Written by – Cory R. Lewkowitz – President

What exactly is a “contact center hour” anyway? It’s not just 60 minutes anymore…

Let’s be frank. You haven’t become successful in business without recognizing value when you see it. And that’s been the key to your success…understanding value then moving on it quickly.

So, with that in mind, what you’re going to find below is that we have redefined the notion of an “hour.” It isn’t just an hour anymore…it’s an hour so full of value you’ll wonder how we could possibly pack that much “stuff” into it.

What you get for your Contact center hour…

Contact Center Representatives

We hire quality contact center representatives to be the “voice” of your company. We know that by outsourcing your call center project you are entrusting us to represent you the way your own trusted employees would.

We take that responsibility very seriously. That is why Offsite Kinetics’ puts our contact center representatives through a variety of training programs that teach the importance of handling each call as a unique opportunity to build your business.

The training our agents receive serves additional functions as well. First, it reduces turnover. Industry statistics have shown that your project will have a much greater chance of success with a happier Agent.

Second, we continually strive to make incremental increases in the skill level of our agents. There is a natural learning curve associated with every campaign. We start and use our training sessions to shorten that curve as much as possible.

Our contact center agents are the men and women on the leading edge of your marketing campaign and we give them the tools needed to succeed on every project.

Account Manager

Once you have decided to use Offsite Kinetics as your contact center of choice, you are assigned an Account Manager who will run your campaign. Your Account Manager is the leader of your team and will be your main point of contact as your project kicks off.

You are in good hands. Your Account Manager is an organized and professional marketing expert who will be responsible for not only helping to set up your campaign, but implementing it as well. Two-way feedback, between you and your Account Manager, will be paramount to your project’s success.

Quality Assurance

Each day or week you will receive a report that details the activity of your campaign from the previous day or week. This report will offer you valuable feedback as to how your campaign is progressing. In addition to this report, you will also receive regular feedback from your Account Manager relating to all aspects of your campaign. This feedback will come from the contact center representatives and the Account Manager who are assigned to your campaign. This gives you ground level feedback from their viewpoint. This information is extremely powerful as it provides such insights as to how your script flows, places in the script where prospects are cutting the agents off, objections that are being raised, quality of data, etc.

With this information in hand you and your Account Manager will be able to have constant communication and can then make any necessary changes to your campaign to maximize your response rates. We have seen seemingly small changes made to scripts based on the information gathered from the Campaign Feedback Form that have drastically improved the response rates of those campaigns. So, take full advantage of this valuable feedback.

Script Assistance

No one understands your business better than you do. We understand that you have the greatest insights on how to connect with your prospective customers and present your message in a way that is in harmony with how you do business.

However, we also understand that writing a script can be somewhat overwhelming so, after you fill out our Campaign Questionnaire, you will conduct a brainstorm marketing meeting with our qualified and experienced experts so that we can understand your business and products as well as what you are looking to accomplish with a campaign. At that point, we will work together with you to write an effective script which will accomplish your goals. The script will get constant review for its effectiveness. If necessary, the script will be “tweaked” and perfected on a continuous basis. We consider a script to be a “continuous work in process”

Technology

We have made significant investment in building the right technology so as to completely maximize your investment dollar. We have spent considerable time and expense to implement our dialer technology to maximize dial efficiency without compromising call quality. Furthermore, the monitoring and reporting of our system allows the client to monitor their campaign and obtain a wide variety of reports whenever they choose.

What that means to you is using our system and technology you can optimize the efficiency and results of your campaign better than hiring a call agent off the street and putting them to work in your office. That fact alone makes outsourcing your call center project the right business decision.

Long Distance

Some contact centers charge additional fees for long distance. We do not. Due to the annual volume of our projects, we have been able to negotiate deep discounts with our long distance carriers that are simply out of reach for most businesses.

By including those highly discounted rates as a part of our standard hourly rate, we pass those savings directly on to you.

Contact Your Account Executive today…

We are committed to providing you value the Offsite Kinetics’ way…by giving you more than you expect with an eye on your most important objective, maximum Return-on-Investment.

The next step is to contact your Account Executive today and experience an “hour” as you have never experienced it before. We are excited to work with you and help you build your company beyond your greatest expectations.

