Industry News

November 2006

Telescan Completes Testing for ATSI Certification

Telescan and the ATSI Industry Standards Committee have announced that they have completed the testing process for Telescan’s Spectrum System.  The testing, which is a key step in certification, was conducted at A Better Connection in Gilbert, AZ, owned by Marcy Hewlett.  Roger Young, Telescan’s president, was present for the testing, which was conducted by Dennis O’Hara and Allan Fromm from the Industry Standards Committee.

The nine metrics that make up ATSI’s Standards Performance Measurements are: 1) average time to answer, 2) percent calls abandoned, 3) percent calls hanging up during VM prescreen message, 4) average time to hang up during a mandatory prescreening message, 5) average hold time (incoming calls prior to reaching an agent), 6) average hold time of held calls (incoming calls after reaching an agent), 7) average call duration, 8) average ring time, and 9) percent of calls answered in X seconds.  While these metrics do not represent all the metrics that are used in this industry, they do represent the key metrics necessary for commonality within the teleservice industry.  Telescan has incorporated these measurements into their system.

To find out more about Telescan, call 800-770-7662 or visit www.telescan.net; ATSI’s Web site is www.atsi.org.

ATA Pleased Over FTC Decision on Abandonment Rate Issue

The American Teleservices Association (ATA) announced that their supplemental comments to a petition to amend the abandonment rate effectively triggered the FTC’s announcement that it will request comments regarding amending the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) standard pertaining to how to measure the maximum acceptable abandonment rate.  “Although it appeared that the previous petition had stalled, subsequent comments and efforts by the ATA have created a new opportunity to address the problem,” stated ATA CEO, Tim Searcy.

An outbound call is “abandoned’ if a person answers it and is not connected with a sales representative within two seconds of the person’s completed greeting.  Both the FCC and FTC prohibit abandonment at a rate of 3%; however, they differ in their measurement standard.  The FCC’s standard measures the 3% rate over a 30-day period.  The FTC’s current standard is to measure per day, per calling campaign.  The dual standards and resulting confusion have caused many outbound contact centers to struggle to adhere to the two conflicting federal standards.

“The FTC’s current standard presents contact center management with significantly greater compliance obstacles,” added Searcy.

For more information about ATA, go to www.ataconnect.org.

TAS Marketing Reduces Commission Fee to 6%

Steve Michaels and TAS Marketing announced that they have reduced their commission fee for brokering a business to only 6%.

“We will still perform the services that over 375 happy sellers have become used to,” stated president Steve Michaels.  “Our full valued services include negotiating the deal, drafting the Letter of Intent, as well as drawing up the Asset Purchase Agreement, which in some cases can be over twenty-seven pages.  This is all done for the benefit of both the buyer and the seller so that the acquisition process goes smoothly,” added Michaels.

For more information about their listings or to receive a “full valued,” free appraisal, contact TAS Marketing at 800-369-6126 or check out their Web site at www.tasmarketing.com.  Michaels can be reached at tas@tasmarketing.com.

SNUG Updates Logo, Launches New Web Site

SNUG, the Startel National Users Group, announced a new Team SNUG logo and the launch of its new Web site, www.teamsnug.com.  Team SNUG is all part of the re-branding of the Startel National Users Group to emphasize the team efforts of SNUG, its vendor Startel, its members, and the industry as a whole. 

The new site is more user-friendly and includes new content and site resources.  An enhanced e-commerce section now allows the ease of ordering various SNUG products online, such as the agent and supervisor training DVDs as well as online conference registration.  There are additional resources and links included.  As before, there are public and Team SNUG member only sections.

Please visit www.teamsnug.com for more information.

Telescan Wins Award for Connections Ad

The Business Marketing Association (BMA) of St. Louis recently announced that Telescan has received a Targeted Advertising and Marketing (TAM) Award for their 2006 magazine ad titled, “Take Another Look at Telescan.”  The award was presented to Telescan and their agency, Marketing Alliance, at a ceremony in September.  This is the fourth straight year that Telescan and Marketing Alliance have received TAM awards for their marketing programs.

“We are honored that the Business Marketing Association has chosen to recognize our marketing efforts,” said Patty Anderson, Telescan’s director of sales.  “We believe a strong marketing program is critical to success, and our partnership with Marketing Alliance has helped us maintain a strong, creative marketing presence.”

To find out more about Telescan, call 800-770-7662 or visit www.telescan.net.

Mott Elected as ASTAA President

Gordon Mott was elected president of Atlantic States Telephone Answering Association (ASTAA) at its fall conference in Baltimore.  He and the board of directors are actively seeking to redefine ASTAA: its purpose, member needs, and future direction.  An interactive member survey and telephone contact will be used to obtain members' opinions.  The intent is to grow ASTAA, making it a more viable and valuable association for its membership.

For more information about ASTAA, call 800-718-1712 or go to www.astaa.org.

ATSI Benchmarks Industry Financial Ratios

The Association of TeleServices International (ATSI) will be starting its 2006-2007 Financial Benchmarking program this fall.  The program, initially launched in 2004, measures financial data as ratios.  Financial ratios are among the most powerful methods for analyzing the performance and viability of any business.

Benchmarking is an essential management tool for the successful operation of any business in a competitive marketplace.  Benchmarking can identify areas of a call center’s operation in need of improvement, can help management with goal setting, and can assist the company with establishing reasonable target areas for improvement.  It also helps ATSI with the identification of best industry practices by highlighting top performing organizations, so that the methods by which they achieve desired results can be analyzed and shared. 

For more information, contact ATSI at 866-896-2874 or visit www.atsi.org.

