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Telemarketers, List
Brokers, and Sales Teams Adapt to Do Not Call List, Offshore Call Centres,
Outsourcing, and Voice-Over-IP era.
Changes in the business environment and rapid technological
developments have inspired innovation and adaptation in the telemarketing,
list brokering, and sales industry. But the new landscape has proven
to be treacherous enough to put many small telemarketing and data brokers
out of business altogether, and has reinforced the existing market-driven
trend towards greater reliance on ‘offshore’ call centers.
(PRWEB) July 20, 2004 -- To trick a phrase, it turns
out that reports of the death of telemarketing at the hands of federal
and state "Do Not Call" (DNC) lists have been greatly exaggerated.
As in other highly competitive industries, changes in the business environment
and rapid technological developments have inspired innovation and adaptation.
SalesLeads.tv, a Florida based lead list broker, is one niche player
in this industry that has responded quickly to the new legal and market
challenges facing its clients and partners. The "Do Not Call list"
and "surveyed lead" solutions it is now offering its customers
demonstrate the kind of agility that has enabled some companies to ride
out the turbulence shaking up the industry.
The 2003 roll out of the National Do Not Call Registry,
overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, broadsided many telemarketing
firms, despite the great deal of public interest, controversy and lobbying
by business and consumer groups that attended its creation. The DNC
list has been extremely popular, and already the database contains the
names of over 62 million Americans. There have been numerous spectacular
fines levied against both large and small companies in several states,
and the FTC has likewise signaled its intent to prosecute violations
of the Registry system to the hilt. Fears of punishing fees and legal
costs have rippled through the telemarketing industry, even as the American
Teleservices Association and other advocacy groups have attempted, unsuccessfully
thus far, to contest the DNC legislation. According to SalesLeads.tv’s
principal John Fischer, these fears are well-founded: "If you’re
not in compliance with DNC, which means for starters having a SAN number
and working from scrubbed lists, then you are running a huge risk of
being fined into the ground, and at the very least you’re wasting
your time with deadbeat leads."
The new landscape has proven to be treacherous enough
to put many small telemarketing and data brokers out of business altogether,
and has reinforced the existing market-driven trend towards greater
reliance on ‘offshore’ call centers. SalesLeads.tv works with
many call centers based overseas, and Fischer reports that a high percentage
of these companies initially have problems understanding and navigating
the FTC regulations: "A lot of these outfits are strong on the
logistics end of marketing and other teleservices, but they can benefit
immensely from experienced consulting and updates on the list management
side."
Another strategy that SalesLeads.tv has developed in
order to stay competitive in the current high tech market is, ironically
enough, a renewed focus on pre-qualifying leads through their “survey
room” the old fashioned way: by calling ahead and getting permission
for the first sales contact. SalesLeads.tv’s lists are generated
through data selects based on customized demographic and industry criteria,
the individual leads are then approved by a compliance officer, and
finally the prospects are called and screened. In the case of qualified
investor leads, for example, the original list is created using Dun
& Bradstreet data, the leads are reviewed for compliance, and then
a consultant calls and introduces the product and reads a 'risk disclosure'
agreement.
This method is applied by SalesLeads.tv to both DNC purged
lists, and "CAN SPAM" compliant leads. The goal of course
is to “opt out” prospects before they reach the telemarketing
center or sales team, thereby eliminating a potentially costly inefficiency.
So far, the results have been promising, and Fischer sees cause for
optimism: "It was definitely hairy at the end of 2003, but we’ve
managed to recover nicely by listening to what the market and the lawyers
have been telling us, and we’ve been able to pass our knowledge
along to our clients, explain to them how the game has changed, and
at the same time prove to them that the opportunities for doing business
in this field are still tremendous."
CommPartners Chooses
INFONXX Directory Assistance
CommPartners, a national IP network operator and Voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) wholesale telecommunications services
provider, has chosen INFONXX to provide directory assistance services.
INFONXX is the world's largest independent provider of directory assistance
and enhanced information services.
Bethlehem, PA (PRWEB) March 9, 2005 -- CommPartners,
a national IP network operator and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
wholesale telecommunications services provider, has chosen INFONXX to
provide directory assistance services. INFONXX is the world's largest
independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information
services.
CommPartners, headquartered in Las Vegas, will be expanding
its network to cover over 90 percent of US calling areas through 2005,
with current and future subscribers receiving services from INFONXX.
The directory assistance provider has employed a standards-based Voice
over Internet Protocol network to deliver its services for the past
three years. As CommPartners’ network expands, the carrier will
directly connect to INFONXX using IP technology.
“We selected INFONXX for these services in part
because of the overall strength of their platform,” said CommPartners
VP Operations Mike Burke, “and also because they offered us the
opportunity to connect to a VoIP system already in place.”
“CommPartners is a trendsetter in the VoIP marketplace,”
said Margaret Scholl, INFONXX North America CEO. “Being able to
serve VoIP providers with our open standards, flexibility, and customer-focused
solutions gives them powerful tools to serve their callers with proven
information services.”
About CommPartners
CommPartners is a leading nationwide VoIP network and solutions provider
for privately branded, turnkey VoIP services and IP-to-PSTN interconnection
carrier services. With a robust, proprietary nationwide network that
will cover over 90 percent of all telephone LATAs, and with CLEC certifications
in all 50 states, CommPartners delivers innovative, value-added VoIP
services at highly competitive prices. In addition to world-class network
engineering, CommPartners provides back-office support such as billing
services, a 24x7x365 Network Operations Support Center, as well as frequent
sales and marketing training programs complete with customizable sales/marketing
tools and a dedicated Partner Support Team.
About INFONXX
INFONXX is the world's leading independent provider of directory assistance
and enhanced information services. As the largest independent directory
assistance supplier in the world, INFONXX delivers customer-focused
solutions through technological innovation, flexible service transport
options and industry-leading product offerings to wireless and landline
carriers, corporations and educational institutions in North America.
INFONXX has consistently ranked among the best of the industry in all
aspects of customer service. In the United Kingdom, the Number 118 118
has become Britain's leading directory assistance service for consumers
and businesses. Based in Bethlehem, Pa., USA, INFONXX employs thousands
of customer service representatives and support personnel who manage
over 210 million listings at 10 locations around the globe. For more
information, visit http://www.infonxx.com/.
Learn more about the VoIP-driven directory assistance
and enhanced information services provided by INFONXX. Join us at Spring
2005 VON Conference & Expo at the San Jose Convention Center in
San Jose, California from March 7 to 10. Visit us at Booth 1420.
INFONXX, Inc.
3864 Courtney Street, Suite 411
Bethlehem, PA 18017
USA
610.997.1000
888.463.6699
610.997.1050 fax
www.infonxx.com
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