By Nathan Teahon, Vice President
What is the role of a managed outsource provider? There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that make up that answer. I have always said that we manage the work from A to Z and then I explain what that entails. However, it is also important to note that managing the work is very different from micromanaging the work. If we were in a position that we had to micromanage a campaign to make it work, then the value that we bring has been diluted. If I had to sum it up into one phrase, I think it would be the following:
The role of a managed outsource telemarketing provider is to find the most compatible call center for the calling campaign and to then provide that call center with the proper ongoing tools, guidance, and direction that will allow them to be successful and hit client goals.
Sounds good, right? But what does that mean? As I mentioned previously, there are a lot of pieces to that puzzle. Here are the top 5 pieces to that puzzle.
1. Call Center Selection
Proper call center selection is vital. At this point I have written more times than I can count that every call center is like a person. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Sure, some say they are good at everything, and while some do have a broader range of expertise, no one is a true expert at everything. It is my experience that some call centers are great at inbound customer service, others outbound marketing to current customers; others are great at prospecting, and so on. Call center selection is crucial, as everything that comes after can all be rendered moot if you don’t have the right partner for your client or program. This is also a difficult process that most clients struggle with because they aren’t sure what to look for. They look for all the bells and whistles but have a hard time seeing potential warning signs behind those bells and whistles.
There is a lot that goes into this process, and if you are interested in reading more I suggest checking out this article on call center selection.
2. Program Set-up and Training
Sometimes people will confuse a managed outsource provider with a broker. The two are completely different. A broker stops after call center selection, and a broker may not even put the same effort into call center selection because they know they won’t be engaged past that step. As I said previously, it is our job to put the call center in the best position to be successful. Most clients aren’t used to managing several outsourced telemarketing campaigns, and that is why they use a managed outsource provider. We take the hundred different pieces that are required to build a campaign and provide develop an all-inclusive package for the call center to ensure that the program is launched in the most productive manner. This includes everything from the development of reporting, the creation of the script, the data file layouts, compliance requirements, caller id specification, etc.
It’s during this process that initial key performance indicators (KPIs) are determined for the program. This is an important step as outbound marketing sales teams thrive on reaching their goals. Goals should be challenging to reach, but should never be so challenging that they are unrealistic. Nothing will demotivate a team quicker. I recommend checking out this article on how to properly determine your KPI’s.
In parallel with the program setup is the creation of the training materials for the campaign, and then comes the actual training for the program. This is a vital part of launching a successful campaign, but it is also important that training isn’t one and done. I recommend checking out this article regarding why ongoing training is crucial for all outsourced telemarketing programs.
3. Quality Assurance
I believe the old saying is “inspect what you expect”. We know that our call center partners have their own QA teams, but it is important to be listening calls together every week to ensure that everyone is on the same page as to what constitutes a great call. Additionally, quality assurance isn’t all about listening to an agent to see if they checked off all of the right boxes. It’s also about determining is the strategy right? Are customers responding to that line in the script? What changes to the approach need to be made? There are a lot of Do’s and Don’ts to proper Quality Assurance.
At QCS, we have our own quality monitoring tool that we created. I recommend checking out the following article about how the right tool and the right QA form can increase the quality of your outbound marketing calls.
4. Reporting & Analysis
As a managed outsource telemarketing provider, we pride ourselves on having the very best Client Services team that delivers top notch indepth reports to our Operations team and to our clients. When you have managed thousands of outbound marketing campaigns, the numbers can tell a story, both good and bad. The right reports allow Operations to help diagnose any potential issues and points to where they might need to look next to help cure the issue if there is one.
This process is equal parts science and skill, and I urge you to read more about how to use this information to fix your outbound marketing program.
5. Intelligent Urgency
Our team prides themselves on working every day with a sense of intelligent urgency. This is true both in how we handle our relationships with our clients but also with our call center partners. Urgency without a plan is chaos and a plan with no urgency doesn’t do anyone any good. It’s not about just working hard, but working hard and smart. We care deeply about hitting our goals and will put together a winning strategy to do so. Then we will take that strategy and work tirelessly to make it happen.
Nathan Teahon is the Vice President at Quality Contact Solutions, a leading outsourced telemarketing services organization. As a highly competitive person, Nathan brings his “A” game to work every day, ensuring that each of his clients wins on a daily basis. Nathan carefully balances the operations resources and client goals to ensure his clients receive the highest possible results at the lowest cost. Nathan is a true, born and bred telemarketer. He grew up in the business and intimately knows (and has played) every position on the field, including supervisor, quality assurance, call center manager, program management, account management, and call center psychologist. Nathan can be reached at Nathan.teahon@qualitycontactsolutions.com or 516-656-5133.
