Telemarketing Call Centers - Developing Business Regardless Of Legislative Hurdles

By Author: Daljeet Sidhu
Total Articles: 4762
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Telemarketing service providers are facing a grave challenge that has gained momentum in the past few years - legislation restricting sales calls. Regulation of telemarketing services has the votes of the general public and is also supported by both democrats and republicans. Though this puts some pressure on telesales, it is also an opportunity for quality service providers to show their worth by offering value to businesses and consumers.

Telemarketing regulations - a mutating challenge

The challenge of conforming to new restrictive regulations is further complicated by the constant changes made to them. Old laws are regularly revamped and new laws passed that often have overlapping jurisdictions. Telemarketing services have their work cut out in keeping current with changing laws and rules.

Following are some of the rules a telesales company must follow to avoid fines are:

* Curfews: You are not allowed to call consumers all day. There is a specific hours of the day within which the call should be made.

* Do-Not-Call lists: People who have registered on Do-Not-Call lists cannot be called. ...
... Telemarketers are supposed to make this check before making a call. There are a few exceptions when such numbers can be called. Do-Not-Call registries are managed at state and national levels.

* Licensing: Though not applicable in all states, vendors have to secure a license to operate. In some states the company has also to be bonded also. These requirements impose additional paperwork and extra fees.

* Mandating caller ID transmission: Consumers can use call screening to divert sales calls to voice mail or decide not to receive them at all.

* Content restrictions: There are laws that regulate what one call sell on the phone and even the way to market them. This is very limiting for sales representatives and sets additional vigilance.

Effective telemarketing - merging compliance and sales

Regardless of the many limitations, telemarketing can still be a part of a business' marketing mix. Companies can continue with their phone-sales initiatives by following these strategies:

* Optimizing on existing customer relationships: Law allows calling customers who already have a relationship with the company, regardless of her registration with the Do-Not-Call list. Cross selling to such customers helps the company keep doors open for future sales. To initiate a relationship with a new customer, loss leaders or selling low cost products during the first contact is an opportunity to develop the client base and improve the probability of generating more profitable sales at a later date.

* Supporting telemarketing with other marketing strategies: Companies typically employ multiple marketing strategies to promote products and offers. Marketing collateral such as newsletters,direct mail and email also work well to introduce customers to call center numbers and to secure their consent for calls.

* Getting permission to call: Laws also exempt instances where customers on Do-Not-Call registration list give consent to receive calls. Businesses can get customer's consent through affinity programs, contests or special offers.

* Being professional: The rationale behind such tight regulations around telemarketing is the indiscriminate cold calling practiced by unscrupulous call centers in the past. The calls came close to customer badgering and telesales faced a lot of flak for it. Quality telesales vendors maintain lofty standards by respecting customer's time and willingness to entertain a call.

New regulations, though limiting, have raised the bar for telemarketing services. With the elimination of unscrupulous service vendors, quality services can distinguish themselves with their services and strategies to get customer buy-in.
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Daljeet Sidhu. Read Telemarketing Call Center, Telemarketing lead generation blog. Signup for Lead generation