* The calculations use average data for Russia
If you can't be polite yourself, leave it to the professionals. Something like this slogan would come out of the hands of a copywriter if he were tasked with composing a motto for one of the Moscow call centers.
Although in reality they do not write slogans or scripts for commercials, outsourcing call centers unexpectedly fell into the category of the most profitable and promising types of business in Russia. Domestic companies, like their foreign colleagues, have an urgent need for “new marketing” - the promotion of goods and services through telephone communications. But more and more people are refusing to organize their own contact centers.
DM increased the number of incoming calls of four commercial
call centers working on the principle of outsourcing, and talked
with their leaders about business, clients and personal lives.
Pass it on to someone else
“Many of our clients first became acquainted with the concept of “outsourcing call center” in the process of communicating with a manager,” executive director Anna Demidova tells me. “Many of them had to explain long and hard what our organization does and what kind of service this hotline is.
– Did you explain it to them yourself?
- Certainly. Managers called and had conversations. They talked about how and why we exist.
– And there was a result?
“Some tried it, and then remained our clients for many years.
Vallex began its work at the dawn of the development of communication services in Russia - seven years ago. Not everyone knew how to use mobile phones back then. And we only knew about such a service as organizing the reception of corporate calls from American TV series. Today, says Anna, there are much more people who understand what an external call center is and why it is needed at all than before.
“Firstly, Western companies came to develop Russian soil,” Anna explains to me. – As a rule, the work of all foreign corporations relies primarily on the work of call centers. This includes politeness towards the client and attention to his needs and wishes. Somehow it happened that this service was brought here to us like a strange fruit. And we were inspired by the idea and fell ill with it. The “wonderful fruit” that call centers offer their clients is services for receiving incoming calls, as well as direct marketing – telephone sales. They appeared in the USA in the mid-1970s. Americans, with their characteristic habit of idealizing human individuality, began to prove to the world that the influence of the human factor on business development is enormous. They decided that at least 60% of the success of any company depends on how politely its employees communicate with the client on the phone. By the early 1980s, call centers providing corporate communications services began to open in the States one after another.
“As a result, the market for commercial call centers in America has grown so much that now almost every second citizen of the United States can boast that they work or have ever worked in servicing a call center,” says call-general director Madina Betrozova. – But in Europe the idea did not take root. There are significantly fewer call centers there. But in Russia there is noticeable active development of the niche, especially in the last three years. It is interesting that the so-called internal call centers, that is, call processing departments built within companies, are gradually giving way to external, outsourcing corporations. Such call centers are independent companies and enter into contracts on the principle of transfer of operator powers.
“So far there are more internal call centers on the market than outsourcing companies,” says Anna Demidova, “but the situation is gradually changing. Call centers within a corporation are expensive to build. And again, recruiting personnel, purchasing equipment - all this puts an extra burden on the shoulders of company owners. Today they have begun to understand that hiring someone from outside and paying for a package of services is easier and cheaper.
The services of call centers are especially actively used by banks, large trading companies and manufacturers of consumer products, whose offices are literally bursting with a huge number of interested calls. Clients are mainly medium or large corporations. This means that call centers practically never have small projects. Any order is a tangible profit that pays back thousands of rubles spent on creating a call center.
“By the way, not only those who do not have their own contact centers turn to us,” says Demidova. – There is great demand for outsourcing communication services among those companies that cannot cope with the flow of clients. Or, let’s say, this situation: an organization has a technical service that acts as a service center that operates online. There is no telephone help service. We are ready to take on this work ourselves. This is called "partial provision".
Cost of call center services
| Name | Payment (price) |
| Preparation by the operator and administrator of the project “active telephone sales of products” | 5 000 |
| One successful call | 30 |
| Sending an email, 1 pc. | 10 |
| Receiving one call, client consultation | 20 |
| Placing one order | 30 |
The cost of services will vary depending on the market price. Initially, we set the price a little lower than our competitors, but after six months we will begin to gradually raise it.
Time is money
“This is for you,” Olga Naletova, managing manager, treats.
