It’s one thing to multitask, and another thing to do it well. There’s no point juggling tasks if you’re doing them less efficiently, taking longer and getting more stressed. As a telemarketer, you can fall into the trap of taking notes during calls but not listening attentively. Here is a guide to effective note-taking to help you stay “in the moment”.
Active Listening
If you don’t seem to be present and attentive why should they be? Taking notes (and multitasking in general), can reduce your ability to focus on and process what’s being said. How something is being said – i.e. the nuances in someone’s tone of voice – is important and also risks being overlooked. You can only recover from so many awkward pauses while you fill in your notes before someone hangs up, and the sound of typing itself can be off-putting.
So the first thing to do is to be prepared before the call. Anticipate and prepare to meet their questions and expectations. What do you they want from the call and what do they expect afterward? During the call, being present is the most important thing. A good salesperson is an elite master of ceremonies: the only way you’ll know how to properly navigate the conversation is if you’re listening out for those key indicators in tone of voice and sounds which indicate body language (e.g. breathing, moving around etc.) Matching their energy is crucial: few people want a bubbly call first thing in the morning or a flat call in the middle of the day. After the call, a thorough summary of the discussion and decisions made is essential to avoid forgetting things and preparing for any follow-ups.
Recording Calls
Find it just isn’t working, or looking for another tool for trickier calls? Consider recording calls, so you can completely focus on the call at hand and transcribe it later. Call recording apps allow you to manually or automatically record, sort, play back and export calls quickly. Automatic Call Recorder lets you protect them with a PIN code and bookmark key points in the call for later consideration. Get it on Google Play. Other apps offer automatic transcribing, though the quality is fairly poor as the AI isn’t quite good enough yet and struggles with accents.
Real-world Alternatives
There are non-app alternatives to many of the above. An external microphone can be bought, offering superior sound quality but costing more. You can hire a transcriptionist if you have a great work load, or if you can find one cheap enough for your needs. TaskRabbit-like services or social media can help you find cheap freelancers. There are also paid transcription companies that may be cheaper than a freelancer, depending on your needs. They have varying turnaround times, costs and standards of accuracy. Rev offers $1 a minute and a 24-hour turnaround.
Different combinations of new tricks, apps and services will suit different devices, preferences and needs. But you’ll never know how good your setup is until you mix it up a little! Are you doing anything now that you could automate? Or are you using software where a real-world trick would suffice? Make a list, check it twice!
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