Wouldn’t it be nice to have a steady, even flow of marketing inquires, responses and qualified leads throughout the year? Yes, definitely….but it’s typically not very realistic. There will always be spikes in inbound inquiries due to triggering events such as webinars, industry events, user conferences, marketing campaigns, etc. For many industries, there are also peak buying seasons when budget dollars are more readily available. Capitalizing on these peaks is critical to driving increased revenue.
So how can companies effectively manage peaks in their marketing calendar, telequalify all their inquiries and capitalize on buying seasons within their target markets? Adding headcount, particularly on a short-term basis, can be very difficult to get approved, and quite costly when considering the recruiting, hiring and on-boarding costs.
Alternatively, outsourcing your tele function can give you tremendous flexibility. However, you need to make sure that you engage the “right” type of tele partner – specifically one that’s focused on training, knowledge retention and proactively planning for your peaks.
Here’s how we do it at TeleNet…
- Core Dedicated Team – each of our clients has a group of “core” lead development representative (LDRs) – this is a dedicated team, which is an extension of our client’s marketing and sales organization. They’re kept busy and productive throughout the year, qualifying inquiries and proactively uncovering new opportunities within the market.
- Trained “Flex” LDRs – we proactively train an additional group of LDRs, who are able to jump in during expected spikes in inquiry volume and peak buying seasons (usually with just a 1 or 2-week notice). They’re also here to cover any planned time-off from the core team.
When it comes to scalability, one of the keys to our success is the depth of which we train our organization. TeleNet’s clients are not only supported by our LDRs, but also by an entire management and support team. Both groups of our LDRs (core & flex), as well as our program director, program supervisor and quality assurance specialist, participate in all client-led training sessions. Additionally, training sessions are recorded and archived, allowing sections to be revisited as necessary. Knowledge checks, call calibrations and quarterly training sessions are used to deepen our team’s comprehension, and ultimately our success. This approach creates a robust knowledge base at TeleNet, which is paramount to our knowledge retention, and ability to scale up quickly to meet increases in demand.
If you’re investigating how to more effectively scale to manage peaks and increases in volume, an outsource tele partner may be exactly what you need for success. However, make sure your tele partner is focused on training & knowledge retention, and has a proactive plan to meet your scalability requirements.