Qualifications

The first step in building a staff of knowledgeable support reps is determining the precise qualifications you are looking for and matching them to actual job responsibilities.

These qualifications must accurately reflect the support needs of your customers. Rick Kilton, president of consulting firm RWK Enterprises (Lyons, CO), points out that at some support centers, the first support reps whom customers reach are often the least skilled. Even if reps are able to assist half of all customers immediately, that still means that the remaining customers are likely to end up speaking with several individuals before finding a rep who can help them.

Regardless of what products or services they support, the two skills all rep must have are the ability to solve problems and to serve customers.

Problem-solving skills require more than knowledge. When reps don't know the answers to customers' questions, they should know how to find them quickly.

Reps must also demonstrate empathy and patience when dealing with customers. Intentionally or not, reps can irritate customers when they give the impression they're trying to discover what your customers did wrong. The most effective support reps know how to listen and show they understand what customers are telling them.

"Some product geniuses may understand every bit of software code or every logic circuit...