Carry out sales activities in a contact centre
Overview
This standard is about carrying out sales activities in a contact centre. This involves handling incoming and outgoing contacts through variety of communication channels (telephone calls, live chat, web chat, social media), identifying sales opportunities and providing information to customers to develop interest in the services and products of the contact centre. You will be required to sell services and products you are familiar with and use sales techniques to make the most of opportunities that arise. It is for contact centre professionals responsible for selling services and products directly to the customer.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Carry out sales activities in a contact centre
1. access customer, services and product information to prepare for direct sales activity in a contact centre
2. establish customer wishes and needs through questioning and active listening
3. match customer wishes and needs to available services and products to offer options
4. respond to customer questions and queries
5. adapt your selling style and technique to mirror customer wishes and behaviours
6. close the sale by agreement with your customer during customer contact
7. confirm and record your customers' order
Gather and use specified sales information for sales activities
8. gather and collate information about the services and products available through direct sales
9. gather and assess customer information held which will support sales activities
10. collect information from customers that supports potential sales and helps to identify their needs
11. provide information to customers about the services and/or products that are available
12. check customer information with customers to ensure that all details are correct
13. keep appropriate records of customers
14. research potential new customers
Contribute to direct sales to customers in a contact centre setting
15. establish customer identity, using organisational security protocols, to access customer information to support the sales process
16. establish customer needs for potential sales of services and products within your authority
17. record your customers' needs using your organisation's systems and procedures
18. use information expressed by customers to identify possible matches with available services and products
19. present features and benefits of services and products to customers
20. respond to customer questions and objections
21. adapt your sales approach and style to customer preferences
22. identify and act on for cross and up-selling
23. confirm customer requirements and needs to close the sale
24. check the accuracy of the order you have recorded with your customer
25. complete authorisation or payment details to finalise the sale with your customer
26. pass customer contact to a colleague with authority if a sales request is beyond your authority
Keep sales records relating to direct sales through a contact centre
27. follow organisational procedures to identify and record customer and services and product data during the sales process
28. retrieve information as required from sales records
29. use sales records to update customer information that supports the sales process
Comply with relevant regulations and legislation during direct sales in a contact centre
30. identify regulatory requirements which impact on direct sales activities through a contact centre
31. follow current legal, regulatory and data protection requirements, codes of practice and organisational policies and procedures relating to handling personal information and sales activities
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the range of services and products available for sale
- the features and benefits of available services and products that impact on the sales process
- the sources of information about the services or products that you are able to deal with
- how to present information to customers about the range of services and products for sale
- the organisational procedures for establishing customer identity in a contact centre transaction
- the sources of sales data from direct selling through a contact centre
- the sources of market and customer data from direct selling through a contact centre
- the sales processes and techniques used in your organisation for making direct sales
- the techniques and procedures for confirming customer needs and closing the sale
- the importance of checking accuracy of customer information with the customer
- the records that need to be kept regarding customer information
- how to carry out research for potential new customers
- the techniques for handling objections and questions from customer during sales activities
- the importance of adapting your style and approach to mirror customer style and perspective
- how to set sales targets including cross-selling and up-selling
- how to maintain sales records in accordance with organisational procedures
- how to retrieve information from organisational sales records
- the techniques for linking customer requirements with available services or products
- the common concerns and questions raised by customers during direct sale
- how to adapt your sales approach to suit customer preferences
- how to identify cross-selling and up-selling opportunities
- the process for confirming customer requirements to close the sale
- the limits of your authority to complete sales transactions
- the colleagues who can take over a customer transaction when it is beyond your competence or authority
- how to maintain sales records in line with organisational procedures
- how to retrieve information from organisational sales records
- the information required to complete a sale
- the organisational procedures for recording sales details
- the organisational procedures for taking payment or establishing order authority with your customer
- the organisational policies and procedures for direct sales through contact centre dealings with customers
- the current legal, regulatory and data protection requirements, codes of practice and organisational policies and procedures relating to handling personal information and sales activities