In my hands I find myself holding the legendary Red October candy “Bear Bear”.
“Very nice of you,” for some reason I again stupidly look at the reproduction of Shishkin’s masterpiece that I have already seen a thousand times.
- Turn it over. Take a closer look,” Olga advises.
Compound. Manufacturer's address. And finally, a ten-digit number. Red October hotline.
“This is a phone number that anyone who doesn’t like the candy can call,” explains Naletova. – Or someone who wants to know something about the composition of a product. Perhaps someone just wanted to chat after a hearty lunch. This number is called a hotline. This is a kind of guest book or a book of complaints and suggestions - only by phone.
Hotline is a very popular service in the call center market. It is she who is in great demand among customers. The client pays for every minute of conversation with the operator. And such calls can arrive up to 500 or more per day.
– Why do we need hotlines? - Olga asks me again and gives the answer to the question herself: - Previously, it could be said that the presence of a hotline emphasized a certain status of the company. Now everything is much simpler. This is the loyalty, politeness, and care shown by a company about its clients or customers. This is how corporations make it clear to each of us that the opinion of each client matters. Customer feedback, it turns out, matters. Sales of many services and products increase when the hotline is active. It is very significant, Olga is convinced, that today not only Western manufacturing corporations, but also Russian companies, such as Red October, are showing interest in the services of call centers.
In general, experts explain, all services that call centers offer to their clients can be divided into two groups - incoming and outgoing calls. Outgoing calls – questionnaires, surveys, so-called telephone sales.
All three types of services are not in favor of call center owners.
“Our company undertakes both surveys and surveys,” Olga Naletova tells me. – But these are very often one-time projects. They let us do a survey and left until the next survey. Hotlines are always on. These are long-term projects. And time is money. And for us, you know, it’s better if we spend more time talking.
Another outbound service is direct marketing. This is most often a call with offers to subscribe to a newspaper or sell some services for installing equipment in offices and homes. Call center owners undertake this task the least often. And there are objective reasons for this.
“The problem with outgoing calls is that they are not paid per minute,” Madina Betrozova explains the situation. – Most often, from the database of companies given for calling, they are asked to collect a certain number of people interested in the service. Let me give you a simple example. The company installs dedicated Internet lines in residential buildings and offices. Those who agreed, for example, to temporarily use the Internet from the entire database of 3,000 phones given to us - 100 people. We are paid only for these hundred contacts. Nobody cares how much the amount will correspond to the time spent on calls. They pay for results. And often income does not cover expenses. Therefore, such projects must be approached very seriously: do not jump into them right away. Our company tries to focus on incoming calls.
Both Hot Lines and Vallex agree with Madina. Manager Yana Kotivets speaks out in defense of outgoing services.
– Many people are afraid to take on sales. There are rumors that this is a very unprofitable business. I can say that my center lives from sales. No matter what anyone says, this niche is the least filled, and as a result, services are in great demand.
Yana’s secret, perhaps, is in the special training methodology that she developed for her operators. But, one way or another, she gives preference to this service.
Incoming calls are a hotline, a helpline, an office secretary, an information line, and technical support. All these services are based on the fact that every minute of time spent by the operator on a call is paid by the client.
This same series of incoming calls also includes such an outlandish service as phone sex. Among all my interlocutors, only Yana Kotivets mentioned her.
– And does this service bring tangible profits? – I’m interested.
- No. I closed the phone sex line. In my opinion, this service does not bring any profit. Because in addition to telephone communications, today there is the Internet and a lot of other sources for people to receive such virtual services.
Phone sex does not work, but, experts say, the “workplace rental” service is in great demand.
- How is that? – I’m surprised.
“Nothing surprising,” Madina Betrozova reads my thoughts. – The company rents ten workstations from a call center and places its own operators in them. Often, the girls and boys working for us simply cannot understand all the nuances of the products offered by the customer. Then this is the optimal solution. Companies save on purchasing equipment and receive the service they want.
Callelective question
While waiting for General Director Madina Betrozova, I remember a scene from one of the episodes of the cult American TV series. “Smile, you can hear it on the phone,” the nameless call center manager said in it.
