Call Center Script Best Practices: Advanced Script Block Tips to Optimize Your Answering Service

At Specialty Answering Service, we strive to create the most seamless answering service experience for our clients and agents alike. Over the years, we’ve gathered feedback and developed numerous features to guide our agents. You may already use standard call center scripting components (like Name, Number, and Email), but there are powerful, less-obvious features within our script blocks designed to solve challenges you might not have considered. This guide explores advanced call center script best practices to enhance your scripts’ efficiency, accuracy, and overall customer experience.

Advanced Call Center Scripting Tips: Script Blocks

Every call center script is comprised of script blocks — customizable elements to gather specific caller information. Below, we’ll explore advanced tips on effectively using these specialized script block features.

Warm Transfer Block

Warm Transfers allow our agents to act as virtual receptionists by transferring calls directly to your team. Using them in your script is a perfect way to use a Specialty Answering Service agent as your personal virtual receptionist, during business hours, after hours, or 24/7. Activate documentation options in the warm transfer block to identify exactly why transfers may be refused by staff or callers.

Key Takeaway: Use Warm Transfer documentation to quickly address internal communication barriers and customer preferences.

• You want to know why your staff is refusing transfers: If members of your team are refusing transfers, allowing agents to document the reason why may help you drill down on internal staffing issues or adjust the setup to transfer to staff with consistent availability.
• You want to know why callers are refusing transfers: If callers continuously refuse to be transferred, it may be an indication that it’s time to review existing protocols and see what changes can be implemented to keep callers on the line and connected to your business.

Trigger Block

Trigger blocks perform automated actions like sending texts, emails, or CRM updates.

Key Takeaway: Automate real-time validation and staff notification to enhance efficiency and reduce errors.

• You want the callers to validate the information the agents took: Using a Trigger block to send an SMS or email to the caller to confirm that we have collected the correct information ensures accurate data capture and saves you from having to adjust incorrect details later.
• You want to alert staff about incoming transfers: Giving your team a quick heads up about incoming calls can facilitate the sales or customer service process by making sure someone is available to pick up when the line starts ringing. You can configure the Trigger block to send an SMS or email to specific contacts prior to the agent reaching the Transfer step.

Image Blocks

Not everyone learns in the same way. For some agents, a written description works best. For others, visual cues make all the difference. We can script just about anything, but sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Visual aids significantly boost agent clarity, especially when dealing with complex websites or technical troubleshooting.

Key Takeaway: Include reference images in your scripts to improve accuracy and reduce call handling time.

• You want to simplify the way agents approach your website: If your website has a lot going on, it may be difficult for agents to find the right form, link, or button. Adding reference images will keep call handling efficient, especially if it is an agent’s first visit to your domain.
• You want agents to be able to describe certain things: For technical support or internet service providers, agents may need to describe where a button or switch is on a piece of hardware, or what color lights the customer should see. Adding images of the exact equipment that callers are attempting to troubleshoot means that agents can better explain the what and where with confidence.

Workflow Blocks

While most of the script blocks in SAS Flex are used to gather information from callers, Workflow blocks alter the flow of the script depending on the variables you’ve programmed, without having to rely on the agents to choose one path over another. Workflow Blocks automatically adapt your call scripts based on predefined criteria.

Key Takeaway: Automate decision-making in scripts to ensure consistency and streamline operations.

• You want the script to change based on the day and/or time: By configuring a Workflow Date/Time block, you can tell the script to follow a different path depending on what day and time a call comes in. For example, if you want calls that come in after hours to be handled differently than calls during business hours, a Workflow Date/Time is the way to go.
• You want the script to randomly choose a Sales Team Member: If you want to evenly distribute new leads across your Sales team without asking the agent to pick a team member at random, utilizing our Workflow Round Robin block can automatically choose to send the message or transfer the call to alternating staff based on the parameters you’ve set.
• You want to ask every caller the same questions but change direction based on their responses: Let’s say that your script first screens callers for residential vs. commercial service, asks everyone for their Name, Number and Address, and then changes direction based on whether residential or commercial was selected. Workflow Path and Workflow True False blocks can look for matches to configurations that you define, for example residential vs. commercial, and create additional paths when a match is found – leading to varied next steps, outcomes, and message delivery. A Closing Collector block can also look for matching configurations, but that is only applicable to outcomes and message delivery.

