Telemarketing - Generate Big Revenue from Simple Creative Ideas & Small Budgets
June 13, 2008
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By Yoshiko Choy
Develops and Sells the
Hello, This is XX calling from XX (company), may I have a moment of your time please….?
Statistics shows that Telemarketing responses fetches 4 times more than mail-generated leads. And you would think that the cost could be exorbitant, since large corporations have spent millions of dollars prepping up their telemarketing centers. Well, it's Yes and No. If you are running a large corporation and looking to expand sales exponentially at a faster pace, yes.
But if you run a small business, you too can have a piece of the telemarketing pie. There are approaches which from my past experience have proven workable and more importantly profitable to say the least.
The one of the critical issues is to examine suitability of your business for the telemarketing channel of distribution. There are industries which telemarketing has become the norm in generating escalating revenues & profits but there are those which do not leverage upon telemarketing, not due to budget constraints but that there are more appropriate distribution channels. Take for instance, the very familiar credit card call industry. You will see rows and rows of telemarketers calling round the clock to solicit card applications. Conversely, if you are in the fruits wholesale distribution business, it is highly unlikely that you would resort to telemarketing as a distribution channel.
You will also need to analyze the function of telemarketing as marketing tool in your business. You can activate telemarketing activities for expanding revenue, as a sales support tool as well as build rapport. Call supporting activities for the credit card businesses, the cell phone businesses for instance, would center around after-sales services. Calling clients on service evaluation after sales would be building rapport and generate feedback for product and service enhancements. These are very diverging objectives which separately achieve different purposes altogether. The pitch and script would be highly diverging as well.
The "recency" of your call list is critical as well. Lists from events and campaigns must be called within the month to ensure higher recall rate. The sooner you call your prospects, the higher the recall rate and the better the chances of closing the sale. The catch is of course the National Do Not Call List. So ensure that the potential clients you call are on this list.
Finally, your success largely depends on The Reward, essentially the effectiveness of your incentive scheme.
I shall share below an example of my past execution of telemarketing as a sales generating tool. In this instance, our discussion is centered on the small business, with tight operations and marketing budgets.
For effective telemarketing, you could consider training one or two existing staff to spend 30% to 50% of their time conducting telemarketing out of a potential client listing generated from your many events and campaigns as well as existing client lists. And Viola!! Leveraging on existing manpower resources, you have created a new channel of distribution!
Handpick staff who have tact and are able to take rejection, and practice, they will start converting the leads to sales, and start earning! Remember, Telemarketing is a prolong activity channel which yields results over time. Persistence and positivism is essence.
In terms of rewards, on top of their usual salary, you should incentivize your telemarketers with a generous percentage of telesales revenue generated by them. This is especially viable for business costs which run on incremental variable revenue model. For instance, if your business is leveraged upon total fixed cost, and any revenue above your fixed cost is variable revenue or profits. Hence, any amount generated by your telemarketers is essentially variable revenue on top and above your normal fixed costs and fixed revenue.
Yoshiko Choy is an entrepreneur and a management consultant in business & marketing with 17 years of experience in Locals & MNCs as well as an avid online marketer. She holds an Executive MBA with
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How To Improve Call Center Effectiveness
June 13, 2008
One thing that customer service call centers dread is customer backlash and this is something that is becoming all too common for call centers all over the world. Disgruntled customers choose to do business with a rival instead of you because you could not offer them the after-sales service that you promised. When customers consider their trust to be breached their reactions include a poor perception of your company, reduced likelihood of doing business with your company, and almost no chance of recommending your company to a friend.
Customer call centers invite trouble when they deviate from the maxim that an existing customer who has paid good money deserves respect; ironically most businesses are aware that it's easier to retain a customer than go for a new one.
Poor customer perception of business call centers is not industry-specific. Its spread across industries covering businesses of all sizes. Too often, businesses lose sight of customer requirements and in an effort to improve operational efficiencies they cut corners and try to reduce costs. This affects call center performance.
If you are running a call center, you should know where the trouble lies; here are some of the issues that are pet customer peeves
Having to make more than one call and then talking to more than one customer representative
Having to stay on hold, deal with IVRs and a menu that is anything but easy to use.