“Smile, you can hear it on the phone,” I automatically record the conversation between two operators behind me.
I look around the operator's room curiously. Each workplace has its own number. “You will be the client,” commands the girl at the computer number 95, addressing her neighbor. 96 obediently nods her head.
– Good afternoon, you are greeted by the company ****. “My name is Anna,” chirps 95. - What is you name?
“Olga,” answers 96.
- Dear Olga! We offer you... - then a continuous flow of information flows onto the 96th.
She diligently pretends to be a client and tortures the girl with a variety of questions, while expressively “sorting” and stuttering.
Training is a fundamental part of the life of any call center. This is where you should start creating your own call center. Trainings for newcomers and those “moving in” to the project are held in all companies without exception. Operators must be aware of any features of the product they are presenting. The task of the manager in this case is to organize a training center or to engage in “education” and “cultivation” of operators himself. In some cases, customers themselves send specialist trainers to the enterprise, but this is only an exception to the rule.
The head of Respect, Yana Kotivets, chose the second option. She explains the simple truths of direct marketing to her operators every day. Yana has developed her own methodology for training personnel working on the telephone. She says any of the operators can be taught to sell. How is her secret for now.
– It turns out that operators for outgoing and incoming calls are trained using different methods? – I clarify.
- Most often, yes.
Her colleague Madina Betrozova explains:
– Personally, I generally distinguish between managers who take calls and those who are involved in sales. For outgoing call operator positions, I hire people with a more creative approach. And incoming service requires more organization: the operator must give the client only the information that currently interests him.
Personnel, says Kotivets, are a constant headache for the owner of an outsourcing call center. And many leaders agree with her. Today many people become operators - former housewives, students, even disabled people. But the turnover is still high. As they come, so they go.
“Many consider this work as a temporary option,” explains Yana. – Some people are simply tired of the sweatshop system: sometimes you have to talk on the phone for 8, 9 hours straight without stopping.
According to estimates by company heads, at least 10% of employees change every month. The norm is 25%. For the most part, these are not supervisors or managers, but rather operators.
– It is very difficult to maintain balance in such a team. For people to want to stay, they must be treated with understanding, Anna Demidova is convinced. – In our call center we focus on relaxation. Our operators can rest thirty percent of their paid working time. Let's say if an operator works a nine-hour shift, then he spends three of those nine hours on breaks. Of course, we create a special schedule according to which this rest time is evenly distributed throughout the day. But we have achieved amazing results: the percentage of the team subject to change has reached about 5–6%. This is a very low figure. Some people who even leave us later come back.
Another problem is discipline in a huge team.
“As a rule, it starts with someone who behaves impolitely with clients, and everyone starts repeating after him,” says Madina Betrozova. – We try to catch such “worms”. We have special people who monitor conversations and identify unscrupulous operators.
And it happens that not only operators behave dishonestly at work, but also technical staff, who, under the pretext of being busy, often avoid performing urgent tasks.
“There is a scheme that I can tell you about,” Yana Kotivets lifts the veil of secrecy. – I hire all personnel without exception on the following terms: part of the salary is salary, and the rest is interest from transactions. Even the system administrator and technical director at my center depend on how well the operators work. The system administrator in my company will never put off fixing equipment until tomorrow, because he knows that if he does this, he will lose money.
Search for clients, advertising
Before starting a call center, a business entity should think about how to attract the attention of representatives of large, small and medium-sized businesses. To do this, he needs to conduct an advertising campaign:
- distribute leaflets, business cards, booklets;
- advertise in the media;
- create an official website and entrust specialists with promoting it to the top;
- develop a competent commercial proposal and send it to all organizations in the city by email, etc.
Your own shoemaker
– Who pays for the promotion of hotline numbers on TV and in newspapers, and their placement on billboards? – I ask Olga Naletova when the topic of renting turns out to be exhausted.
– Companies pay themselves.
Madina Betrozova says that it is television advertising of hotlines that provides the main influx of calls.