Address Blocks

Just in the United States alone, there are over 160 million addresses. Even when narrowing down by state, similar addresses are commonplace. For example, 123 Main Street is probably in thousands of cities across the country. Address and Address (Service Area) blocks auto-populate data directly from Google Maps instead of relying on agents to manually enter address details.

Key Takeaway: Automate accurate address capture to enhance service efficiency.

• You want to determine if a caller is in your service area: After setting a Service Area perimeter within your Google Maps app from the Flex portal, agents can enter a caller’s address and determine if they are within or outside of your service area with one click.
• You want addresses to include non-standard information: Addresses can be collected for more reasons than just determining service area, and you may require more than just the standard address fields. The Address block can also be used to gather Township, County, and Country – all information that will auto-populate from Google Maps based on the address that is being entered.

Date/Time Block

The Date/Time block is used to collect precise scheduling details, such as appointments or registration dates.

Key Takeaway: Streamline appointment management to improve client convenience.

• You want agents to document preferred dates and times for appointments: Some clients may not want us to schedule appointments for them, and that’s okay! Having the agents ask callers for their preferred date and time or a few wider appointment windows may make it easier on your in-house staff to schedule.
• You want agents to reschedule or cancel appointments on your calendar: Conversely, if your goal is to have agents schedule appointments for you, then you may also want agents to reschedule or cancel appointments, providing instant assistance and maximum convenience to your customer base. Using the Date/Time block to gather the original appointment date and time, you can then present that information to the agent when they reach the calendar step, which will facilitate changing the appointment.

Free Text Block

While SAS offers many different script block options, you may find that you need agents to gather information that is not available as its own script block. For those purposes, you can utilize our Free Text script block which can be cuztomized to capture unique information, with validation for data accuracy.

Key Takeaway: Use Free Text Blocks for specialized information, ensuring data quality with built-in validation.

• You want agents to document numbers of a specific length: If agents are placing orders, they may need to screen for the item number in advance. Catalog companies and online retailers may have product numbers or SKUs that contain a certain number of characters, but that are often confused with some other identifying number in the product description. Using the Specific Length option, you can ask the caller to provide the item number and restrict it to the minimum and maximum number of expected characters. For example, all SKUs are between 7 and 10 characters long. Anything shorter or longer can display a customizable error message indicating that the caller has provided the wrong identifier.
• You need agents to document whole numbers within a certain range: While the standard number or currency blocks can be used to document numerical data, a company may need to gather a numerical value that falls between a minimum and maximum, excluding all other values. Let’s say that a freight company requires the approximate weight of a shipment, and it must fall between 5 tons, their minimum, and 40 tons, their maximum. Using the Whole Number validation option, you can set the system to accept values only between 5 and 40, and customize an error message to alert agents when the number provided falls outside of that range.

Optimizing Script Block Features for Accuracy

From Greeting blocks to data collecting blocks like Name, Number and Email, all script blocks serve a purpose. However, not all script blocks will include the same features. In this section, we’ll look at some of the tools you’ll find within script blocks, and how to use them.

Tooltips and Icons

For script blocks that include Logic options, users are able to add Icons and Tooltips, which provide visual cues and clarifications, helping agents choose correct script paths.. Icons display little graphics for an at-a-glance look at what is upcoming, whereas Tooltips are short snippets of text that describe each option and are visible only on hover.

Key Takeaway: Prevent errors by visually guiding agents with Tooltips and Icons.

• Use Icons to let agents know that following a specific path will result in a certain outcome: For doctors, dentists, counselors, surgeons, or anyone in an industry that often deals with emergency situations, callers may want to know if they can be transferred to someone in-office or on call. By adding a Transfer icon to an Emergency logic option, agents will be able to properly set expectations that the call will result in a transfer.
• Use Tooltips to let agents know that an emergency path is only for certain scenarios: For HVAC or Plumbing companies, customers may call with a minor issue (like a leak) that they feel is an emergency. But what if the company only deems busted pipes or flooding as emergencies? For these types of scenarios, you can add “busted pipe or flooding” as a Tooltip for the Emergency path. When an agent hovers over that logic option, they will see that only busted pipes and flooding are emergency situations.