The absence of dedicated executives, so that each call is a new beginning where the problem has to be explained afresh.
Poorly trained executives who more often than not escalate the issue to their seniors while you are put on hold.
If you wish to improve your customer's experience when interacting with your call center, here are a few things that you need to understand -
Time and effort devoted to offering customer service should not be viewed as an avoidable cost, also your call center is not a cost center it is a profit center which if run properly will get you a very quick ROI on what you put into it. It also means that you have to select your call center
A successfully closed issue helps a great deal in retaining a customer.
Only trained staff can deliver consistent results so focus on training the staff, quality control. Attrition can prove to be a drain on your resources so work on retaining the experienced and talented staff.
Remember there are a lot of intangibles and trifles that lead to improved customer call center performance which in turn enables you to achieve sales conversions. Empathize with your customer and you will be handsomely rewarded for it. Do not forget that it also means that you have to carefully select your call center
Piyush Bakshi is a full-time content provider working with Gate58 which owns http://www.vendordemo.com
Putting the "Service" Back in "Customer Service"
May 17, 2008
by: pianopl123
The future of customer service is here. Technology has made seeking out support faster and easier than ever. But, has your digital age company sacrificed true service in the name of automation?
Today, finding customer support is as simple as writing an e-mail or picking up the phone. But, even though you're not face-to-face with your customers, you still leave a lasting impression. Do you come across as caring and competent, or menacing and mechanical?
Offering stand-out service on the Internet isn't as hard as it is rare. Take these simple steps towards old-style service in the digital age:
Give Each Customer a Personal Response
Be Clear, But Sincere
Offer Live Customer Support
Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All the Answers
Give Each Customer a Personal Response
When a customer sits down to e-mail your company, it's because he needs help. He chooses e-mail because it's quick, but his request still warrants a satisfying and personal response!
Companies eager to save time and money often take automation too far in their customer support. Each customer has a unique question, and deserves a unique answer. Even if you save time by copying and pasting stock replies, change the opening and closing to make the message sound less robotic.
Be Clear, But Sincere
When responding to customers' e-mail, be sincere and to the point. Before sending a message, try turning the tables. Ask yourself, "Would this answer satisfy me if I were the customer?"
Take that extra moment to give your customer the help he deserves. It might mean the difference between a satisfied customer and a credit card chargeback!
Offer Live Customer Support
E-mail has become an acceptable form of communication. But, live customer support is still necessary. The plethora of information available online can be overwhelming to customers, especially those new to the Internet!
Single your company out from the crowd by providing customers with a real person to talk to. Live phone support is an invaluable way to foster trust. When your customer has reached the end of his Internet rope, and just needs help, your toll free number is the answer he's looking for.
Make Sure Your Support Reps Have All The Answers
The presence of phone support will do no good if your staff doesn't know your product! Customer support reps should be warm and friendly, and willing to help with any aspect of your product.
What a good feeling it is to talk to someone who feels confident in his product. It's even better if he's knowledgeable enough to solve your problem without transferring you all around the company!
Provide Stand-Out Service; Gain Lifelong Customers
Too many e-businesses skimp on customer service, hiding behind web sites and message boards. Customer support is an integral part of every company, even those operating solely online. Be one of the few to offer stellar service, and gain customers for life!
Article Source: http://www.ArticleStreet.com/
Feedback is a Gift
May 16, 2008
Martin Haworth
Feedback is a gift - when done properly.
The very word strikes fear into the hearts of millions of workers every day, because the only time they get feedback is when it is delivered by a manager who wants to criticize - yet put a bit of positive spin on it.
Ever been there.
I know I have and it sets off that internal groan, because you know just what's coming.
Feedback is a gift - remember that at the start of this piece?
It can be a gift where used constructively, consistently and with goodwill.
It is available to all of us, all the time, whether we are a manager or an employee with a manager.
It is available two-way and when used that way is a valuable tool for developing everyone in your organization, department or team, however big you are, however small.
In fact personal self-feedback can be the 'holy grail' of development, where we get to be thoroughly honest with ourselves about how we are doing (and accepting self-praise when it goes well).
Back to others - how do we get feedback to work so that people really embrace it rather than run away from it?
