Best (or worst) accent for telesales!

[Newmedia]

Hi

Out of London/Essex, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. Which would you say was best accent for telesales. What accent sounds the most untrustworthy!
Be honest!!

 

[Atilla]

For me, the best would be Newcastle.
From the options given - Leeds

Most untrustworthy - Essex/Liverpool

You did ask.

 

[MASSEY]

All of them.

Leeds is hard to understand in addition.

I actually seem to prefer scottish people for some reason. But again they can sometimes be hard to understand.

 

[deadgoodundies]

Can't say what the worst is but the best is the Irish accent, I find it quite soothing.

 

[Dawg]

The big player's research has found that mild Geordie and Scottish are the best, followed by standard London/RP, (not cockenee, mockenee or Essex), with the worst being Scouse.

 

[Vacman2000]

If you have women telesales people Irish and Scottish, if they are softly spoken.

 

[deniser]

Had trouble understanding someone Scottish only yesterday and had to ask her to repeat every other sentence.

You never get anyone with a London or Essex accent - I guess they don't have many call centres in the south and if you do then it is usually a Polish or other overseas accent, Polish being quite easy to understand for some reason.

 

[InternetPaymentProvider]

Hi

Out of London/Essex, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. Which would you say was best accent for telesales. What accent sounds the most untrustworthy!
Be honest!!

It has to be an Essex/London accent for trustworthiness! ;-)

Maybe it depends where your business is based - if its northern for example, you would probably benefit from telesales staff with northern accents! Maybe it depends on what your sales staff are selling as well??

Lisa

 

[leemason]

I always find the Yorkshire accent best to listen to out of the list you provided. Out of your list I think the old stereotypes about Liverpool are still strong - not to be trusted. I do find that London/Essex is not pleasant. I guess it depends where you come from.

I am from Birmingham and I doubt that anyone would see the Brummy accent as a good one for telesales. However whenever I hear someone extolling the virtues of something or other (in business/politics/etc) I always convert it into a Brummy accept in my head. If it still sounds good even then it must be good as the Brummy accent seem to have the side effect of stripping all of the cr*p.

 

[Colin Parker]

Simple answer if you employ telesales people ...

The best accent/s come from your top closers.

Chinese, Japanese, Geordie or Irish accents ... who cares?

I'm a Geordie but to say that all Geordies make good telesales because some survey says it is the best accent - is nonsensically general and useless for recruitment purposes.

Recruiting persuasive articulate people who don't easily take no for an answer and training the hell out of them - that's what makes a good telesales operation.

Colin Parker

 

[bdw]

I'm a Geordie but to say that all Geordies make good telesales because some survey says it is the best accent - is nonsensically general and useless for recruitment purposes.

No one said that, did they? The OP just wanted an opinion of what accent was best for telesales. That's a valid question.

Had trouble understanding someone Scottish only yesterday and had to ask her to repeat every other sentence.

Being a pleb, I have the roughest, gruffest West of Scotland (Glesga if you like) accent imaginable and I seldom have any problems on the phone. All I do is slow down and moderate my accent. Actually people sometimes comment on my accent and say that it is easy on the ear and understandable.

Now hold on! I am NOT applying for a telesales job! No application form required please.

 

[Philip Hoyle]

Surely it's best to use an accent as close as possible to whoever you're calling? If you've a big call centre with lots of accents, then wouldn't it be better to get, say, geordie workers to call the geordie area and scottish workers to call scotland?

I find virtually all accents hard to understand as my hearing isn't particularly good - but as I'm from Lancashire/Yorkshire, I find it easier to understand a Lancashire/Yorkshire accent. I really struggle with string Scottish and Welsh accents!

But there is something about a mild female Irish accent - far more likely to keep my attention than Scouse or Geordie!

 

[Chris Ashdown]

scouse must be the worst, just a winning sort of sound from the women

 

[Colin Parker]

Telesales success is down to 90% sales ability and 10% other factors IMO.

Accent is part of that 10% ... no more.

Colin Parker

 

[dedwardp]

For me I'd say Scouse was the worst accent of those to sell, but that may be in part to stereotype and in other part to some Scouse salesman who seems to call me quite frequently and never wins me over :redface:

 

[bdw]

scouse must be the worst, just a winning sort of sound from the women

A winning sort of sound?

 

[David Earle]

I remember a few years ago reading that the Aberdeen accent is supposed to be the most "trustworthy" sounding.

 

[bdw]

If you hear an Aberdonian speaking "Aberdeen" very little of it will be comprehensible to you. They have a very strong dialect (Doric) and pronunciation that is difficult even for many other Scots to understand.
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/kist/mclips/track21.mp3 :|

However I have heard it said that people in Inverness, which is not that far from Aberdeen speak the purest form of English in the UK.

 

[Vacman2000]

What about the americans

 

[Brian McIntosh]

I'm an aberdonian and I have trouble understanding aberdonians sometimes! Must agree with the comment about Inverness though. I stay in Inverness now and the accent is lovely.

 

[bdw]

Fit like loon?

 

[Alba Transcription]

Fit like loon?

If that is directed to the quines as well, affa braw, thanks!


Newmedia,

I wouldn't worry too much about accents. Good diction is the all-important thing IMHO. If I had to choose from your list, though, London/Essex would be the one I like least.

