News
Positive Approach have won a Two and a half year contract to train and develop Hammonds customer service team in all aspects of the role including culture change a pursuit of excellence and 1st call resolution. Tony Morris Sales director of Positive Approach said “ we are delighted to be involved with one of the biggest bedroom and home office companies in the uk. The fact that Hammonds have been established since 1926 makes our role even more pivotal and we are looking forward to them winning the customer service awards that the team so richly deserves.”
The Next Generation of B2C Outbound B2C Telemarketing
Companies are now starting to look at outbound more seriously and there are some simple rules which lend well to all forms of telemarketing
- Be careful about off shoring: At the risk of offending our many readers who are involved in off shoring, it's pretty safe to say that the vast majority of the best received telemarketing calls originate from the UK. Unfortunately, many of the low quality offshore vendors have left consumers with a very poor perception when they receive a call from overseas.
- The need to properly target data: The "hit and hope" methodology simply doesn't work these days even for the products or services with the most widespread appeal. If you don't have your own customer database to call, partner with someone who does and sell your products/services in conjunction with them. Conversion rates are much higher when speaking with an existing supplier or their partners.
- Remember that each call contributes to your brand: No successful company would publish advertising material without ensuring it meets all of their internal standards. Well, each call is a piece of advertising material which subconsciously impacts on a company's brand.
- Performance Management: This is probably the most important aspect. Outbound agents can be unpredictable if you don't know what fires them up. Good agents love targets and these targets should be based on the shortest possible time-frame (even hourly) to ensure your team is constantly focused.
- Innovation throughout the operation: Successful outbound operations can quickly lose their steam. Any operation which wants to remain competitive has to continually come up with new ideas for incentives, management and call approach otherwise they can become stale. Engage all of the team in the process to ensure maximum buy-in and increased motivation.
Conclusion
In an ironic twist of fate, the outbound industry finds itself in a more positive state than it could have been.
- In our recent survey on consumer opinions on off shoring, more people objected to offshore inbound centres than their outbound counterparts.
- Anyone who truly objects to the TPS has already registered. This has immediately removed the people most unlikely to buy from telemarketers.
- This article appeared in a call centre magazine in 2006. It is more relevant today than ever before. ONLY WITH EXCEPTIONAL TRAINING AND INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP CAN WE ENSURE THAT ALL OUTBOUND SALES OR TELEMARKETING OPERATIONS WILL SUCCEED.