By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Last year my local phone company changed. There was much to-do surrounding this news, arriving in the form of frequent mailed communications and email messages and spanning several months. Throughout this, the phone company repeatedly promised that there would be no rate increases – all that would change was their […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I am the first to appreciate and embrace well-done and smartly executed outbound calling. I am also highly critical of and greatly annoyed by poorly executed telemarketing efforts. Another example for this latter perspective arrived at my office today, courtesy of my telephone. The call went like this: “May I […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD A while back, the Connections Magazine sales line was slammed with a phone call— for another company. The calls were from irate individuals trying to call a removal line of the fax service bureau that had sent them faxes. It seems that they had received an unwanted fax solicitation on […]
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Although outbound calling stats to vary by industry, campaign, and offer, they may look something like place 100 calls, reach 50 contacts, verify five prospects, and make one sale. At this point, you have a formula and calling becomes a numbers game. To sell more, you make more calls. You can […]
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD With the fall elections in the United States approaching, call centers that make automated and/or political calls should consider: Remember, just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right.
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD If your call center is only making EBR (existing business relationship) calls, you may think you have nothing to worry about, right? No. Just because it is legal to dial a number, doesn’t mean you should. Calling too often or for the wrong reasons could turn an EBR into a […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The TV special, Bombay Calling, provides a compelling exposé of an India-based outsourcing call center and the people who work there. In documentary style, it shows both the good and the bad in offshore call centers. Just as proponents of offshoring would find plenty to celebrate, opponents would likewise be […]
Past, Present, and Future By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD The most buffeted segment of call center work has been the outbound arena, specifically, consumer calling. With the combined effects of a public outcry against intrusion, political expediency, and the enactment of state and ultimately a national do not call (DNC) law, outbound calling to consumers […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD It seems that seldom a week goes by when I don’t receive a call from someone wanting to interview me. Sometimes it is a local newspaper, other times a specialty magazine. I was quite unnerved at my first interview request. I envisioned it being a hard-hitting, muckraking interrogation, intent on […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Since you are reading this column, it is highly likely that in some way or manner, you are in the call center industry. However, the question, “Are you in or out?” does not query your connection to the industry, but rather your participation within it. Those who operate call centers, […]