9 Responses

1. Lear Direct

   Hi Karen

   There might be somethng on learn Direct you could use. http://www.learndirect.co.uk/search/?query=sales&sitesearch=true&searchGoButton=Go

   I would also check with a local Training Provider or College to see if they offer an Apprenticeship that has tele sales modules such as Business Admin or Customer Service etc. Most of these are Gov't funded and you would only pay admin fees whch I think are about £50 a week?

   Good luck

   Steve

2. Hi,

   Hi,

   Thanks for the answer.

   One of them is already doing 'Customer Service' apprenticship but their telephone skills don't seem to be improving (and they have almost completed!)

   They would both benefit from classroom based training where they could interact with people from other backgrounds. We are a very small business.

   Karen

    

3. What sort of telephone skills?

   What sort of telephone skills are you looking for for your employees?

   Telesales?

   Reception?

   Service desk?

    

   .

4. Bit of telesales, customer

   Bit of telesales, customer service etc.

   We are a small company based in Essex. We provide storage containers for sale and hire. We get a lot of telephone enquiries for our containers, prices etc. Staff have to be able to take down details and give out prices over the phone. We also get existing customers call for information or if their refrigerated container has a breakdown.

   Some of the enquirers can be quite abrupt because they are busy and just want a price. The staff here have to be able to deal with this but still get enough information in order to provide information. Because the staff are quite young they haven't yet developed the skills to be able to deal with this and think the enquirer is rude and its 'gets their back up'.

   They also take calls for other members of staff, so a bit of 'swtichboard' type skills e.g. 'X is busy, can anyone else help' instead of ' they' re busy' and just leaving them hanging on the phone!

   They also have to do follow up calls i.e. after a quote has been sent, give the enquirer a call to see if they recieved and the outcome. We have one particular staff member who ends every sentence with 'or' e.g. 'do you wish to proceed with the purchase or?'

   Sorry for being a bit long winded, but they need telephone skills that cover a multitude of situations.

   Thanks

   Karen

5. You!

   You sound like the perfect Trainer for them Karen! Really I dont think you would get much better if you paid for an "expert"

   Take a day away from your normal job and do it yourself. There might be some good workbooks on telesales you could use and give them weekly mini projects?

6. Thanks for the vote of

   Thanks for the vote of confidence. But they don't listen to me at the best of times!

   They both need to go to a classroom based training course where they will meet other delegates and get 'best practice' from others. As I mentioned, we are a small company (only 6 when we have a 'full house') and to be fair, the owner of the company doesn't set the best example of how to answer the phone! We are all based in the same office.

   It would do them all good to go to see how answering the phone is supposed to be done! We were sent an e-flyer for a telephone skills course, but I don't trust it as I've never heard of the company 'Bite Size Seminars'.

   Regards

   Karen

7. Good Point
   You make a good point. Very few courses I have been on have been very good and I go on quite a few. Sorry I can’t recommend one on this occasion. Maybe we need a Trusted Course website like Trust a Trader.

8. Back to school

   I think there's a telling comment earlier in this thread:

   One of them is already doing 'Customer Service' apprenticship but their telephone skills don't seem to be improving (and they have almost completed!)

   Shouldn't this be part of the input at their college?  If it isn't I'd get in touch with the college to find out what they do cover in terms of telephone skills.  If it is covered, then it's not worked as part of their learning input. Is the apprentice assessed by the college? If they are, this behaviour should have been observed.

   Irrespective of the fact they don't listen to you at the best of times, if you offer to support them and they choose not to behave appropriately, then it's a performance management issue.

9. I was going to recommend you did it too!

   Hi Karen,

   You've already answered the part where I was going to recommend you as the trainer!

   For the second option, we use the services of a company called Achieve Global.  They provide course materials for a number of Leadership, Customer Service and Sales courses with the aim being that you get an accreditation and then deliver their training.  However, they also offer public courses and on-line self paced or instructor led training, all of which I've experienced and found to be very good.

   I'd definitely recommend their content, particularly around guiding customer conversations.

   PM me if you'd like some contact details.

   Kind regards,

   Sophie