Here are ten little tips to help you get the best from Feedback:-
- Be Consistent!
Be consistent and give regularly - be a model for others to observe and then do themselves. - Receive Feedback Yourself
By personally asking for and receiving feedback you will receive much more you can use positively than to your detriment. - Value the Potential
We get too little truth in our lives as managers. People are nice to us face-to-face and then talk about us behind our backs. Feedback opens up the loop. - It's About What, Not Who
Feedback is about the behavior, and not the individual. It's saying that you do a great job and this time what happened in detail. What did you 'do', not who are you. - Lose the Criticism
Always offer feedback and then, first ask them 'What went well?', and once you have given them time for that, 'What might you try differently next time?' And after they've said their bit, do it for them yourself. They will appreciate recognizing their own performance first. - Look to the Future
Growth opportunities present when they see the possibilities and usually, they see them for themselves first. Thus ownership of a new solution in the future gives hope and excitement and evolution of performance. - Be Unconditionally Constructive
By avoiding negatives and 'but' you will engage rather than put off. Your people will be with you rather than against. - Deliver Promptly
The best time is in the moment, at the time or as close to is as possible. If you give your feedback at the first opportunity, you will find it is much better received. - Open Your Questions
Ask discovery questions with ease - there is no falseness, nor discomfort. Indeed the use of this questioning skill binds the relationships they are so good at making. The 6 Wise Men do this best Who, What, When, Where, How and Why. - Provide Support
Whatever the learning from this regular and consistent feedback you are using (two-way), there may be the need for ongoing support and coaching - be sure to offer it.
Feedback a much underestimated and much maligned business opportunity, ready and waiting for you right now
For more, checkout the Feedback page on the website, from which some of this information was taken.
Enjoy!
Copyright 2006 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com
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© 2006
Coaching Businesses to Success.
"Used by permission of
www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com"
Customer Retention Team Development
May 6, 2008
By Diana Liffick
Handling account cancellation calls goes by many names. Whether you call it simply “Cancellations” or “Customer Saves” or “Membership Retention”, it’s all the same thing: bad news.
Here are some pointers to give your team to help turn bad news into good news more often every day.
Use the tools your company provides for customer retention, such as special deals or V.I.P. services, when it might be applicable.
I always had representatives on my “saves” team who were repeatedly not offering the deals that we provided, but couldn’t understand why they weren’t saving enough customers. Adopt the motto, ‘Use what works!’
Don't sound the same on every call — unless you get the same customer with the same reason for canceling on every call. Remember “Bueller? Bueller?” Avoid that. And musicians whose songs all sound the same get flamed for it. Mix it up! Sound alive.
All of the truly, honestly successful “saves” representatives I dealt with sounded personable, and customized how they handled every call to that specific customer.
Remember nothing "always" works "every time". In fact, avoid saying “always” or “never” unless it’s really applicable.
You might have representatives who quickly dismiss customer retention methods after they do not work on one or two customers. Comparing the conclusion to your, your team’s, or your company’s large-scale tracking of what really works with the rep can be helpful in keeping them from abandoning good customer retention methods.
You have to really WANT the saved customers. You must be truly DETERMINED to get them. They will not just fall in your lap all the time — you have to earn them.
That is to say, representatives don’t have to be full of longing — they just have to be committed to succeeding in order to do so.
Constantly develop and adjust save maneuvers. Even if you can’t help but sound the same on every call, if the ways your company handles the competition isn’t cutting it, then there isn’t much you can do besides pass that information ‘up the chain.’
Your company needs to stay on top of the competition, as well as problems that can cause customers to cancel. Listen to your representatives when they tell you why customers are leaving and what your company needs to do about it. Don’t quickly dismiss all feedback from the front lines just because some or most of it isn’t going to help.
Hopefully, these tried-and-true tips that I learned will help your team be very successful at saving customers from canceling their accounts. Remember, if you are properly coaching a representative, using the standard feedback cycle, until it becomes obvious that they will never ‘get it’, then ask yourself, Why are they taking only customer retention calls? Their skills should be re-evaluated to see where they belong. Good luck!
