Qualifying Sales Leads using Call Centers

Many small and medium sized businesses that are contacted regularly by potential customers do not always have someone in sales to take the call. This could be for a variety of reasons; the most common among them is availability. For example, an electrician may receive a call from someone seeking a quote on a job while he or she is in the middle of a current project. In this situation, the call could be patched to their cell phone. This may not be the best arrangement because, even if the electrician is free to answer, there is no guarantee they can even accommodate what the caller needs.

This sort of situation is what has led many to using a call center for qualifying sales leads. By developing a set of criteria for the kind of customer they are seeking, they can make better use of their time and target leads that are matched to their core competencies. Some sales leads, of course, may still be of interest to a business despite not being fully in line with what they consider an ideal customer. The purpose of lead qualification is, in part, to screen calls. Call centers can also help marketing to these leads by collecting relevant information from callers as well as prioritizing them.

Call center support can be of use in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) context as well. Oftentimes a call center operator is the first point of contact for a business prospect when contacting a company. For this reason, many agree that a well-trained professional operator reflects well on a company. Beyond these positive first impressions, call center operators can enter lead information into web-based CRM applications for tracking the lead’s process. Instead of receiving an email with only basic notes and contact information, a call center can obtain as much customer data as a user requires.

The current trend towards “virtual office” type work environments has been facilitated by services and technology such as this, allowing businesses more autonomy with regards to where, when, and how they operate. These days, call centers can perform many more tasks than they traditionally have. Many have come to see call centers as a source of on-demand temporary staffing for certain business functions, rather than simply someone to answer a ringing phone.These two benefits frequently mean savings on everything from labor to equipment as well as increased productivity and organization.