Call center software

[Solomaliar]

Hi everybody,
What tools should I consider for a new call centre? Suggest the essentials that are necessarily required for a Call Center to have.

[Reverend Jim]

Essential? How about operators who speak the target language clearly and fluently?

[Solomaliar]

Thanks for the reply, and yes professional team is crucial for any startup. I'm more interested in software solutions to help them increase efficiency and improve organization at the call center.

[GoJohn777]

Hi there,
I'm a bit related to the topic and had some previous experience with call centers. I used to work with Voiptime automated phone dialing solution for cold calling. Three things come to mind when I think about proper tools for a new call center: best software, good evaluation procedure, and good call scripts.
Below I've listed must have solutions to run call center campaigns:
For Inbound Call centers:
Automatic Call Distributor
Interactive Voice Response
Computer Telephony Integration
For Outbound call centers:
Avatar Predictive dialer
Power Dialer
Progressive Dialer
Preview Dialer
TCPA
Hope this helps!

[deyken]

Hi Solomaliar!

Here is a break down of the best approach to setting up the software (and required hardware) environment for your new Call Center:

1. If you will be runing a Windows network in the center, get Windows Server 2019
2. Obtain a license for telephony software. I used to work with the TelViva system. You can monitor, record, transfer, patch into etc etc all from a server-based endpoint. Note: This can be installed for you in the Cloud, rather than your on-site server for better security and disaster recovery prospects
3. Get a POE (Power over Ethernet) Switch (or set of switches) - this transfer both data and electricity (12V, I think) over the ethernet cabling
4. Get VOIP Telephone handsets. Each handset has 2 ethernet ports: 1 for your PC/Laptop and another for the main network
5. Set your phone IP addresses and corresponding names up in your TelViva (or other) server-based telephony management system - this makes life a lot easier later, especially if you have over 20 telephones
6. Depending on your call center use case, get each caller a laptop - this for loading and reviewing scripts, capturing customer info while on a call, and running special Call Center software (like SalesForce)
7. Look into getting primary Call Center software, like SalesForce. There are cheaper options out there, but always beware of cheap software. They are usually cheap for a reason
8. Make a deal with Microsoft for your server and laptop (client) machines, as they will ALL require valid Windows licenses. If you do not want to make a hard cash outlay, spending several hundred thousands of dollars, consider Cloud Services, where you can host a Windows server at a monthly cost (you only pay when you're using the server), instead of having to purchase the expensive hardware and the ludicrous software licenses and then you have to pay someone to do the physical installations and setups. All of the latter is eliminated, should you choose to go with a Cloud solution
9. Hire call center staff (duh, I know LOL!)
10. Hire a Sales Manager to monitor and motivate your sales team. Within the team, I would suggest promoting good callers to Team Leads with salary incentives
11. Hold a morning Sales meeting, planning the day. Always close the day off with another Sales meeting.
    11.1 The morning meeting will set the targets for the day
    11.2 The afternoon/evening meeting will measure actual numbers from those planned

I realise that many of the above points focus somewhat on the infrastructure and human resources. They are just as important as your physcial equipment and software licensing.

I hope this helps!

PS: I set up Call Centers in the past, turnkey. That means, I did everything: Started with an empty office and ended with a fully operational center (Insurance & Medical call centers)

GOOD LUCK!

[JamesCherrill]

If you are thinking of setting up an outbound cold calling centre then i sincely wish a horrible death on everyone involved. 10 cold calls a day made my life so disrupted that in the end i had to give up my land line. Cold callers are the scum of hhe earth. How do you sleep at night?

[rproffitt]

@JamesCherrill. I wish I had kept the photos a buddy sent me of such a center in the most populous democratic country in the world (It's not USA.)

They were giving a tour and they pointed out their biggest productivity booster to him. It was an industrial ceiling fan. No air conditioning. A true sweat shop. Yes, it was a sort of Hell on Earth.

[Reverend Jim]

If it is a incoming call centre (as opposed to one of those abusive ones mentioned above) then make sure it has support (i.e. internet chat) capability for those of us who are hearing impaired. This is especially important if your operators have an accent thick enough to cut with a knife.

And if it is one of those abusive ones then die with festering boils.

[JamesCherrill]

i second the point about internet chat. As an ex-pat I often deal with (inbound!) call centers in a language thst is not my native language. I find that much easier in text than in voice. Where we are dealing with a problem I also find it invaluable to have a hard cooy if exacttly who said what.