Require an Answer

In most data collecting script blocks, users have the ability to enable the Require an Answer feature. Guarantee essential information is never missed by making fields mandatory. On the one hand, this can make sure that you are gathering all necessary details from callers. On the other hand, it can prevent agents from completing the call if the caller does not provide a response. Whether you use it depends on how critical the information is to your team.

Key Takeaway: Ensure critical data collection through mandatory script fields.

• You need specific information from callers: You may want to enable this feature if collecting data that is essential to customer communication, or in cases where you are unable to research an inquiry without a unique identifier. For example, businesses that communicate with callers entirely via email will set this block as required just as a tech support company may require an existing ticket number to check incident status.
• We are sending data through an integration: If you have integrated with one of our apps, we may need to push multiple data points to your third-party software to create tickets, update records, generate leads, or whatever function the platform is performing for you. Requiring those data points from callers is the only way to confirm that everything goes from our software to yours without a hitch.

Verify the Answer

For many businesses, it’s important that all of the information gathered from callers has been accurately verified, as it may need to match data already entered into their own records. If Verify the Answer is checked, you’ll help enhance data accuracy through detailed verification processes. For example, all alpha-numeric characters and special characters like the “at” symbol will be displayed below the input area. On hover, agents will see each character written out for effortless verification. For example, numbers will be displayed as one, two, three. Letters will be displayed as “A as in Apple,” “B as in Banana,” “C as in Charlie.” Agents will have to click a button to confirm they’ve verified the details before progressing forward in the script.

Key Takeaway: Activate verification to significantly reduce input errors.

• Agents are entering data incorrectly: If agents are making errors when documenting call details, verification will instruct them to read back a caller’s name, email, phone number, etc., to confirm they have notated everything correctly. This option is enabled by default for all Email blocks.
• Agents need to locate callers in a different system: When agents are creating claims, looking up insurance information, confirming coverage, or similar situations that require an exact match to correctly locate the caller’s account record, verification is critical.

Never Verify the Answer

On the other hand, some businesses may not necessarily care if a caller’s last name was misspelled, only that the agent captured the lead quickly. If this option is checked, agents can quickly capture less-critical data without causing caller frustration.

Key Takeaway: Use selectively for faster call handling when absolute accuracy isn’t vital.

• Callers are frustrated by the process: If calls are taking too long and callers are becoming frustrated by the number of questions being asked, you may want to check this option, as verifying information can make calls last longer and cause greater upset.
• Callers require immediate, emergency assistance: In some cases, such as with crisis lines, it may be more important for calls to be transferred to you as quickly as possible than for agents to spend time ensuring every bit of information is correct.

Disable Caller ID Pre-Populate

Some phone providers pass true caller ID when calls are forwarded, while others pass your business line number – without the option to reconfigure your setup. Some callers dial in from a direct-dial number, such as a home phone or cell phone, while others may dial in from an office line that displays the same number under every outbound call, even if the employee has a direct extension. Phone Number blocks are set to populate caller ID by default, which is the best setup for most clients. But that may not be ideal for your business. When you first start forwarding your calls to SAS, you may not know that you’ll need to disable caller ID pre-populate. Once you start to see repeat numbers in your call log, though, all it takes is one click in the Phone Number block to alter the default setting and prevent this information from causing problems in the future. Ensure accurate data entry by preventing default Caller ID fill-ins.

Key Takeaway: Disable auto-fill to guarantee precise caller details.

• Calls all come in under the same Caller ID:  If your calls are coming in under the same caller ID, this can result in inaccurate messages. Preventing the caller ID from automatically populating in the Phone Number block will require agents to ask the caller for their phone number, ensuring that you are receiving accurate contact details for current and prospective customers. While your call log will still display the caller ID, your messages will reflect the information provided by the caller. It’s also important to note that a repeating caller ID will affect more than just your messages. Most SAS callback features and some tools and integrations utilize the caller ID to function. So, if you discover that the caller ID is always the same, reach out to our team for assistance.
• Callers assume you have them on file: There will always be callers who refuse to provide an agent with information because they say that it is already on file with the business. That may be true, but the information could be outdated or incorrect, and in the majority of cases it is inaccessible to agents. Disabling the default setting allows agents to explain that the caller’s phone number is not available to them and needs to be collected and confirmed to pass on a complete message.