Written By – Cory R. Lewkowitz – President

Funding for nonprofits and charities has always been a delicate balance of matching the funding source with the nonprofit mission and values. Over the past few years many funders have seen a reduction in their gift-giving, which has significantly reduced the funding potential for previously supported nonprofit organizations. In a tight economy, those patrons and donors who could be depended on for contributions are not as forthcoming as in previous years.

But, the need for the services provided by nonprofits has not diminished; if anything, the need is now greater. Not having the margin to fulfill the mission is a fear of many struggling nonprofits. The need for fundraising has never been greater. Yet, many nonprofits and charities are still using the same approach to fundraising by staffing a Development Office and embarking on traditional funding campaigns to generate capital from lists of potential donors.

Telefunding and Telemarketing

Telefunding is a way of raising capital using the same list of potential funders that receive an appeals letter. Telefunding does not take the place of the appeals letter, but adds support to the fundraising effort and underscores the urgency of the need. The nonprofit develops the appeals letter, along with a script for the telefunders to follow that supports the mission and need identified in the appeal.

Identifying the Supporting Donor

The most effective telefunder is a person that is a friend of the nonprofit. It could be a Board Member, or any other volunteer from the community. Many nonprofits use independent telefunder organizations because of their ability to reach maximum numbers of potential funders. These organizations work with the nonprofit to develop appropriate levels of giving appeals, as potential funders should be offered every opportunity to contribute something, even if it is not at the premium level they sponsored in the past.

This is one of the benefits of utilizing an experienced telefunder. They can help you develop a total giving package that will result in generating maximum support.

Benefits of Telefunding

•Increase giving – an annual campaign is only as good as the number of people it reaches. Telefunders are used as a support to remind potential donors that the need exists.

•Identify new supporters – often nonprofits keep going back to the same funding sources. Telefunders can identify brokered lists that will expand the potential funding base.

•Targeting campaign – the bank of telefunders mount an intensive outreach campaign to reach the maximum numbers of potential funders during the annual campaign.

•Consistency of message – the nonprofit provides the telefunders with a prepared script, along with other salient points about the nonprofit. One message is delivered throughout the community by experienced marketers who are trained in customer service.

•Personnel efficiency – telefunders allow the employees of the nonprofit to concentrate on their jobs during the annual campaign, instead of concentrating on making marketing outreach calls. Telefunders can also contact potential donors in the evening hours. Telefunders helps the nonprofit get their vision and mission in front of as many potential donors as possible.

Written By – Cory R. Lewkowitz – President

As you know in a business split-up, each principal covets control of the existing phone number and the business opportunities it represents. Calls can continue coming to the old number for weeks, months, and (thanks to the internet) even years after the dissolution.

Offsite Kinetics offers a number of different services, and our Remote Telephone Reception Service is a perfect solution for this problem that can arise out of corporate divorces.

Using our Remote Telephone Reception Service (RTRS), the dissolving firm forwards its number to our staff of professional receptionists who answer the calls with the greeting the parties or their counsel direct. We screen the callers, determine which party they seek, and just like any other office receptionist, we place the caller briefly on ‘hold’ and immediately inform the intended recipient (anywhere in the world) of the availability of the call. Once they accept, we will connect them to the call, live, just as if they were in the office.

Flexibility is the key. The parties and their counsel can prescribe how “cold” inbound calls (where the caller may be responding to an old ad and doesn’t know to whom they would like to speak) will be handled – for example, such calls might go to Partner A on one day and to Partner B on the next day, or otherwise be handled as the parties may agree.

With our RTRS, the owners do not have to worry that their phone number and inbound calls are being hijacked or squandered.

Written By – Cory R. Lewkowitz – President

One of the best marketing practices today is lead generation. It will cultivate interest in your produce or service and can turn that interest in to new customers. Generating new leads is important for sales professionals to maintain a constant stream of new customers that will raise profits for the company and commissions for the sales department.

The right approach to lead generation depends on the type of industry. Direct contact with the public by meeting individuals who should have an interest in your produce or service is possible at trade fairs, conventions and other events where sales personnel hand out cards, network and make contacts that will be mutually beneficial.

Advertising directly in publications or websites that cater to the demographic that may have interest in your product or service is another approach to lead generation. To generate leads in a specific locality, it is good to show interest in the local community by sitting on boards or charities or other public interest organizations. An aggressive form of advertising is handing out free samples or small objects such as key chains or note pads with the required contact information for your company.