WSTA Selects the Parker in Palm Springs for 2007 Meeting

The Western States Telemessaging Association (WSTA) announced the finalization of its agreement with the Parker Le Meridian Hotel in Palm Springs for its 2007 Annual Meeting to be held September 23-25, 2007.  The Parker Palm Springs (www.theparkerpalmsprings.com), formerly Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, is a five-star boutique hotel situated on thirteen acres of landscaped gardens surrounded by the desert and mountains.

WSTA is a regional group serving telemessaging call centers owners primarily west of the Mississippi, but is open to members from across the country.

For more information, contact Dan L’Heureux 877-754-4103 or Dan@CallConsult.net or visit www.wstaonline.org.

STA Schedules Second Inspired Performance Workshop

The Southern Telemessaging Association (STA) has completed arrangements for its second Inspired Performance Workshop, which will be held in Houston, TX, January 10^th & 11^th, 2007.  The workshop will be presented by industry experts Judy Vincent, Dee Hawkins, and Mari Osmon.  It is geared towards those who have been promoted, who want to be promoted, or who want to be the best they can be.

For more information, contact Dan L’Heureux at 800-475-0857 or Dan@CallConsult.net or www.sta-assoc.org.

ATSI Creates Presentation Library

The Association of TeleServices International (ATSI) is currently creating a library of industry-specific presentations which will be made available to the industry at large.  ATSI Education Chair, Lori Jenkins, of Answer-All Secretarial Services, appointed Donna West, from Focus Telecommunications, to spearhead this important project. 

“My job will be to help to create a library of conference presentations and other educational materials that our Regional Associations can use to flesh out their meetings,” said West.  “My request to each of you is to think back to the conferences you have attended and let me know which presentations made a great impression on you.  Then, take a moment to let me know which members of our talented industry should be tapped to share their knowledge with the rest of us.”

Material from the library will also be available for individual companies’ in-house use.  The library will be housed on the ATSI Website, where interested parties will be able to read a synopsis of the program, as well as reviews by presenters and participants.

ATSI can be contacted at 866-896-ATSI or on the Web at www.atsi.org.

Apex Announces Addition to Executive Team

Apex CoVantage, a Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) company, announced that Christie Anderson has been promoted to President of Apex Contact Center Solutions.  Apex Contact Center Solutions offers nearshore and offshore teleservices solutions.  As president of Contact Center Solutions, Anderson is responsible for leading the global contact center operations for a variety of clients in financial services, healthcare, publishing, and telecommunications.  Solutions include customer acquisition and activation, revenue maximization, customer winback, and accounts receivable management.

For more information about Apex CoVantage, visit www.apexcovantage.com.

AnswerNet Network Expands Sales Team, Hires New GMs

The AnswerNet Network has expanded its sales team and its business development efforts.  AnswerNet has also hired three new General Managers.

• Dave Halter has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing; Dave is spearheading a new business development drive.

• Rick Le Vine is Sales Manager – Channel Sales.  He is responsible for driving in business from AnswerNet’s new and existing partners. 

• Tom McDermott is Sales Manager – Inbound Services.  Tom will manage and grow AnswerNet’s inbound sales.  

• Gregg Rosen is AnswerNet’s Sales Manager – Outbound Services.  Gregg will focus on expanding outbound telemarketing and telesales. 

• Hugo Collazo, General Manager for the El Paso, TX office.

• Hope Cuesta, General Manager for the Orlando, FL office.

• Joyce Grubb, General Manager for the Fair Oaks, CA office.

“AnswerNet is on the cusp of an exciting new period of internal growth,” said AnswerNet president and CEO Gary A. Pudles.  “Our experienced team, and the strategies that they are developing, will tap deeper into vertical markets by responding and reaching out to new and existing customers.”

For more information, visit www.answernet.com.

New Metaphor BPM System Unveiled at ATA Convention

Interactive Softworks unveiled Metaphor BPM at the American Teleservices Association (ATA) Annual Convention and Expo, Oct. 8-11 in Orlando, Fla.  Metaphor BPM is a business process management tool that allows marketers, sales staff, and business analysts to create and modify business processes, workflows, and presentation layers using a logical, graphical interface.

“In today’s contact centers, it is not just about the call, it’s about the data and how data is shared across the organization and with partners, affiliates, and other entities,” said Loyd Olson, chief operating officer for Interactive Softworks.  “It’s about being able to quickly and safely integrate with underlying data sources, back-office systems, and third-party systems.”

For more information visit www.interactivesoftworks.com; the ATA’s Website is www.ataconnect.org.

Aspect Celebrates Birthday; One Year Old, Thirty Years Wise

Aspect Software, Inc. celebrates its first birthday since merging Concerto Software and Aspect Communications, combining more than thirty years of insight and expertise to become the world’s largest company solely focused on the contact center.  “Looking back, I’m extremely proud of our accomplishments over the past year,” said Jim Foy, president and chief executive officer at Aspect Software.  “Even though Aspect Software is only one year old, our thirty years of wisdom and understanding of the industry is reflected in our ability to rapidly integrate two companies into one cohesive operation.  We are proud of our history and we’re excited for what the coming years will bring, including the ongoing enhancements to our robust product portfolio.”

For more information, visit www.aspect.com.

Panasonic Announces Launch of New Call Center ACD Report Server

Panasonic introduced the new KX-NCV200 ACD Report Server for advanced call center functions, in coordination with the simultaneous announcement of the new KX-TDA600 Hybrid IP-PBX business phone system.

The NCV200 ACD Report Server is designed to bring advanced call center functions to users of Panasonic PBX systems.  It provides functions such as monitoring and call center performance reports, agent login, as well as advanced efficient message management.  Combining these separate functions into one system creates an efficient and cost-effective solution for call management.

Information about Panasonic and its products is available at www.panasonic.com.