[gwrightson]

i have a friend , who now has time on her hands ,"apart from having 2 kids" who has offered to  call local comany,s businesses regarding my services. She has done tele sales before, is confident, articulate and feels she can get results.
A number of questions spring to mind !

What should I pay her ?  she said she is happy just been paid on results, 10% of any jobs booked is normaly what i pay to people who refer me, and she is happy with that , so i guess a stupid original question, but i just want your thoughts.

How do i get a list of tp numbers ?  I would hate to be involved in phoning company,s who use this service as the fines can be quite heavy.

Do any of you already use this or similar type of marketing ? if so what sort of results do you achieve ?

Geoff

[Ian Gourlay]

I did  this for about 3 years I had a friend who worked for a Window Company

I used to pay him an hourly rate

Obviously I would have been happier paying by results but if I had done it by lead  there could be quality problems
If it was by jobs actually booked he would have been dependent on me converting the jobs.

I think its far more straight forward to pay a good hourly rate forget incentives.

If I had somebody who was going to carry out the entire process like I had to when i was in Sales I would pay between 25% and 33% depending on what pricing structure was being used

When I was in blinds there was company in the North East that used to pay 5% commission but they were selling their blinds at rock bottom prices

[ian harper]

Geoff

Sales calls are the number reason people dont pick up any more. I would use here in two ways first to do your incoming calls. it will add a professional image to your business. if she is that good at sales get her out on the road doing FT presentations. You average job price will go though the roof.

Next I would get her doing follow up calls. its easier for a customer to say when something is wrong when its not the person thats done the work that calls. this way you know if your works good. as in my experience people just move on and use someone else next time. you would need this follow up as if your doing the hard FT sales. peoples exceptions will be high and you need to show you care by your actions.

It could be a massive shift for your business but worth the effort if thats the type of business you want. its a fact that face to face sales will get you much higher prices. most carpet cleaners dont want or dont have the time to do this. or like me have choose another way.

This changes everything for you and is really exciting. you will go from being a selfemployed cleaner to having a real business that you can build with staff. One word of warning, she will see she is key to your plans and could hold to to ransom, so take care to be able to replace her if needed. look at it as a partnership and not as staff and it should work. when I had my maid service i was working three towns all with profit share with the key people in each area. made my life much easier.

I am excited for you good luck.

[Ian Gourlay]

Geoff

I used to use a Company called www.MarketingFile.com for tele prefence service

A lot of what Ian says is correct but money can still be made from Tele Sales
If not there would not be call Centres in Swansea with 500 plus staff

Yes some do not want that image for their companies I am thrilled that they are so rich

Please note I have no connection with them and have not used them for several years

[Richard Cole]

Geoff

As she is a friend why not offer her a sort of compromise say min wage or 10% commission which every is higher, that way you won't feel bad if she does lots of canvassing and commission does not amount to much but also gives her an incentive to get earn more money. 

[Blacky]

Be warned, you will be hit with a massive fine if you call anyone who is tps reg'ed. Tps had a huge clamp down on firms about 1year ago.
88% of pubic are reg'ed and they go ballistic if you call them, I mean climbing the wall screaming ballistic.
Telesales staff need reassurance, motivation and professional counselling. No one hacks it for more than 1 month.

[Ian Gourlay]

I would be interested to know how many companies have been fined in the last year.

As previously to that the answer was Zilch

[gwrightson]

Tks Ian for your reply,

I have had a chat with a friend who is a sales director for a large double glazing/conservatory company his responce was  " never had a problem "  and they have a phone sales team of  8 people at any one time.

Not saying its correct, I know an element of risk is always there , a case of exactly what risk? and if we were to be reported , would it be a warning or a prosecution ?

Geoff

[Ian Gourlay]

Hi

I did stop it , due to organisational reasons But from my research which I guess was last carried out two years ago only one persistent offender had been prosecuted.

It appears The TPS has no power to prosecute and had to pass cases on to another body.

If my experience as a local Councillor is anything to go by authorities are reluctant to prosecute  due to court costs.

Geoff i believe you are really planning Business to Business.
I do not know if your friend uses TPS but a lot of companies get round it because if you give your telephone number to company they often sell the list and you can say that they must have done this and then say you will take them off your call list.

Of course another way is to route your call through  an international number.
I might just phone that Guy in swansea from the BBC3 programme for advise