Greeting Lookup

Any time a customer calls your business, their data is automatically stored in both your Call Log and the Customers section of your portal, and you can also add your own customer data manually. Then, once you activate the Greeting (Lookup) option within your Greeting Block, the system will automatically match incoming calls to existing customer records. If there is more than one matching record, for example, members of the same family under a single caller ID, agents will be prompted to select the correct record before moving forward. If there is only one matching record under the caller ID, agents won’t need to do anything. Before activating Greeting (Lookup), it’s best to check your Call Log to confirm that the same phone number is not listed on every call.

Key Takeaway: Enable Greeting Lookup for faster, personalized customer service.

• Calls are taking too long: If calls are taking too long, enabling the Greeting (Lookup) option will save time by pre-populating the caller’s stored contact details. Agents can simply confirm what they have on file rather than ask for all the information again.
• You want to give callers a “small business” feel: By utilizing Greeting (Lookup) to display previously collected data, agents will be able to address callers as if they have spoken to them before. Whether you’re running a large corporation or neighborhood corner store, a little extra personalization goes a long way.

Read Precisely as Written

Some scripts are written with generic language that agents may use as a guide. In other cases, clients may require agents to read scripted text verbatim. Maintain consistency by requiring agents to use exact script wording.

Key Takeaway: Ensure critical script language remains uniform for compliance or accuracy.

• Agents are reading blurbs with detailed product information or instructions: In cases where agents are explaining the differences between specific products or walking callers through a particular process, reading that information word for word can reduce or eliminate questions and confusion later down the line.
• Agents are relaying warranty terms or disclaimers: If you’re having agents read legal language, your terms and conditions, or particular phrases that are used to define your business, you may want to enable this feature so that key phrases are read to the caller word for word.

Notes & Dynamic Notes

If you would like a block to be displayed with an internal memo, add a Note. Notes are displayed with a yellow background and are not read to callers. Instead, they provide a short instruction or “heads up” about the specific language or question in the associated block. With Dynamic Notes, you can add specific keywords that will display customized instructions to the agent if any of the corresponding words are entered. Use either or both to provide agents with context-specific tips and real-time reminders.

Key Takeaway: Use Notes to give agents additional clarity and ensure correct script pathways.

• You want to arm agents with more context: Let’s say that your company is frequently confused for another business with a similar name. Adding a Note to let agents know about that common occurrence will give them more context and help them effectively handle your calls.
• You want the agents to use special formatting that can’t be scripted: If your website requires an email address to process orders, or your CRM can’t create a ticket without an email address, it can be a challenge when callers refuse to provide their email. Enter a Note with an instruction on what to do if a caller refuses. For example, “If caller refuses, document email as firstname.lastname@company.com.”
• Agents are taking the wrong path: Callers are not always clear about what they need, and agents are not always clear about which option is best to advance the script. For example, if an agent takes the regular Service path instead of the Emergency path, you can add the word “emergency” as a keyword. Once the agent types the word “emergency,” a note will appear for them to take the Emergency path instead. Or let’s say that a caller is asking for a quote, the agent misses that there is an Estimate path, and again they follow All Other Calls. Using a Dynamic Note to alert agents about keywords like “quote,” “estimate,” and “pricing” is all you need to have them reverse course and change direction.
• You want calls from a specific person or place handled differently: If you want agents to be on the lookout for a nuisance caller or callers from a particular business, you can add a Dynamic Note in the Full Name or Company blocks and include special instructions that explain how the calls should be handled. So, when “ABC Office Supplies” calls to sell you toner, you can instruct the agents to save the caller under Telemarketer.

FAQs and Linking to Blocks

Frequently asked questions, or FAQs for short, can be added to any account and are a great resource for assisting callers. Though FAQs are available to agents by clicking a tab on the left side of their screen, it isn’t always convenient to search for a direct rebuttal to questions that may come up during the information gathering process. Directly link up to 2 FAQs to script blocks for instant agent reference.