How to Help a Boss Who Holds Bad Meetings
May 1, 2008
By Steve Kaye
Suppose your boss consistently holds bad meetings, but doesn’t seem to recognize that this is a problem.
What can you do?
Here are some possibilities.
First, be careful. Some bosses consider any type of coaching to be an attack on their performance. Then they become defensive. If this is the case, you may have to endure bad meetings held by your boss. Attempting to help such a boss could damage your career.
However, if your boss is friendly and open to suggestions, any of the following ideas may work.
1) Offer to help with some small part of a meeting that would make the process more effective. For example, you could prepare the agenda for a meeting. As part of this task, ask your boss questions such as, “What is your goal for the meeting?” “What result do you want to have at the end?” “What do you think is the best way to accomplish that result?” etc.
2) You can also (conversationally) ask guiding questions such as those listed in #1 above when your boss schedules a meeting. Even if you boss refuses to answer them, these questions will make him think about his goal for the meeting. And that can help him work more effectively.
3) Give your boss a book on effective meetings as a gift. Tell him that you bought it after hearing another manager brag about how much it has helped (e.g., earn a raise, get promoted, be complimented by senior management).
4) Conversationally (such as during lunch) mention that you read an article about meetings that told about a “really great” technique for . . . . (something such as preparing an agenda, or making decisions, or etc.). Offer to give your boss a copy.
5) Confront your boss directly with an idea, such as “I think our meetings would take less time if we had an agenda.”
6) Ask your boss to use a facilitator for a meeting. A skilled facilitator will show your boss what an effective meeting is like.
7) Ask your boss to buy a workshop on holding effective meetings (because everyone else needs it).
Ask the people who are responsible for training to schedule a workshop on effective meetings. This works best if all of the managers are invited to the workshop. Then your boss must attend.
9) Wait until your boss complains about bad meetings. Then ask gentle questions such as, “What makes you upset with that?” or “What caused that?” or “What should they have done?” Perhaps, such questions can lead your boss to discovering what needs to be done. Note: most people believe what they say (and doubt what they hear).
10) Complain about someone else’s meeting. For example, you might say, “Wow, what a waste to time. There was no agenda and no one knew what to do. We just sat around and talked about everything except anything that mattered.”
If your boss refuses to accept any encouragement to change, then wait. People who refuse to improve their work skills seldom last. In fact, your boss’s boss may already be upset with the time being wasted in bad meetings.
Steve Kaye helps leaders hold effective meetings. He is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator, author, and speaker. His meeting facilitation and leadership workshops create success for everyone. Call
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Kaye
Management Coaching Tip - Hire Smart or Fire Dumb
May 1, 2008
People buy from people. And people will buy a lot more from other people when they receive authentic and excellent care specific to what they are buying and even more importantly what they are experiencing.
I was watching a video You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School when once again I realized that a lot of smart business people in management roles truly do not hire smart and that results in them firing dumb.
Hire smart means that you hire for great attitudes, for respect, for the simple acts of being polite and kind. You can teach your products and services, but it is far more difficult to teach how to be nice to people. Management Coaching Tip: Find individuals with the necessary self-leadership skills.
Fire dumb means that firing people who you should not have hired in the first place is costing you a whole heck of a lot of money. You were dumb by hiring them. This stupidity is draining your various banks accounts and not just the one that holds your greenbacks. Your other bank accounts are: productivity, performance, progress, perseverance and potential. Management Coaching Tip: Your banks accounts are also your operating systems or Points of Potential.
One of my mentors, Michael Sleppin, shared this story about visiting one of his clients who was complaining about all the "numbchucks" in his organization. Michael in his very simple and direct manner asked this question: "Who hired all those numbchucks?"
Many companies go to great lengths to find the right person. Personality tests are given, background checks are undertaken and yet there is still a lot of dumb hiring going on. Part of this reason could be the fear of lawsuits and to the shortage of qualified workers.
Of course, the K-16 educational process does not help nor does the disconnect between today's parents and their children. However, organizations can still hire smart. They will need to be just a little more innovative and discerning in their hiring process.
How are your leaders doing within your organization. Get this free self leadership skills checklist.