Once a person makes contact they become a lead and more information about them is required. It is important to know if they have children, travel a lot, have a swimming pool or are planning a wedding. Personal information is required to make the lead feel good about your company and become a customer.

The best part about lead generation is that it benefits both the buyer and the seller. The seller has a prequalified lead who has already shown an interest in the product or service. The seller can make their sales pitch to someone who wants to hear it. The buyer, on the other hand, receives information from multiple companies who offer what the buyer wants. They can get information and make an informed choice, possibly bringing down the price by asking for competitive offers.

Lead generation is extremely cost effective. The percentage of leads turning to customers is far higher than the percentage of turning cold calls to customers. Companies can determine their prices on a per lead basis as well as the product or service they offer. This is especially beneficial for real estate companies.

The number of leads a business receives each month can be controlled according to their marketing budget, and they need pay only for the leads they receive. The business can select the geographical area where the leads will be generated. All of this makes lead generation a tool, not hit or miss and hope for the best.

The best way to find out if lead generation will improve your business and raise your profits is to try it. It will bring more business into your company and greatly increase your ROI. It will be part of your advertising strategy, and when the leads come pouring in, your sales department will need to have their best marketing skills ready to turn the leads into customers. Lead generation is a two way street. Your company gets the interested lead and your salesperson needs to follow through with the right strategy for that person or company and close the sale.

Lead generation is not new, but it has changed from person to person over days or weeks to light speed with the internet. Forms can be available online through affiliate marketing and pay per click advertising that only need an email address from a person interested in what you have to offer. That address will be in your inbox along with twenty others everyday.

Written by Christopher Perry – Executive Vice President

When choosing a contact center it is important that you choose carefully. The contact center is an extension and a reflection of you and your business.

Price is usually the first thing considered but is the least important.

ROI is the most important factor when it comes to pricing.

How to find the right center for you?

Get to know the management behind the agents.

Does the management and agents understand your business?

Do they understand the nuances of the culture you do business in?

Do they know how your customer thinks?

These factors play a major role in ROI.

Anyone can make calls for you but not anyone can grow your business.

Written by Cory R. Lewkowitz – President

Leads are the driving force behind a successful business. They identify a person or entity that is interested in an available service. Leads come in many forms, such as emails, telephone calls and sign-ups. Sometimes gossip proves to be an effective lead generator – people talk to other people about the things they need.

Lead conversion is the process of turning leads into solid business transactions. Once the lead is qualified to be a potential sale, it can be followed.

Here are 5 lead conversion tips:

1) Contact leads immediately.

Successful salespeople know that time is of the essence when dealing with leads. Once the inquiry hits your desk, call or email the potential sale. If you wait too long, the lead is likely to go somewhere else with their business.

Leads are people and people appreciate quick responses. If you need to use an automated response, such as an email account, do so. Just make sure you contact the lead immediately.

2) Create a follow-up system.

It takes more than one call to close most deals. To up your lead conversion rate, you need to create a follow-up system. This includes calls, emails, newsletters and even stop-bys.

By creating a follow-up system, you keep yourself fresh in the mind of your leads. The quickest way to lose a sale is for the prospect to forget about it.

3) Anticipate the objections.

Knowing how the lead will respond to your pitch is half the sale. By having a “script” – a memorized set of lines – you will be able to disarm their worry. Look at the situation from their perspective and anticipate the objections they may have. If you do that, then you will have a way of circumnavigating those objections.

Address such issues as location, price, capability and potential.

4) Don’t strong arm.

As a salesperson, it’s already difficult to endear yourself to a lead. You don’t need to bully them. Using strong arm tactics – contacting too often, being rude or mean, degrading their experience – will only sink you further into a hole most salespeople never get out of.

Be polite and sincere. Show that the sale means as much to you as it does to them.

5) Ask for the sale.

For some reason, people are afraid to ask for things. The fear of failure may be the cause of this phobia. When people go in for a job interview, they do everything but ask for the job. Some people find it needy or desperate to flat-out ask for what they want.

If the business meeting has gone well and the lead likes what you are offering, go ahead and ask them for the sale. “Would you like to buy?” or “Shall we sign the papers?” are perfectly acceptable questions in the business world.

