IMPORTANT FACTORS

For getting the maximum benefit from our highly professional call center services, please make note of the following guidelines.

The most important factors for a successful event calling program include the following:

• List quality
• Good planning
• Attractive offer  SEE EXAMPLES of previous promotions, event details, offers, etc)
• Dealership reputation with customers
• Your team/Inhouse follow up on our report which includes registered, maybe,  in the market/cannot attend, service appt request to coincide   with event, etc. 

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The standard formula for excellent results with a customized calling program is a minimum of 70 hours required for a list of 1000 contacts. The average calling rate is 20 calls per hour; the minimum time estimated includes an allowance for being put on hold, making multiple calls to the same person in an attempt to get tangible results and leaving messages with event details – requesting the prospect to call your key contact to register themselves.  We provide a unique, boutique approach to our professional level of call center services.

Productivity factors below must be noted.  The number of calls made per hour is directly affected by the type of script utilized; i.e. – qualification questions and/or the addition of survey type questions will require that   each call take more time, which increases the result quality but cuts down  on the results quantity.   

RESULTS QUANTITY Variables.  It must be noted that the phone script dictates the scope and nature of the calls and affects the productivity in these areas:

• The quality of the list: correct key contact name, phone numbers,   etc play a very important part in the efficiency of the calling. A good clean list will produce better results.   
• If addresses and other file information (ex: size of fleet) require updating, the number of calls per hour decreases because each call takes longer, improving the results but leaving less time for repeat calls.
• Defining the purpose of the call is an important component. If it is simply extending the invitation and reporting a head count for registration with no requirement for gathering additional info, it fits the standard formula mentioned above.  
• We like to know ahead what ratio of business numbers and residential numbers are included in your customer list.
• The project definition does not include our team sending emails      or faxes.  However, the purpose of the call and project report can include an indication that the prospect would like the invitation sent by fax or email. This does affect the calls/hr ratio.

We expedite the project productivity by creating a customized layout in    our contact management software, ACT, pre-set with drop down menus    for simple clicking of correct choice in dedicated fields - to facilitate the call by selecting predetermined possible results instead of typing after completing each call.  

CHECK LIST for EVENT DETAILS - (your agenda/promo) : 

Date(s)

Hours of event 

Location details (commonly used locally - corner of ___ & ___,  -  across from ___, etc) 

Special phone number if any

Your in-house contact person(s) if any specific (recommended) for receiving             customer calls when they call to register after we speak  with them.  

Your Offer:

-  Discounts

-  Free gifts for first 10 (other) sales . . . as an example

-  Financing Terms

-  Drawings – hourly drawings, door prizes, grand prize drawing

-  Attendance thank you gift  

-  Refreshments 

PARTNERING PRINCIPLES and STRATEGY 

• We recommend designating one or more contact persons for receiving  customer calls after we leave a message or talk to someone who is a Maybe and who may call to register themselves 
• Your final report is delivered by early AM the Monday prior to the event - we like having a full weekend to wrap up the calling. 
• Emails with hot leads or customers with concerns will be sent daily during the calling schedule
• We recommend that your inside sales team use our results for enhancing their follow up and the event success.  Unless otherwise agreed - your team  will attempt to firm up Maybe's - confirm Registered, follow up with In the Market (interested, but cannot attend), make reminder calls closer to the event start, facilitate service appointments      
• We partner with your internal sales team - and have found that    good communications in the planning stages is vital to success projects
• We welcome conference calls with your management/sales team .
• We will customize an event type to your specifications if it's not already on our services menu.
• We dig around in the mud and hand you the gold  - the best strategy is a layered approach. 
• We use simple results codes for your report
• We DO NOT deliver "false positives"   If you find any results that do not make sense - let me know ASAP; We have a quality assurance tracking system for your calling results.   
• We record the name of the person with whom we spoke 
• We deliver special messages as needed - such as: In the market, but not attending, Service Appt/Attend,  question about status on a part or other matter.
• We represent you well - always courteous, efficient & upbeat. 

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DATA BASE FORMAT  

• We accept Excel (preferred), CSV or Text - tab delimited, comma delimited   (must have column headings)  - if you do use multiple sources - I will “source code” before importing
• If multiple sources are used for your list, PLEASE send them separately to avoid column errors.
• We need only four columns: (1) First Name (2) Last Name (combined    first/last okay) (2) (mailing and/or email) Address (3) City/zip - if you are doing a mailing, (4) Phone number(s) -(NOTE: Residential numbers are more effective. Business numbers are called, but our experience is that we mostly end up speaking with secretaries or go into the office voice mail. 
• If you do include other columns (such as date of previous purchase, make/model/yr, etc) , we will customize our layout to accommodate them so that you have that data in your final results report – in support of using the updates to manage your database. 
• If the General Mgr or other management contact is not conversant in data base issues, it is essential to have your database person in touch with me for Project Planning.

We highly recommend that you scan for duplicates and remove all files with NO phone number if possible.