What other strategies are you using to leverage your human capital? This free customer loyalty audit may help better understand how to cultivate loyal customers by turning them into raving fans.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith, chief customer officer with offices in
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leanne_Hoagland-Smith
How to Become a Call Center Café Contributor…
April 30, 2008
Post Your
Do you have stories to tell about the call center industry?
Are you a call center professional? Do you have something to say? Do you know great ways to drive performance?
This is your opportunity to get recognized.
The Call Center Membership Staff is looking for contributors for our site. Our goal is to provide our members with a variety of information and topics related to Call Center Management, Quality Assurance, Training, Technology, Customer Service and Sales. Anything related to the call center.
This is a great opportunity to post your articles and promote your call center, training or leadership related business on a very high traffic call center site.
If you are interested we would like to here from you. All you have to do is send us a note to our contact us form.
Simply put in the Subject Area: Contributor
This is your opportunity to gain exposure and to speak up. Make sure you take advantage of this as soon as possible.
Thanks!
The
Manage Call-Center Performance With Business Metrics
April 30, 2008
By Sam Miller
Platinum Quality Author
Today’s call center is not something about phone calls, it’s a separate business that can… no it MUST generate revenue. It must provide company with fresh ideas, must help company to get new customers and archive business goals, it must work 24 hours a day, live response must be accessible within few seconds. Finally, the operator’s response must solve customer problems immediately, must save customers that wished to cancel service and must generate revenue.
There are various viewpoints on call center - operator view point, customer view point and management viewpoint. Customer wishes the problem to be solved. Operators’ job is to solve the problem, actually operators’ job is to find correct information quickly and provide it with customer in an easy to follow way.
What about management? These people always make things working properly. So what is the best thing that call center manager can do? How to manage call center efficiently?
The Balanced Scorecard approach is the best answer to these questions.
Balanced Scorecard is nothing, but the concept. It’s not a software tool, it is not a database, it is not an ERP system. Think about Balanced Scorecard as a combination of metrics and the rules of metrics management.
The key rule for managing metrics is to put them in proper order. Metrics must represent actual business (calls, operators, expenses and revenues), metrics must be grouped. It’s bad idea to create too many metrics and there must be some golden number of metrics suitable for your business. Let’s think about call center in terms of Balanced Scorecard and in terms of metrics.
The Balanced Scorecard concept suggests to use four perspectives to describe any business. Let’s discuss the most important perspectives and metrics associated with these perspectives.
Financial perspective. The key idea here is “call center must generate revenue”. It’s a good idea to measure revenue per successful call and the cost of call. Financial perspective will give you an idea about conversion rate. Making more and more calls is not a good goal. Good goal is: “Make 20% more calls, keeping conversion rate about 4% and keeping our costs flat”.
Balanced Scorecard concept is about measuring. So when you have some metrics, describe the way you will measure them, specify the target values you wish to achieve.
The next perspective is Internal process perspective. How the phone call is handled inside the call center? Do you segment in some way your incoming customers? What is the average call-handling time? Is your call center service available 24 hours a day?
Learning and growth perspective. Coaching is what makes call center working efficiently. Team leader must spend time on coaching, manage must measure and control this time. Team leader must use different coaching methods, such as remote listening, sharing practices with agents, role-playing exercises. It’s good idea to measure these activities. Today call center management systems provides efficient technical background for a call center, coaching is what makes all this software systems work.
Finally, don’t forget about customer. From customer perspective consider measuring response time quality, customer loose rate and first-call resolution rate. It sounds simple, but these key indicators will help to re-think call center and make it performing better.
Call-center MUST generate sales, it must save customers and must return investments. The key concept is to measure and control call center performance with call center metrics and Balanced Scorecard concept. What tool to use to manage your metrics? Anything you like, in this case any spreadsheet software will work better than thousand-dollars business systems.
If you are interested in call center metrics and measuring business performance with Balanced Scorecard try Sam Miller web-site.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sam_Miller
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Call Center Leadership Skills
April 20, 2008
Are you a frontline leader in your call center?
Effective call center leadership makes all the difference in determining failure or success. I posted a video covering key skills needed by call center leaders. You'll find it very enlightening.
To watch the video click here to get to: Call Center Performance of the Frontline Leader
Here's a copy of the mind map I included in the video.
