How to Start a Call Center

Is it a good business to start an international call center ?

 

How to start BPO/CALL CENTER ?

I want to open a call center. How to get started?  

Starting a call center business can be an effective way to earn income while operating your own business. It is possible to run a call center from your home, but you can also rent an office space. Working from home can be a simpler way to manage a call center because it can be expanded into a full-staffed office later.

Overview  Call Center

By definition, a call center is a centralized place where call are answered.

However, call centers no longer handle solely calls, nor do they need to be centralized. Sometimes the label of "contact center" is used to reflect that other forms of communication (such as email and text chat) are also handled. Additionally, call centers can encompass multiple locations, working together on one integrated system. In fact, call center agents are even able to log in from their home and process calls remotely.

Call centers can be "in-house" or "outsourcing". In-house call centers function as a part of a business and provide service to that business. An outsourcing call center is a business that provides call center services to other companies.

Another important distinction is that call centers can handle inbound calls, outbound calls, or both. Inbound call centers are reactive in nature and must staff accordingly; they react to calls when they occur. Outgoing call centers, sometimes called telemarketing centers, are proactive in nature, hiring and scheduling staff to make calls to specific individuals at certain times. Though seemingly similar in nature, inbound and outbound centers have very distinct and dynamic differences.

Starting a call center is a complex, time-consuming, and expensive task. The steps to do so vary depending on rather you plan to be an in-house or outsourcing call center. Similarly, the equipment that you need is different for an inbound center than it is for an outbound center.

Action Plan

 Here is a basic, yet sound and reasonable action plan that will fit all types of call centers and situations:

Examine your motives: Why are you doing this? Is it for the right reason? Do you have practical expectations?

Research the industry:  Join call center associations; read industry literature; but be careful about advice you find on the Internet. Some Internet information about call centers is out-of-date and some is just plain wrong. Make sure that any Internet information is provided by a reputable person who is currently involved in the industry.

 

Determine the type of call center you want to start. Do you want to do inbound calls, outbound calls, telemarketing, or web-enabled? The type of call center you operate is based upon the types businesses you approach for contracts.

Make a working business plan:  Having a simple, yet effective business plan is essential in keeping you on track and focused. Your business plan should include objectives, a cost analysis, a profitability proforma (if you will be a profit center), equipment, telephone and Internet needs, planning for funding, obtaining the requisite licenses, permits, and insurances, and a time table. The business plan will provide reference material as your business ages. The business plan needs to be thorough and detailed, as it will also help you determine what you need financially. Having a business plan on hand shows you are serious about the endeavor, and can help you secure capital with agencies such as the Small Business Administration or with private investors.

Check with your local, state, and federal requirements for starting a call center business. Follow through with all these requirements, filing all necessary paperwork and paying applicable fees to ensure you are in compliance with all regulations.

Evaluate and select equipment:  This is a critical step. Call center equipment and software can be expensive. The features available on the equipment and software you buy will dictate the types of services you can offer and how efficient and effective you will be.

Determine your launch date:  This is the date that you will “go live” and begin processing calls. By then you will need your equipment installed, the phone lines in and working, your staff hired and trained, and most importantly work to do.

Buy and install equipment: Once you buy the equipment and software, your vendor will install it and provide some training. They will also be able to tell you when you need to place your order with them to have the system installed and staff trained for your launch date.

Order phone and Internet service:  Many vendors can order your phone service for you. At the very least, they will tell you what to order. Most call center equipment requires special phone service, which all too many phone company reps do not fully understand, so don’t try to do order phone service (except for one standard business line) on your own.

Hire and train staff: Hire and train more staff than you project you will need for your launch. Why? For two reasons. First, not all of the people you hire will be retained. Despite your best screening and hiring efforts, some will quit before they finish training, while others will quickly conclude that it is not the job for them, and still others will find a better job. The other reason is that when you go live there will undoubtedly be unanticipated problems, which extra staff can help resolve. Also, expect your staff to be tentative and a bit slow during those initial days of operation. Therefore, extra staff will be a blessing.

Begin operation:  Now that everything is in place, you can begin processing calls!

 

At this point you will have successfully launched a call center, congratulations!  The next goal is to grow it, fine-tune it, improve it, and expand it.