With the increasing demand for quality service coupled with fierce business competition, Live Chat Agents are a must have component for business success. It has been proven over time that infusing Live Chat Agents for online service ushered in tremendous success for any business.
It is therefore imperative that you get the best of the bests, if you want to triumph in your business.
Hiring and selecting the cream of the crop is a difficult task, if you don’t know what to look for, but an enjoyable one if you are adept in evaluating people.
Nonetheless, here are some tips on how to hire the best Live Chat Agents for your business. You need to ensure that your Live Chat Agents possess the following:
#1 – Specialized skills
Typing speed
A Live Chat Agent must possess several specialized skills because the satisfaction of a customer is anchored on his efficiency. Since the major factor for customer satisfaction is response time, the Live Chat Agent must possess good typing skills.
This is the speed in which the Agent communicates with the client. Response time is compromised by the inadequate typing speed of the agent.
Knowledge on keyboard shortcuts
Another technical skill required is an extensive know-how on the use of keyboard shortcuts. This skill cuts down the response time.
It facilitates faster responses and lessens response time if the Agents know how to use shortcut commands, such as (CTRL)V or (CTRL)S, which means paste and save; and many other shortcuts.
In testing the typing speed of a Live Chat Agent, you need to subject him to a trade test. There are specialized testing tools and mechanism to determine typing speed.
#2 – Customer care skills
These skills are focused on personality traits that are pro-people that a Live Chat Agent can use when dealing with people on chat.
Commitment and passion
Being a Live Chat Agent is not just a job but a demonstration of the Agent’s inner values. She must care for the people that she works with, and the people she works for. The Agent’s passion and commitment to do what is expected of her is a trait that Live Chat Agents must possess.
Patience and understanding
Sometimes Live Chat Agents are met with sarcasm and rudeness that emanate from the frustration of clients. They have been browsing the internet for a long time that when they finally found your site, the Agent was unfortunate to be there to receive their wrath.
As an Agent, it’s important that she understands where they are coming from and why they are acting the way they do. When the Live Agent begins to understand the situation, she would be able to tolerate their rudeness.
Ability to connect with people
Not everybody can connect to people they talk to. The Live Agent must have the ability to support and empathize with people and being able to relate to them. She must know when and how to show empathy to the people she talks to online.
They each have their own story. The Agent needs to have the skill to establish trust with the clients to be able to connect with them. Her genuine interest in the client can help her establish a relationship that would eventually lead to trust.
The Agent’s jolly personality is a factor in connecting to people. A sense of humour lightens up the mood, making people comfortable and open.
The Agents need to be honest. They have to let your clients know the truth about a product or a service. In doing so they are establishing trust. People will know if the Agents are lying to them. Once they get wind of the truth, they will leave for other competitors.
Ability to make sound judgements
One of the important people skills of Agents is the ability to make sound decisions based on judgements about situations and people. A Live Chat Agent cannot arrive at a good decision if she doesn’t have the ability to come up with sound judgements.
Ability to stay calm under pressure
An excellent Live Chat Agent must possess the ability to be cool even under pressure. She must be able to make the firm’s clients comfortable. She sees to it that the conversation doesn’t get out of hand or get rough. When a customer senses animosity, his tendency is to leave the site for another.
#3 – Firm-focused skills
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
This is an important skill that Live Chat Agents should have. It includes the Agent’s ability to relay the message she wants to impart to the website’s visitors. She must articulate the purpose of your company well.
Team skills
A Chat Agent possesses team skills. She must be able to work with a group of people within the company to advance the cause of your firm. She should be comfortable in the workplace with her team mates.
Ability to ensure customer satisfaction
The Live Agent should possess a strong sense of promoting customer satisfaction through chat with visitors. She must put customer satisfaction as paramount in his agenda. The ability to make customers satisfied with your services involves several skills, and the inherent traits of the chat agent.
#4 – Skills in Negotiation
In hiring Live Chat Agents, you need to consider their skills in negotiating for your firm. Negotiation requires that the person has active listening traits, able to manage and control his emotions; otherwise, the negotiation might fail if your Agent adopts a confrontational stance.
She must likewise observe good manners and right conduct; must be reliable and can communicate well. She must know how to deal with people and has the ability to close negotiations with positive results.
#5 – Have mastery of persuasion
She must be able to sway others to her way of thinking. Persuasion is a crucial ingredient in marketing. Your Chat Agent cannot engage someone if she is not able to convince her client to buy your products, or listen and act.
#6 – Strong analytical and problem solving skills
The Chat Agent you hire must have a strong analytical skill to evaluate and assess situations and be able to solve these problems without referring to the manager. She must be well-equipped with knowledge on measurement tools to enable her to analyse situations and formulate correction or corrective actions.
#7 – Strong knowledge of the company services and products
A good Chat Agent should have enough knowledge about the company, its products and services to be able to sell these to the clients. Inadequate knowledge of the firm leads to loss of clients.
#8 – Ability to decipher the client’s intentions
A strong Live Chat Agent must have the ability to decipher the intentions of the client. Knowing a bit of psychology can be helpful in this instance, but even without a degree in psychology, an individual is gifted with instinct that can be put to good use for the client to read the thoughts of the customer and guide them appropriately.
#9 – Strong and objective – focused individual
An Agent must be a person who is strong in his commitment to attain the firm’s objectives. The objective must be her primordial target in her task. She must be persistent and relentless in achieving the goal of the firm.
The discussion centered on how you can hire top notch Live Chat Agents to man your company. These qualities are the key elements for customer satisfaction. These, when added up, comprise the required skills that outstanding Live Chat Agents must possess.
These are your guidelines when you want to embark on hiring your Live Chat Agents.
