If you are looking to save money and thinking about using a business outsourcing company for your telemarketing or your technical support needs, you must consider the communication issues that might
arise with outsourcing.

Many times when people call a customer service or call center for assistance, they complain because there is a language barrier and it is hard to understand what the agent is saying.

If you are considering hiring a company for your outsourcing needs, you should ensure that the customer service representative’s first spoken language is of the customers who will be calling.

If it is not, you should make sure that the representatives will be able to speak the language of most of your customers well enough to understand them.

One way to guarantee the language barrier will not exist with the customer service representatives from the outsourcing company you are hiring is for you and other team members to make phone calls to the representatives who will be representing you.

This way, you and your team members can speak to the individuals and verify that their spoken language is going to be good enough for your customers.

Most communications problems with call centers and customer service representatives occur from using offshore outsourcing groups.

Business outsourcing can save your company a lot of money. However, it is for you to decide which is more important, your customer satisfaction with your customer service and support or the amount of money you are saving through your outsourcing endeavors.

You may find your customer count goes down once you begin outsourcing your customer service needs.

It is worth thinking about and checking into.

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing , proofreading and
transcription assignments!

Jan Tallent
Tallent Agency Virtual Assistance

573-775-4520 jan@tallentagency.com

Transcribing audio to text for reports, ebooks, etc. can be so much easier for the transcriptionist to DO and do so with maximum accuracy if, as a speaker, you use a clear and steady voice when making your recorded event.

In a moment, I will share with you a prime example of this as with permission from the speaker I am going to show you just what I mean.

I have done now quite a few transcriptions which were made much more difficult than they needed to be by the following:

*People talking so fast it is a wonder they can understand themselves

*People talking over each other and interrupting each other – this is especially difficult to decipher when you have two or more voices that are very similar!

*People who interrupt themselves to go off on another train of thought completely and then jump back to the prior subject

*People with – to be honest – horrible grammar – who do NOT want these errors fixed when being transcribed!

*People who make it obvious that there was NO PLAN on what to be said or discussed so there is no flow or rhythm to what is being said

*People who repeat the same thing several times but there is no sequence to let the transcriber know when to leave it and when to remove it

*People who come in and out of range of their microphones or whatever recording device they are using – I have done some where I had to send the file to the interviewer or interviewee with unknown and unclear notations for whole paragraphs of audio I could not hear or figure out or even give my best guess at

I know there are others and realize them AS I am doing a transcription, but these are just off the top of my head … IF you are planning on having your audio event transcribed, it might be a good idea to type up one of your shows or seminars or webinars, etc. yourself and you just might be surprised at how difficult this can be, especially for someone that probably does not know YOU or is not used to the way you speak.

Most of my Transcription Clients have, mercifully, been great voices and conversationalists TO transcribe. I appreciate that and them so very much. A normal, easy to hear and understand ONE HOUR audio file can take up to six hours to transcribe, proofread and edit. Obviously, having to stop several times to re-hear and try to translate and/or decipher is going to take even longer.

Now, on to that prime example of an interesting, fun, and CLEAR speaker who obviously has planned out what she is going to say AND has a great delivery as she is saying it – I would like to introduce you to Ann Evanston, The Warrior-Preneur and a savvy biz lady who shares “thoughts, inspiration and education – warrior style!” and one of my favorite videos of Ann’s – The Social Psychology of Social Media.

Listen to Ann’s clear, steady voice with a nice, even flow – this is just the type of speaker that is a joy to transcribe!

thanks, Ann, for the permission to use you as my prime example
and also for being a favorite and appreciated client!

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing , proofreading and
transcription assignments!

Jan Tallent
Tallent Agency Virtual Assistance

573-775-4520 jan@tallentagency.com

After you write your document, the next thing you have to do is to proofread your work. That way, you can be sure that your work is not filled with errors that prevent you from sending your message across to your intended readers. However, you cannot always rely on yourself to spot all the lapses in your document. Chances are, your eyes have gotten used to your writing, and you will surely miss several errors.

You cannot afford to publish or submit an error-filled written material, especially if it is a major paper for school, an important business document, or a novel. To be sure that your written work looks professional and can be understood by all readers, it is best to use editorial services that will improve the copy’s quality.

You can gain many benefits from hiring an editor to check your work. First, you get an expert’s opinion on how to improve your manuscript. Editing services usually include an editor’s analysis or critique of your work, which states what needs to be adjusted, added, or removed from your document. Second, you get fast results, typically within one or two business days. As a result, you can save time to complete your other tasks.

The greatest thing about having your work checked and edited by an editing firm or a freelance editor is that you can rest assured that your work is clean, clear, concise, and readable. In particular, an editor helps you improve the quality of your work by doing the following:

• Ensure that sentences are grammatically correct

• Organize thoughts to make sure that the sentences are coherent

• Fix transitions to make sure that the sentences flow smoothly

• Remove redundant and unnecessary words or sentences to ensure brevity

• Check for jumps in logic and inaccuracy of facts

• Enhance word choice and sentence structure for clarity of thought

• Correct formatting and style inconsistencies

• Checking the copy for jargons, slang, sexist language, etc.

• Ensuring that all cited references in the manuscript are added to the bibliography

Many editing services also offer ghostwriting services for those who are too busy to write their own works.

Editing services may cost you a few bucks, but the amount you spend is nothing compared to the disaster that would happen once you find out that your work reeks of grammatical errors and confusing statements. Simply put, you may have to spend more money for a book or a printed thesis that is inferior in quality.

Many editorial services offer editing and proofreading for a wide array of writing projects such as books, magazines, newsletters, brochures, college essays, etc. To find the best editing firm or freelance editor for your writing project, do background research online, read feedback and testimonials given by customers, and ask around for recommendations.

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing , proofreading and
transcription assignments!

Jan Tallent
Tallent Agency Virtual Assistance

573-775-4520 jan@tallentagency.com