Have you ever {designed|developed|created} {a great|a fantastic|a terrific|an excellent} marketing {strategy|technique|method} and been {frustrated|annoyed|irritated} to {find|discover} that the {company|business} you {designed|developed|created} it for did {a poor|a bad} {job|task} of {responding to|reacting to} the telephone leads it {generated|produced|created}? {Worse|Even worse} yet, did they {fail|stop working} to {properly|correctly|appropriately|effectively} track the leads that would have {shown|revealed} {just|simply} how {successful|effective} your marketing efforts {actually|really|in fact} were?

{A good|A great|An excellent} call center is {a critical|a crucial|a vital|an important} {component|element|part} of your marketing efforts. It can {provide|offer|supply} you with {a consistent|a constant} {process|procedure} for:

{Capturing|Catching|Recording} leads
{Qualifying|Certifying} them
{Scheduling|Arranging|Setting up} the next {step|action} in the sales {process|procedure}
Tracking the source of your leads
{Measuring|Determining} the {effectiveness|efficiency} and {cost|expense} of your marketing {campaigns|projects}
What is {a good|a great|an excellent} call center? Whether it is {an in-house|an internal} call center or {an outsourced|a contracted out} call center the most {important|essential|crucial} {step|action} in having {a successful|an effective} {collaboration|partnership|cooperation} is to have a single point of contact at the call center. That {person|individual}'s {job|task} is to {coordinate|collaborate} with both you (the marketing {manager|supervisor}) and the sales {manager|supervisor}. The {goal|objective} is to {create|produce|develop} {an effective|an efficient|a reliable} {process|procedure} for filling the sales pipeline with "{qualified|certified}" {prospects|potential customers} and {providing|offering|supplying} a smooth hand-off to the sales {team|group}.

You {should|ought to|must|need to} not {have to|need to} be a call center "{expert|professional|specialist}" yourself. You {need|require} a call center contact that can {act as|serve as|function as} a guide and do {a great|a fantastic|a terrific|an excellent} {job|task} of interviewing you about your marketing {campaigns|projects} and your {goals|objectives}. The call center can't {properly|correctly|appropriately|effectively} {prepare for|get ready for} callers unless they {have|have actually} asked you {questions|concerns} like:

Source: What will be {generating|producing|creating} your {responses|reactions|actions} (ex. {direct mail|direct-mail advertising}, print {ads|advertisements}, radio, {TV|TELEVISION}, {etc.|and so on})?
Volume: What will the volume and pattern of {responses|reactions|actions} be, what time of day will they {come in|be available in|can be found in}, and {how much|just how much} time will it {take to|require to} {handle|deal with|manage} {each one|every one} (ex. {ten|10} calls a day, {spread out|expanded} {evenly|uniformly|equally}, {during|throughout} {business|company|service|organisation} hours, that take one minute each OR one hundred calls, {all at once|at one time|simultaneously}, at 1am, that each take 15 minutes)?
{Duration|Period}: Will this be {a continuous|a constant} marketing program or is it {a temporary|a short-term|a momentary|a short-lived} {project|job|task}, a test market, or a seasonal effort?
{Goal|Objective}: What is the {goal|objective} of the call (ex. to {capture|catch|record} a lead, schedule {an appointment|a visit|a consultation}, take an order, {etc.|and so on})?
{Information|Info|Details}: What {information|info|details} will the call center {need|requirement} to {capture|catch|record} from each {prospect|possibility}?
Qualifying: What are the "knock-out" {questions|concerns} that can be {used|utilized} to {eliminate|get rid of|remove} unqualified leads?
Caller Expectations: What expectation should they {establish|develop} with {prospects|potential customers} about what will {happen|occur|take place} after the call?
Follow-Up: Who will be {assigned|designated|appointed} to {receive|get} "{qualified|certified}" leads? If more than {one person|a single person|someone} is {assigned|designated|appointed}, how will they {determine|identify} who {should|ought to|must|need to} get each lead (ex. by {type of|kind of} {service or product|product or service}, by {location|place|area} of {prospect|possibility}, by time of day, {rotated|turned} {evenly|uniformly|equally}, {etc.|and so on})?
Dispatching: How will leads be dispatched and how {quickly|rapidly} {should|ought to|must|need to} this be done (ex. by phone, {e-mail|email}, pager, {etc.|and so on})? How should leads be {prioritized|focused on}?
{Accountability|Responsibility}: How will they {create|produce|develop} a system of {accountability|responsibility} for sales {people|individuals} and reporting to the sales {manager|supervisor} and the marketing {manager|supervisor}?
Tracking: What {information|info|details} {should|ought to|must|needs to} be tracked for reporting {purposes|functions} (ex. {number of|variety of} calls, time of calls, call length, source of lead, quality of lead, {salesperson|sales representative} {assigned|designated|appointed}, {etc.|and so on})?
Measurement: How will the {final|last} {cost|expense} per lead and {cost|expense} per sale ({include|consist of} both "front-end" and "back-end" {costs|expenses}) be {determined|identified|figured out}? How will the {average|typical} and the {total|overall} {value|worth} of each sale be {calculated|determined|computed}?
Post-Mortems: What {should|ought to|must|need to} be {reviewed|evaluated|examined} in a post-mortem (ex. what {kinds of|type of|sort of} {questions|concerns} did {prospects|potential customers} have, {were there|existed} any {misunderstandings|misconceptions}, what {percentage|portion} of {respondents|participants} were unqualified, what {changes|modifications} could you make in your {advertising|marketing} to {improve|enhance} the {percentage|portion} of "{qualified|certified}" {prospects|potential customers}, which {ads|advertisements} {generated|produced|created} the most "{qualified|certified}" leads at {the best|the very best} {price|cost|rate} per lead, {etc.|and so on})?
In addition to asking {great|fantastic|terrific|excellent} {questions|concerns}, your contact at the call center {needs|requires} to have the {expertise|proficiency|knowledge|competence|know-how} and experience to {add|include} {value|worth} to the {process|procedure} - {creating|producing|developing} {effective|efficient|reliable} scripts, {mapping out|drawing up} {processes|procedures}, {explaining|discussing|describing} {capacity|capability} {constraints|restrictions|restraints}, {recommending|suggesting|advising} {appropriate|suitable|proper} {technologies|innovations} for {salespeople|salesmen} to {interact|communicate|engage|connect} with, {etc|and so on}. {A true|A real} {professional|expert|specialist} can {often|frequently|typically} {recommend|suggest|advise} {options|choices|alternatives} you {may|might} not {have|have actually} even {considered|thought about}.

It you feel the {need|requirement} to micro-manage a call center, this is a sure {sign|indication} that you {lack|do not have} {confidence|self-confidence} in the {person|individual} you are {working with|dealing with}. If this {is the case|holds true}, you {may|might} {need|require} to {look for|search for|try to find} another contact or, if you are {outsourcing|contracting out}, another telephone answering service. {Collaboration|Partnership|Cooperation} is the most {important|essential|crucial} {key|secret} to success.