– It turns out that companies themselves pay for your advertising?
“You could say that,” Madina smiles.
- Well, do you somehow declare yourself? – I return to the advertising topic.
– We declare, of course. On the web mainly and in reference books. Internet works better. The specificity of b2b services is such that the average consumer of advertising - a television viewer, a passenger on the subway - remains on the sidelines. The business is too specific. Our client will not look in the newspaper or look for information about us on leaflets. In fact, many people come to us based on recommendations.
“Word of mouth,” entrepreneurs share their experience, works no worse than the Internet. 50% of clients contact us because they heard about a call center from someone.
“But we call and talk about ourselves - we practice making outgoing calls this way,” Madina Betrozova reveals the secret of success. - It’s just a sin for a shoemaker to have no boots. At first, that’s all they did: they called and announced themselves.
Purchase of equipment
A pleasant surprise will be that large investments are not required. All you need is a computer or laptop (and the simplest configuration is enough) and a headset connected to it.
Prices for headsets vary - from one and a half thousand rubles for budget models, to three thousand for good and popular ones.
We recommend not saving on equipment for call centers and in particular on headsets. Higher quality (and therefore more expensive) models have a noise reduction function, thanks to which several employees can work comfortably in the same room. In general, thanks to good equipment, you will save extra “squares” and money on “partitions”.
To be or not to be?
– Is it worth starting if you don’t have a suitcase with a million hidden under your bed? - I asked during a conversation with Olga Naletova.
- Why not? – she smiles.
– Well, you say: equipment – half a million.
– How did people get along before? “Hotlines” began with a multi-line telephone and a single project. Of course, if you just install a Sony or Panasonic line, you will not have automatic call processing, automatic accounting. But you can easily handle one or two tasks in Excel. We once did this.
“Everything big once started small,” Madina Betrozova adds optimism to Olga’s words. “So I think it’s only fair that you take the easy route.” From a small call center to a medium one. From medium to large. Moreover, it is not necessary to equip a hundred places at once. Twenty operators are enough for the first time.
- You can grow up. The main thing is to go forward and not stop,” Anna Demidova, the head of Vallex, agrees with her colleagues.
Project risks
| Risk | Solution |
| The emergence of strong competitors in this area, displacement from the niche | Analyze the audience qualitatively, choose a familiar field of activity, develop a loyal pricing policy, improve the level of service |
| Equipment failure, serious communication problems | Purchase high-quality equipment, sign contracts with trusted communication providers |
To organize a business, you should foresee all risks in advance and include in the budget a reserve amount for updating equipment and changing telecom operators. A call center business plan with calculations will help you plan all costs correctly, where we will take into account all the mandatory expenses for opening an office.
Down with boredom!
“If you are a financial director or, God forbid, a coordinator of a project, you are probably familiar with this state,” General Director Yana Kotivets explains to me.
– Which one exactly? – I smile incomprehensibly.
- This is unbearably boring
- Yes you? How boring is it if you are a director?..
“Morning coffee, reading newspapers, looking at reports sent by mail, lunch, signing some papers, reading newspapers again,” Yana curls her fingers. – For most bosses, this schedule is the norm. If your working day goes like this, welcome to the call center!
My interlocutor knows firsthand about the work of a leader. She herself was once a big boss in a corporation. He says that in that other life it was boring. In the career of every director, Yana is sure, there comes a special moment someday. You understand that the mechanism you are leading is debugged to such an extent that it needs you as a leader to the extent that it needs you.
Only for the call center manager everything is different. Constant trainings with operators, regular reports on the services provided to customers, the eternal search for oneself in the market - this is so captivating due to its infinity, Yana convinces me, that you can’t even dream of any other job.
As I understand from a conversation with Yana Kotivets and my other interlocutors, the desire to constantly move forward is the main trait that a potential call center owner should be endowed with.
– You need to invest heavily in equipment and personnel. Whether you will get a return is not clear. In this regard, the owner of a call center is a person who is not only able to move and work, but can also take risks, adds call owner Madina Betrozova to the description.
