can be a great option for steady employment and some even offer benefits and other perks. The downside is that Pizza delivery restaurants are open until 2:00 am or later. However, if you prefer an off shift schedule like this, then this is probably the business for you. Ask questions, and know what you are agreeing to before signing a contract.

In order to handle either of these types of customer service businesses you need to be energetic and friendly. For inbound calling you may not get a break, as phone calls are not scheduled, so you should make sure that you choose a comfortable spot to set yourself up. You will be talking on the phone for a living so you will need to reduce distractions and focus on the job. You are the voice of the company that has contracted you so it is important to be clear about their expectations before taking the contract.

If neither of those options appeals to you, you could establish a telephone answering service for companies that offer 24-hour emergency service need to have live on-call representatives to weed out emergencies from non-emergencies before dispatching their expensive maintenance crews. This is becoming a popular option for people who are looking for steady work-at-home jobs. If you decide to try this type of business you may be required to purchase additional equipment and phone lines to handle multiple customers.

When searching for work-at-home Customer Service jobs, look for established businesses that hire home workers. Many companies that hire people for these services offer comprehensive training and step-by-step guidance to help you set-up and begin taking calls. To start, you must have basic computer knowledge and efficient typing skills to handle the data entry for the volume of calls that may be required.

As a Customer Service Professional, you can chose to be an independent contractor and find positions at many different companies, or you could look for a position tat offers direct employment at the company. As an independent contractor, you have more of a chance to set your own hours, but the wages may be variable or dependent upon quotas that are set by the company. Research the jobs carefully to make sure that they will be profitable for your business.

If you think that a Work-At-Home Customer Service business is for you, be sure to research the type of calls you would prefer to handle and tailor your search to your own preferences.

About the Author

Chris Simpson is dedicated to helping people find honest and legitimate work at home and home based business opportunities. Find legitimate work from home opportunities today at: http://www.HomeNetPro.com

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How to Avoid Sales Hiring Mistakes

Have you ever made what you thought was a great sales hiring decision and later realized that it was a mistake?This article will provide you with information about how you can avoid sales hiring mistakes by measuring the person, not the experience.Whether you're an executive, a manager or a team leader, the following information will be beneficial to you.

You are bursting with pride at your most recent hire in the sales department.You lured the guy with a high sales quota from his job at Giant Company to work with your small, entrepreneurial startup and told him you wanted him to work the same magic for you that he worked there.You believe he can do it or you wouldn't have gone after him.He believes he can do it or he wouldn't have left his job there to come to work for you.

He arrives wearing his best suit and carrying his updated Rolodex.You put him in a great spot and wait for superior sales figures.And wait.And wait some more.The sales figures you expected never materialize, even though he's always on the phone and seems to be rattling lots of doorknobs.You try to analyze the situation and can't put your finger on the problem.The gears just never seem to mesh.He's always out of step with your expectations and never quite reaches the level of performance you see in your sales leaders.Or he reached a certain level and never went beyond that.Now he is marching in place.

Such disastrous hiring doesn't have to happen, yet it often does.Why?It's linked to a belief that excellent salespeople are born, not made, and that sales success in one place easily translates to sales success anywhere.These beliefs ignore the fact that a great part of the top salesperson's success at his previous company was linked to that company's culture.Oh yes, a previously successful salesperson can be successful in your company too.But success in your company will depend on you redefining his role, training him well, and both of you thinking about selling for your company in a different way.In short, you can't import his previous success without key changes.

Prior sales success is often the sole criterion that hiring managers look at when considering a candidate for this crucial position.After all, that star by the quota line is a quantitative measurement.You don't get to count the notches in the belt of most other employees.So why is a previous track record a bad thing to look at?

It's not, unless it's the only thing you are looking at.Don't let your search end there.Look within as much as you do without.Study your own company and customers, and think about what you want sales excellence to look like.Only when you have discerned what your company's culture requires can you begin to develop a profile for what your top salespersons should look like.

Doing this is not terribly hard if you are willing to look at people in your company who are already tops in sales and still growing, achieving ever-higher quotas and building on their successes.They will provide you with the standards you need to hire future top salespeople.

Failures at sales are mostly due to a person's underdeveloped skills and to selling the wrong thing.You can put someone with good skills in a nice suit and give her lots of contacts, and she still won't be able to sell if she doesn't have the right attitude, vision, skills and training that you provide.

Also consider that good salespeople are not necessarily born.Some make it look so easy that it seems like native ability, but just like any job done well, a talent for selling takes training, practice and commitment.Yes, there's an art to attaining superior sales, but art is not magic.If you combine the right characteristics that assessments can help you discern with the right training, hiring top salespeople is a science that enhances the art.

About the Author

Jim Sirbasku is co-founder and CEO of Profiles International, a leading provider of human resource management solutions and employment assessments for businesses worldwide.

For more information about how you can avoid sales hiring mistakes, visit our website.

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