HOW WE CHOOSE CALLERS
Why early results mean nothing when I choose callers
A few conversions at the start can be luck. Before the results settle, I want to know whether ordinary people actually want to speak to the caller.
When I choose an agent, I do not start with conversions. Results mean nothing at the beginning.
Early conversions can lie
A bad caller can get a few lucky conversions when a campaign begins. Put the right person on the end of the line and almost anybody can record an early result. That small number does not tell me whether the caller is good, whether people trust them or whether the result can continue.
I look first at the average length of every connected call. That shows me whether people choose to remain in the conversation, including the calls that do not produce an immediate result.
People staying on the phone is the first result
In our work, a good new agent will normally average around two minutes on connected calls. They may not have conversions yet. I am not worried by that. The important fact is that people want to talk to them.
A caller sitting around thirty seconds may still have picked up one or two lucky conversions. I do not let those early results hide what the call length is telling me. Most people do not want to stay in the conversation.
The difference is not about holding somebody on the line for the sake of a number. It is about whether the caller can open a real conversation, listen properly and give the other person a reason not to end the call.
That is what I can build on
Conversion numbers matter once enough calls have been made. They do not tell the truth quickly enough for choosing people at the beginning. Average connected-call length does.
If people willingly spend two minutes talking to an agent, I have something I can work with. Skills can be taught. Campaign knowledge can be learned. Confidence can grow. The harder thing to find is a caller that strangers actually want to talk to.
That is why I will take the caller with two-minute conversations and no early results over the caller with thirty-second conversations and a couple of lucky conversions. One has the basis of a great agent. The other has a number that will not last.