SalesHQ

First I think you have to differentiate if it's inbound or out bound, and then qualify the difference between call center and telemarketing unit

And then are you?

list building

lead id

prospect qualifying

client conversion

 or customer retention

Each is a seperate value equation

Jack knows call center way better than me

I am a telemarketer /virtual salesman

Is the call center inhouse or outsourced?? and if it is outsourced then then to what county or state.

Outsourcing customer care may be a more efficient and cost-effective way for operators to handle customer inquiries.

Some analysts estimate that every inbound call center to the customer care center can cost the carrier at least $7.

Call centers have been used effectively in a bank setting. These operations are capable of running sales in one location and customer service in another. Teams can be set up for outbound and others for inbound. They can be defined by product type (mortgage, consumer loans,brokerage, etc).  They can be a salary with annual merit increases or a set base with a commission structure. The commission would be established on set goals. We have several different banks with call centers in the state of Wisconsin. I see their job postings.

well ok then :-)....my last position I was Account Executive for inside sales in a local office with about eight others...not a call center.  I worked for a major corporate business that I'm sure everyone has heard of.  We had a call center in another state that would follow us up sometimes (like we didn't already call the crap out of people), take our extra work etc....how it affected me..well it was a pain in the ass.  The sales people that called on my customers didn't know the market first of all....so my clients knew they weren't local, which isn't good especially when you are selling advertising products...knowing a market is key.  Then my clients would call me and ask if it was legit because they knew I was their real AE.  So in that instance didn't work out very well.  And to boot...a call center is why I lost my job....unless I wanted to move to another state and work at a call center...so now I'm a student.  Big corporate companies aren't looking at quality as much apparently...it is all about numbers an how they will get them.  I'll tell you consumers miss that quality.

Sorry to hear it Win. You know rarely is it the case but call centers are properly integrated into the team. On the selling field they should act as lead generators and those leads should pass to sales people for closing. However, my experience is that many sales people do not follow up which causes the call center to follow up which starts a cycle of blame.

Integrating as part of the business plan in a transparent way with goals that do not compete with sales tema members works. Most everything else tends to lead to derision.

This is getting interesting, Keep it coming  sales professionals. Jack take Sells list and start expalining. Remember this is educational.

Tho not currently involved with call centers, most companies I've been with (Telecom) had call centers. They were used for maintenance and to report service outages, take orders and were often the customers first point of contact with the company.  Many of the field reps looked at the call centers as a nuisance as they would sometimes inadvertantly get involved with a customer you had already began a sales process with. Sometimes they would give the prospect info which didn't quite match what the field rep had proposed, causing confusion, delays or even mistrust.

As an aside, Call Center technology & software is one of the services I am involved with selling. The technology has come a long way in improving the customer experience and improving internal communications. Unfortunately, many (not all)  of the call center managers I have met with are quite disrespectfull of their own customer service reps, often these reps have high turnover rates, low pay, lousy hours, incredible call volumes, must follow scripts and every second is tracked (via the software) and every call & keystroke may be recorded. Again, they are not all sweat shops.

I learned from another salesrep the value of  communicating with call center supervisors and customer service staff. Call em, Meet with them and take them to lunch (IF IT's NOT OUTSOURCED OUT OF THE COUNTRY) It goes a long way as they are often overlooked and unappreciated. Not only will you enjoy doing it,  When that first time prospect calls them you might just get that lead.

The problem with call centers is that 99% of the time up here in Canada we are talking to someone overseas, ie India, etc. and seriously, 99% of the time, no offense, I can't understand them.  I will even politely ask to speak with the supervisor, which I have found for some reason speaks English clearly.  It just does not make sense. 

 Lori that is a problem with comapnies that  do not see it as a problem. They feel that frustration will set in and the owner of the prdouct will eventually tire and let it go,Outsourcing is a huge problem with people who do not understand.

Call Centers overseas are a huge problem.  They continually hurt customer satisfaction.  I know Monster moved their entire call center operation from India to North Carolina due to customer complaints  I really believe that the companies that need to use call centers should look at seriously using virtual hiring such as Moms and retirees that can work from home.  This is very cost effective and provides a hugh help to the unemployment problems.

I agree, more of that should happen.  How about the government have people that need to start somewhere, train them virtually and virtually test them with dummy accounts to make sure it working,then let them work from home on contract till they are able to find a job in a field they want.  The may discover that sales and customer service is for them afterall.

There are several different methods of training and setting up a home office for CSR or Telesales positions.  You can install a VPN on the their personal computer or simply provide them with a LAPTOP. For the phones, they can add a line into the house or contract with a smart phone company and have them send them a phone.  This phone measures talk time, calls and disconnections etc.   All training can be done via GotoMeeting or a Webinar.  Very simple, inexpensive and a huge help for employment.  Also, there are people that need to work at night, evenings or weekends.  This gives the company and hiree a lot of flexibility.

This is a very good idea thoiugh you would have to convince companies to do this. In slow down times advertising and training usually are the areas that are cut.

Rich, is the call center you are using local?  One that you, yourself has some level of (and forgive the word) CONTROL over what is said, the attitudes involved and the ways in which the calls are handled?  How do YOU  KNOW when a customer has been treated well or not?  What is the procedure for discovering when a customer has not been satisfied by the call center?