Key Takeaway: Empower agents with immediate answers, reducing confusion.

• Agents are not able to answer standard questions: If agents are unable to answer simple questions about your business such as your location, hours of operation, available services or pricing, callers may become frustrated. Arming agents with the tools they need to succeed will increase agents’ confidence and keep callers happy.
• Agents need to provide detailed explanations that cannot be scripted: In an effort to account for every possible scenario that agents may encounter, you could easily wind up with a script that is too wordy or contains too many paths. Incredibly lengthy scripts may do more harm than good, but you can still provide agents with the responses they need by outlining a handful of your more complicated questions in the FAQs.
• Callers don’t want to provide required information: If callers continuously ask why they need to provide their email, which is probably the most commonly refused contact information, you can add an FAQ specifically to the email block that explains why an email is necessary. For example, Question: Why do you need my email? Answer: Email is our primary form of communication.
• Scripted questions often cause confusion: Some clients, such as mortgage lenders or finance companies, may ask complex questions that are not entirely clear to the agent or the caller. In those cases, associating an FAQ can give the agents an organized response for callers who need a better understanding of what is being asked.

Restrict Content

While handling your calls, agents will follow your script and input data based on the information that the caller provides. But in cases where callers resist giving agents the necessary details, agents may think it is better to add a placeholder rather than leave the response blank. Receiving messages with “junk data” can make it more challenging to take care of your customers. With SAS’s Restrict Content feature, you can eliminate placeholder entries to maintain message accuracy.

Key Takeaway: Use Restrict Content to ensure genuine data collection.

• Agents are entering fake email addresses: When callers refuse to give out their email address, agents may be inclined to enter fake information, like none@none.com or refused@refused.com. By toggling on Restrict Content and adding those examples, among others, the system will alert the agent that they have entered invalid content, and this will force them to either gather the correct information or leave it blank.
• Agents are entering your business number as the caller’s number: Disabling caller ID pre-populate ensures that if your phone provider is not passing true caller ID, the caller ID will not pre-populate in the phone number block. But the caller ID is still visible to agents on the phone widget. Callers may tell agents that their callback number is the same as what is showing on the caller ID, and neither the agent nor the caller can guarantee that to be true. So, restricting the business number will prevent agents from simply copying and pasting that information.

Emphasize the Block

Not all scripts are created equal. Many are straightforward, asking general questions such as Name, Number, and Regarding. Others can be lengthy, full of complex questions and language, and challenging to follow. If a new agent is not familiar with a difficult script, it may result in questions getting lost in the shuffle. Emphasizing lets you highlight critical script sections to prevent oversight.

Key Takeaway: Visually emphasize vital script steps to guarantee agent attention.

• Agents are missing a step: If your script is pretty busy, it is understandable that questions may be overlooked from time to time. When one question is being missed consistently, emphasizing the block will make it stand out from the rest of the page, decreasing the likelihood that it will be bypassed. This feature can also be used in tandem with Require an Answer.
• Agents assume an answer or think a question is unnecessary: If you are running a donation campaign, there may be an option for callers to cover a processing fee along with their donation. Some agents might automatically assume callers will cover the fee, while others might assume it is unnecessary. Emphasizing the block will highlight its importance.

Additional Script Workflow Enhancements

Script Blocks and their functions present an endless array of possibilities that will suit any size company in any industry. But beyond the individual blocks that make up script sections, there are additional features that can be enabled within your complete Script Workflow (a combination of sections) to make agents’ jobs a breeze. We’ll take a look at some of those options below.

Pinned Section

Pinned Sections allow users to create shortcuts for urgent call handling scenarios. Once activated, agents will be able to click the section name from the left side of their screen to automatically pull up the linked call handling. Using pinned sections would be best used in tandem with a Reach or a Cold Transfer schedule, so that urgent matters can be dispatched as quickly as possible.

Key Takeaway: Accelerate emergency response or direct transfers with pinned script sections.

• You want emergency call handling expedited: If your script is set up with a lot of path options, navigating through them may cause a delay in assisting callers with emergency situations. By pinning specific sections, you can create “shortcuts” for the agents to ask only essential questions and quickly save the call to trigger the automated dispatch.
• You want to bypass the script for unique situations: Rather than agents asking callers for information upfront, your sales department may want calls transferred directly. A pinned section that results in an immediate cold transfer to your team may make all the difference when it comes to lead conversion.

