Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

I continue to be amazed at the number of people who contact me for help with lead-generation, wanting me and my partners to fund it. Where did this concept of “pay-for-performance” in the call center space come from?

 

You cannot go to a restaurant and tell them you’ll pay, or not, based on the cook and wait staff’s performance. I cannot go to a retail store and take product home with a note that I will send payment based on the performance of the item I am taking home.

 

I understand that marketing budgets may be tight; or that money was lost on another call center that did not deliver as promised; or (a personal favorite of mine) that the client has  never been able to make lead-generation work so it have no more money—but still needs the leads.

 

My response to all of the above is “Not my fault!”

 

I do believe that the call center industry should take some responsibility for this pay-for-performance issue. Remember—your clients need help finding and using qualified leads, so do not sell your company’s experience and expertise short.

 

I propose an industry-wide resolution that will benefit the client, the call center, and the consumer. It is critical for the perceived value of our services that the client has realistic expectations. The survival of many small operations depends on our ability to rein these processes in.

 

Vendors: It is time to set uniform best practices regarding how, when, and if we will accept pay-for-performance work.

 

 

We should only take on pay-for-performance business if it includes valid production reports, showing profitability. If profitability cannot be proven, then we are merely funding marketing and sales initiatives. All too often, call centers in America are fuding such initiatives, to their own financial demise.

 

 

In the absence of the historical data proving a project’s past success, there needs to be a call of action from all call centers to require a paid test period. There can be break-even guarantees, discounted rates, or shared investment, but having call centers carry the entire burden is not smart marketing. If a company does not have any money to invest in these business-critical efforts, think twice about it.

 

This is required to prove commitment from the client. I firmly believe that no project will have long-term healthy results without a truly collaborative effort. If a client is not willing to really work with you and commit to something financially, then they are just poised to run and leave you in the hole if it does not work out.

 

 

Understanding the long-term data plan is crucial. Is there enough fresh data to maintain a roll-out at a similar level of performance? Will you be over-calling data and seeing decreased responses (therefore decreased revenue)? Often call centers are sold on the risk of paying for lead generation because of the selling done on the long-term roll-out potential. But, by the time you get done with some calling, you may find that only certain list segments will perform profitability, and your universe/market has shrunk significantly.

 

 

I actually once was contacted by a plastic surgeon in Hollywood who wanted me to accept a pay-for-performance, lead-generation project. Cold-calling for boob jobs? Hmm. The client did not want to discuss client profiling, purchasing data, or spending a dime until he had a lead. Sorry, no thanks. If I have money for marketing, I’ll spend it on my own company.