Asking for what you want may actually lead to you getting it.

A lead is a nice thing to have. It means that someone is interested in what you are offering. That’s important. But without lead conversion, that potential client will remain an unfulfilled prospect, a hunch at best.

Follow these 5 lead conversion tips and you will turn “browsers” into buyers.

Written by Cory R. Lewkowitz – President

In the always evolving business world, companies are constantly looking for ways to get a leg up on the competition, and one of the most effective ways for a company to distinguish itself from its competitors is by identifying potential customers and marketing your product/service directly to them. The current global market allows customers to purchase goods and services from anywhere in the world, and telemarketing is a proven way to increase revenue and gain exposure that a company might not otherwise get. Telemarketing is utilized by several different types of companies such as charities, alumni organizations, political organizations and private companies offering products and services. Since most companies do not have the resources or expertise to establish a telemarketing operation, they enlist the services of a contact/call center whose sole purpose is to sell the products/services of their clients. If you or your business are considering implementing telemarketing to your business plan, here are the top ten reasons to enlist the services of a contact/call center:

1. Customers gain easy access to your products/services- A contact/call center’s primary responsibility is to find prospective customers whose profiles from previous purchases match those that your company is providing. Contact/call centers have access to databases of potential customers and also have connections with brokers who can provide contact lists to the firm. These resources allow TSRs (Telemarketing Service Representatives) to only contact individuals who might have an interest in your product/service, allowing for an efficient use of resources an time.

2. Callers trained specifically in customer service- Contact/call centers train their Telemarketing Service Representatives for the specific purpose of contacting potential clients and promoting your product/service. TSRs are skilled, and have extensive experience, in dealing with a variety of people from different backgrounds and communicating effectively with them.

3. Your employees can focus on what they are best at- Outsource Telemarketing allows your employees to focus on the tasks and responsibilities that make your business successful in the first place by continuing to produce quality work. Rather than asking your employees to do a task they are not comfortable with, which may also divert focus from their normal responsibilities, it may be more efficient to enlist the help of the experts at a telemarketing firm.

4. Diversify your clientele- In a global market, contact/call centers have access to databases of prospective customers from all over the world. In addition, many TSRs are multi-lingual, allowing them to communicate with customers from all over the world and ultimately bringing your business to a demographic it might not be able to reach otherwise.

5. Create a phone script- Contact/call centers are experts at what they do, so if you are having trouble effectively communicating what it is that your business can do for customers, telemarketing firms can draw on a wealth of experience and expertise to develop the perfect script that highlights the benefits of your product/service.

6. Report and track results, revenues and sales- Contact/call centers are able to track and report all the information you deem vital to maintaining success and efficiency. Generally included as part of the fees, contact/call centers track total sales, total revenue and the total number of calls made. They can also track more specific statistics such as the revenue generated by different call lists, revenue generated by each TSR and which demographics are most likely to purchase your product/service.

7. Saves your business money on overhead- Hiring and training Telemarketing Service Representatives and management staff, while also installing the required telecommunications system and equipment can be an expensive and daunting endeavor for a business. Contact/call centers already have those resources in place and their TSRs are accustomed to learning new learning about new products/services, allowing for a quick turnaround.

8. Ability to test new leads- Contact/call centers are the ideal resource for testing new products/services. Before committing a great deal of resources to something that is unproven, you can determine how successful your product/service is at an affordable cost.

9. Ideal for seasonal business’ or products- Instead of investing in the resources to promote and sell a product/service that is only viable for part of the year, your business can work with a contact/call center for the period of time when your product/service is in season.

10. You have tremendous input and final say- Nobody understands your product/service better than you and contact/call centers recognize that, which is why they welcome input from the companies utilizing their services. It is not uncommon for a company to send their best sales representative to train a firm’s TSRs about the company and product they will be selling. Companies also have input on how they want TSRs to communicate with potential clients. By providing guidelines on etiquette, the time of day calls are made, number of times calls are placed and whether or not to leave messages, the clients of contact/call center have all the control on how their business will be represented.

If you decide to hire a contact/call center, they should be thought of as a business partner who depends on you as much as you depend on them. If you work with the firm by giving them the necessary information to promote your product/service, and set the guidelines they need to represent your company in the manner you wish, it can be a successful partnership that is sure to leave both parties satisfied and profitable.