 

[Yorksnproud]

The Bombay accent has become very popular over the last couple of years. BT,Sky and HSBC seem to love that accent.

 

[CSBob]

(haha, classic!)


I seem to recall some old (Asda?) research on this subject, or something very similar, and that determined that the Yorkshire accent was considered the most trustworthy.

But if you want to know the accent I won't immediately hang up on, put Cheryl Cole on the phone.

 

[Beachcomber]

Telesales success is down to 90% sales ability and 10% other factors IMO.

Accent is part of that 10% ... no more.

Colin Parker

I agree - a good telesales person can tailor their pitch to suit the recipient instinctively - listen to the responses you get and vary the delivery slightly to get the best outcome.

Quite a fun game really.

 

[thebusiness]

Has to be someone from Southern England, so that everyone will understand them. I'm from the South and often struggle to understand Northeners/Scottish/Welsh, but no one has ever had a problem understanding me.

 

[BizGurl]

Best = Geordies of course , followed by Leeds. And all other northern accents with the exception of Scouse. Mancunians tend to sound more 'fun' and not very serious though so not entirely sure about them.

Worst = West Midlands...all areas. No further comment.

Irish accent is quite pleasant on most occasions.

J.M.O so no offence!

 

[Kernowman]

I think the Scots accent is easily understood when they speak S L O W L Y.

When they notch up a bit in speed it tends to blur into one great long word. I worked for a company that had their HQ in Perth and because you worked in the organisation you rarely if ever got S L O W L Y.

It is was just like:

 

[suprjparks]

Even though not in the list, I spoke to a Woman on the phone from Canada the other day. Was helpful

 

[bdw]

Has to be someone from Southern England, so that everyone will understand them.

You are making the basic mistake that all people understand the southern England accent because you do. I often have trouble with it and I am sure that I am not alone.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

I think the Scots accent is easily understood when they speak S L O W L Y.

When they notch up a bit in speed it tends to blur into one great long word. I worked for a company that had their HQ in Perth and because you worked in the organisation you rarely if ever got S L O W L Y.

It is was just like:

That's not Perth. Perth is all polite, like. That's Glasgae. And the speed of the talking is in direct correlation to the amount of alcohol that's been consumed!!

The worst accent - Dudley!!

I think that the Southern Irish lilt, and a soft scottish accent have been found to be very good for those type of "diffusing" type of customer service telephone calls.

 

[Kernowman]

That's not Perth. Perth is all polite, like. That's Glasgae. And the speed of the talking is in direct correlation to the amount of alcohol that's been consumed!!

The worst accent - Dudley!!

I think that the Southern Irish lilt, and a soft scottish accent have been found to be very good for those type of "diffusing" type of customer service telephone calls.

I once got lost driving around Glasgow city centre so I stopped to ask someone for directions. The guy spoke so fast I couldn't understand a word

Had a friend who was "Persian" and he married a Scots girl and they did just fine on the communication front until she had a cob on She was one of these people where "Ehhhhhhm" was every third word and it drove me nuts. The english "ummmm" used too often similary irritates.

It is interesting to note that broadcasters like the BBC actively seek out people that are Southern Irish, Scots and West Country folk for their correct pronunciation and soft spoken-ness

 

[bdw]

That's Glasgae.

no one in scotland has ever pronounced Glasgow as Glasgae.

Glasgay (or actually Glasgay) is actually a festival for people of the homesexual persuasion. It's not the way locals pronounce it. That's "Glesca".

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

no one in scotland has ever pronounced Glasgow as Glasgae.

Glasgay (or actually Glasgay) is actually a festival for people of the homesexual persuasion. It's not the way locals pronounce it. That's "Glesca".

ken. (I am not good at typing phonetics!)

 

[thebusiness]

You are making the basic mistake that all people understand the southern England accent because you do. I often have trouble with it and I am sure that I am not alone.

I find that hard to believe. You must really struggle with basic things like watching the tv or listening to the radio.

Another thing to remember is that the vast majority of people in Britain live in the Southern half of England, so by default it is an accent that will be understood by most.

 

[bdw]

I find that hard to believe. You must really struggle with basic things like watching the tv or listening to the radio.

When strong, local accents are being used I often do.

Regarding you finding it hard to believe, the problem with many people from the south is that they think there is nothing north of Watford. Some of you guys can be very insular in this respect. That is illustrated by the fact that while you may struggle to understand other people's accents you cannot comprehend that anyone could have trouble with yours. Think about it.

Another thing to remember is that the vast majority of people in Britain live in the Southern half of England,

The south east of England may be the most densely populated area of the UK but it is not home to the "vast majority". In actual fact only 26% of the population lives there, meaning that there is another 74% of us elsewhere.

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=15106

.

 

[Kernowman]

The "best" or "worst" regional accent really is irrelevant because the person who speaks clearly and concisely, who is easily understood on a universal regional basis, can originate from ANY part of the country.

 

[bdw]

Yes, but you can speak clearly and concisely with an accent.

 

[Kernowman]

Yes, but you can speak clearly and concisely with an accent.

Isn't that what I said?

 

[bdw]

No, you said that the accent was irrelevant. In this thread we are discussing which accent is best. Research seems to show that some are more pleasing to the ear than others.