CallCentreVoice Topic Running a call centre

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Rashmi Khanna on 22/5/2003 07:40:18.
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Rashmi Khanna
Director
Protex Call Point

1 posts
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Running a call centre  [22/5/2003 07:40:18]

Hi!
We are in a process of taking on lease a 200 seat call centre in India, which had earlier been shut. The call ccentre has state of the art infrastructure complete with IBM workstations in lan by Cabletron, Alcatel multiplexers, cisco router unit, security solutions, predictive dialer, ACD & Call management systems by Lucent, AC, 200% power backup etc. There are however few issues we are unclera on.

1) Initially we want the call centre to run only in IB mode so need to know what are the additional infrastructure requirements at US end for setting up a gateway that would route all calls to india. Are their any companies (web addresses) that would help us in doing the whole exercise of setting this up and getting the necessary certifications at US end.

1a) Is IPLC the only solution at India end??

2) Can someone suggest a merketing model to market our call centre servcies. Are there any compoanies, websites etc. who can help find us leads.

3) If initially we operate at a capacity of 80 setas in each shift what would be the cost per seat approx. (here we need the network costs only at India and US end)

4) How does the client normally pay is it on per calls received or per hour per seat.

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Tarun Srivastava
VICE PRESIDENT
Vashi Transcribe

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Running a call centre  [22/5/2003 08:26:04]

Hi Rashmi!
Well instead of IPLC, you can use VoIP. But according to your description it seems like you have a complete set up for an IPLC based CC. If you want to be cost effective, then you can think of VoIP, as it is taking its place into the market very quickly. And even if you have an IPLC set up you can still look for the VoIP for some terminals and you can check with the companies that are providing complete solutions for VoIP based Solutions.
Thanks.

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Wiggle Puss
Market Development
K2 Solutions

47 posts
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Wecome Mr. Khanna  [22/5/2003 22:49:07]

Welcome to an already overcrowded industry, Mr. Khanna.

Since Mr. Srivastava looked at the IPLC question, I'll address

(2) companies/websites to help you find leads, and marketing model.

First, I do not want to seem harsh, Mr. Khanna, but if you have already taken on a lease *without* having already put VERY serious thought to these issues, all I can say is that you should be hiring very experienced talent with a strong, verifiable track record to manage your operation.

You are entering a *very* competitive market, one that by all accounts is rife with con artists (mixed in with genuine and competent business people). Read some of the other threads on this site, and that will tell you that much.

Plenty of people will offer to sell/broker you a vast array of leads, as soon as they know you are on the market. Just type "leads" into a metasearch engine, and you will see what I mean.

A large proportion of these offers will predictably be con jobs. The typical pattern is a *sample* of excellent leads to induce you to buy, followed by a stack of near-worthless leads once you do. I cannot offer you a list of sources, because your post does not tell me what kind of IB services you are looking at offering.

Obviously the leads you will be searching for depend on what kind of talent you have to offer, and what the track records of your senior management is. I do not wish to be harsh, but judging *only* by your post, I would have to guess that "not extensive" captures that track record nicely. If you have 400 PhD's to man the 'phones, you are aiming for very different leads than if all you have is 400-odd "lucid, erudite and loquacious" people.

You will find that IB is going to be a lot harder to get than OB-- basically because with IB, your overseas client's market reputation and customer base are at risk, based on your team's performance. We have done our research on this-- India is a *brutally* competitive market, where the claims of vendors have near-zero credibility until they are checked, thoroughly. The first question any buyer or middleman is going to ask is: have they done *this* kind of work before. IF the answer is no, unfortunately for you the buyer is more likely to set up the CC themselves, than they are to go with an unknown quantity.

With OB/Sales, any N. American/U.K. operation looking to outsource will do it on a pay-when-paid basis. If you sell, they get paid first, before you see any money. What you get paid will be pure commission. If you don't sell-- two weeks, and it will be goodbye Mr. Khanna, with little loss to them. The advantage with OB/Sales, however, is that *with the risk goes the reward*. You get a chance to prove yourself, and if you do it right, you will get more business.

I would suggest that you take all the money you would spend on marketing and put it into face-to-face networking, with the exception of producing a beautiful, functional website. Fly your top people to trade shows in your target market. Better yet, hire a Business Development rep in your target market, fly him or her out to inspect your facilities, staff etc., then have him or her network for business in your target market. Some of the people that post to this site might be a good place to start looking.

If what you want to do is OB, assess your target market, then hire someone *from* that region, who is a top-notch salesperson and rep trainer. Network backwards through your trainer's own business contacts to locate sales campaigns.

Best of luck.

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