Key Skills to Look, Before Hire Freelance Phone Support Specialists. 

• English conversation skills - Should have English conversation skills to be able to communicate with their customers effectively. 
• Listening skills - they should listen to their customer’s concerns, not just to answer, but find the important information that can lead to resolving their problems.
• Problem-solving skills - find the root cause of their concerts and be quick on finding the solution to them. 
• Communication problems - you should be straightforward enough not to waste their time and sensitive enough not to elicit any misunderstanding. 
• Adaptability - you should be able to adapt enough to customize your responses depending on the situation. 
• Patience - you should always have the patience to help your customers with their problems, even if it might take time. 
• Empathy - you should have empathy to listen. You should still answer and aid them with their problems with respect. 

Roles and Responsibilities of Phone Support Specialists?

• Answering customer queries.
• Fixing customer problems 
• Proactive engagement 
• Provide meaningful conversations via soft skills  
• Identify and report common pain points 
• Set and meet expectations  
• Complete training 
• Manage concurrent calls
• Meeting targets 

What are the Interview questions for Phone Support Specialists?

1. How would you define good customer phone service?
2. What appeals you about this role?
3. What is the best customer phone support you’ve offered? Why?
4. Can you tell me about a time when you received poor customer phone support?
5. Can you tell me about a time when you were proud of the level of support you gave a customer?

How to Hire the Best Freelance Phone Support Specialists?

1. Determine your needs you need to determine the level of support you need for a Phone Support Specialists including the support hours you needed, to make assumptions on how many calls they need to receive for a day and determining how many clients your specialists will handle which give you the count of the specialists you will need to hire. 
2. Skills needed You should have a clear understanding of the type of issues a Phone Support Specialists will handle and the skills necessary to do it. 
3. Advertise Job posts - you should advertise in the right places and platforms where people are looking for jobs. UpTecHunt is one of the popular sites you can look at. 
4. Access applicants - Take an assessment to determine whether the candidate is a good fit. This will be able to help you to shortlist the right specialist and move forward with them. 
5. phone simulation assessment - this will measure a candidate’s ability to effectively handle many phone support concerns. 
6. Trial Shift and onboarding - evaluate the final candidates on the basis of a trial shift. You must see how they work and handle customer queries on the phone. Once you have selected the right specialist, you may start the onboarding process. Just make sure that you equip them with the knowledge and training that they need to do their job successfully. 

What Challenges will you face when hiring Phone Support Specialists?

1. Time management - with several customers to assist, and strict timelines to adhere to, it can be challenging to Phone Support Specialists to ensure that all call queries are resolved within time frames. 
2. Lack of Clarity - A customer’s descriptions of an issue may not always be clear and concise, making it difficult to understand their problem. 
3. Multiple requests - handling multiple requests from customers simultaneously can be overwhelming. 
4. Language Barriers - they can receive requests from customers with varying language proficiency levels. 
5. Stress - phone support can be stressful, especially when dealing with irate customers. 

How do you negotiate rates and terms with your freelance Phone Support Specialists?

1. Know your budget scope - You should have a clear idea of your budget and scope of the Phone Support Specialist work. This means knowing the services you need, what kind of phone support you want, how complex they are, and how they will deliver them. 
2. Do your research - once you have determined your budget and scope, you need to do some research on the Phone Support Specialist you are interested in. You should look for their specialties, strengths, and weaknesses, what their previous experiences and clients were, and lastly, what their reputation and feedback are. 
3. Be transparent and respectful - when dealing with Phone Support Specialists, be transparent and respectful in presenting them their phone support and your expectations. Provide them with detailed role responsibilities and the required equipment for their phone support services. Also, don’t forget to explain to them your vision, goals and challenges, and ask for their service, suggestions, recommendations and questions. 
4. Negotiate the terms - After receiving a bid from the Phone Support Specialists, review it carefully and compare it with your budget and scope. When negotiating, focus on the value and quality of the work, not just the price. Consider factors such as the specialist's availability, experiences, turnaround time and communication style.
5. Sign a contract - Once you have agreed on the discussed terms with the Phone Support Specialist, you need to sign a contract that outlines the scope, schedule, budget, payment terms, deliverables and expectations of the Phone Support Specialists works. The contract should also include clauses that cover contingencies, such as changes, delays, disputes, and cancellations. This will protect both parties from potential risks and liabilities and ensure a smooth and professional workflow. 
6. Maintain Communication -after contract signing, you need to maintain regular and clear communication with the Phone Support Specialists throughout their support.