Wiki & Quick Reference

The Wiki feature allows you to add a bunch of details about your company, including your business’s name and pronunciation, staff members that callers may ask about, and their respective roles. Think of it as a mini cheat sheet designed especially for agents. The quick Reference option gives agents direct access to the most possible FAQs so the can get to them more easily. Use both to agents immediate access to vital business information.

Key Takeaway: Equip agents with essential company data for superior caller interactions.

• Agents are mispronouncing your company name: If agents are mispronouncing your company name, it can be a dead giveaway that they are not associated with your business. Adding the phonetic pronunciation will give them a helping hand in successfully representing your company.
• Agents are unaware of your key staff members: Callers may ask for staff members by name, but you may not have a specific person path built into your script. Providing the names and titles of your key staff members will make it seem like agents aren’t just a service, but are actually working hand-in-hand with your team as a true extension of your business.
• Agents are unfamiliar with your business concept: If your business name does not immediately explain what it is you do, for example, “ABC Incorporated” vs. “ABC Plumbing,” you may want to add a short description that agents can reference when potential customers call in, so that they can familiarize themselves with your brand.
• Callers ask the same question in the first few seconds of the call: If the first thing most callers do is ask about available services or pricing, add those FAQs as Quick References. Putting them at agents’ fingertips will give new customers the answers they want and allow agents to get down to the business of information gathering.
• Agents need instant access to something that they often reference: There are some clients with only one brick-and-mortar location, but many types of businesses commonly have multiple locations within the same state, across multiple states, or even in several countries. When agents ask, “Which location would you like to book?” and callers respond with, “What do you have in my area?” agents can provide the answer in seconds.

Call Handling

You can personalize your script by adding Call Handling to customize how agents represent your business mood, type, and objectives.

Key Takeaway: Clearly define the agent approach for consistent and positive customer interactions.

• You want agents to function as a specific aspect of your business: If you want agents to act as your answering service, your scheduling team, or your after-hours emergency line, you can set the Service Type within the Call Handling section.
• You want agents to portray a certain mood: When agents answer calls in a particular frame of mind, it can instantly set the tone for the entire interaction. For example, an IT company may want their agents to “Be Knowledgeable” whereas an emergency line may want agents to “Be Compassionate.”
• You want to set an Objective for agents: If most calls should result in an appointment scheduled, an order processed, a quote submitted, etc., setting an Objective will help guide the agents to complete those goals.

Agent Notifications & Whisper Announcements

There are several prompts that agents may see or hear during the course of a call, like notifications or whisper Announcements. These give agents timely reminders and real-time feedback.

Key Takeaway: Support agent accuracy and professionalism with subtle prompts.

• In a Warm Transfer block, if a warm transfer attempt is missed, the agent will be unable to move forward without acknowledging a pop-up message.
• If an agent has started the process of a warm transfer but they are on the line for under 7 seconds before disconnecting, they will see an alert that it was an incomplete transfer attempt.
• If an agent places a caller on hold for more than 1.5 minutes, a warning will be displayed at the top of their screen.
• If any call exceeds a high 7-minute threshold, agents will also see a notification that they should attempt to wrap up the call if possible.
• Agents are mispronouncing your business name: Some organizations have names so uncommon that they’re a challenge to pronounce, even with phonetics listed in the Wiki. If agents are really struggling to greet callers using your business name, toggle on the Whisper Pronunciation announcement. The system will use an automated voice to read the business name based on the text you enter, and agents will quickly hear the correct pronunciation just before the caller is connected.
• You want to set an Objective for agents: If most calls should result in an appointment scheduled, an order processed, a quote submitted, etc., adding Whisper Instructions to that effect will teach agents best practices for that specific account and make it more likely that they’ll accomplish whatever goals you have in mind.

Conclusion

Effective call center scripting goes far beyond basic question-and-answer setups. By leveraging Specialty Answering Service’s powerful script blocks and the features within them, you can significantly enhance call efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction. Implement these advanced scripting tips today to ensure your call center experience is optimized for success.