tips

Telesales Isn’t Dead—and Here’s Why

Call Center Philippines, Customer Support Service Outsourcing / By

From an outsider’s perspective, telemarketing seems like an outdated form of selling your products. Today’s technology has forced the marketing industry to take great strides when it comes into advertising. From large LED screens playing video ads 24/7 situated in busy city streets, to subtle digital marketing techniques to help give target consumers a gentle nudge towards buying more goods, selling stuff through the phone is perceived to pale in comparison: it’s a marketing method almost as old as direct selling itself.

But today, call centres are still in demand because telesales still works. Despite the persistent misconceptions surrounding phone marketing, outsourcing telesales can still make a huge impact on your business.

It’s the least annoying form of advertising

Almost every time you go online, there’s always that pesky pop-up ad begging you to click on them. Even when you’re watching a video on Facebook or Youtube, or when reading an article, the average reader will have to go through a few hoops in order to dodge an incessant barrage of either static or video ads. Ads have gone from a necessary evil to a regular nuisance, and audiences are trying to actively avoid it. According to a poll, telesales is ranked as the least annoying form of advertising as only 4% of the total respondents have voted against it. This means that when conducted properly, telemarketing is less likely to be ignored by a target audience compared to other forms of endorsing sales.

Phone marketing strengthens human connection

Since telesales is conducted through voice calls, prospect consumers experience a more intimate approach. Customers were found to respond more with telemarketing because of the human interaction factor, affecting the perceived sincerity and personal touch of the transaction or session. According to recent studies, when making big decisions for large purchases like a car, insurance, healthcare, or the like, customers prefer calling businesses personally and talking to a real human being. Because of this, telesales is one of the business processes that are not currently in danger of being replaced by AI. This trend in customer behaviour also makes outsourcing telesales very ideal, as international agents from countries like the Philippines are well regarded because of their positive personalities and empathy towards their customers. Having a strong and experienced team of telemarketing can do wonders in helping to further develop your business.

Outsourcing telesales generates leads

Though there are several different ways to perform lead generation, telemarketing is among the most efficient method. Offshore telesales promotes better brand awareness and provides greater market insight. A significant chunk of the call centre industry specialises in performing outbound sales through offshore telesales. According to relevant statistics, outsourcing lead generation is ranked to be 43% more effective than in-house due to expertise and experience. Hiring an offshore staff to generate leads for your company stacks up numerous advantages on your end, as not only will you get better results, outsourcing also allows you to save money while efficiently improving your cash flow.

 

These are only among the many reasons why telesales continues to play an important role in business until today. Though times are changing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all traditional practices are rendered defunct due to technological advances. Telemarketing isn’t dead, and it isn’t showing any signs of dying out anytime soon.

Looking for highly-skilled telemarketers to boost your company’s sales? Check out our staffing services to see which of our outsourcing services is the best fit for your business’ needs.

personal assistant

What Are Personal Virtual Assistants?

Offshore Back Office, Virtual Assistant in the Philippines / By

As the outsourcing industry continues to grow, more and more virtual staffing options are becoming available for startups and small to medium enterprises. One such example would be virtual assistant jobs which are steadily rising in demand right now.

Virtual assistants can help you free up a lot of time from your schedule, and they can vary from self-employed professionals to agencies specialising in offshore staffing. Most VAs charge by the hour, making it very ideal and cheaper than hiring in-house: you only pay them whenever you need them, and you can save money on allocating other resources such as extra office space.

Huffington Post discusses further what a virtual assistant can do for you. To read the full article, click here.

business team meeting

Quick Tips to Hosting Better Team Meetings

Employee Performance / By

Team meetings are important for catching up with your co-workers regarding your group’s weekly or monthly accomplishments and challenges. It strengthens the communication between employees and designated leaders within the workplace. Being in charge of a team meeting can be daunting to some, especially for those who are doing it for the first time. The following tips can help you get on track and start organising amazing meetings!

1. Enumerate objectives to set the tone

Before starting a meeting, list down your agenda for the whole session. You can dedicate a slide to this at the beginning of your PowerPoint presentation or write in on the board. This gives the participants an idea of what to discuss and which topics are to be prioritised. Anything outside the list of objectives can either be discussed in another meeting or if there’s time left. Having a prepared list also helps everyone stay on track in means of topic and time.

business team meeting
Discuss the agenda beforehand to inform every one of the meeting’s objectives.

Additionally, it’s better to have this agenda list crowdsourced beforehand: ask participating members in advance if they have core issues they want to share in the meeting that can be part of the objectives list. This way, you are giving them an everyone a fair chance of getting their voices heard.

2. Encourage participation

Always dedicate even just a small part of the meeting to hearing out everyone present in the room. Even quiet members can sometimes have great ideas and opinions to share. Keep a mindset of hosting meetings not just because you have something to say to everyone, but rather, making it a platform for everyone to be heard. You can also take the time to ask everyone about their weekend, share a piece of good news from their personal lives, or a short weekly update on their tasks. This can help liven up the meeting or serve as an icebreaker and help lighten up the mood.

3. Find solutions as a team

Though different tasks and challenges are delegated to each member, it’s important to also steer focus on working together to help each department lead or participating member who’s experiencing difficulty come up with action plans. Adopting this into practice further develops communication between employees and provides a fresh perspective in approaching different issues. It also builds a strong sense of camaraderie and increases the probability of having more successful interdepartmental collaborations.

business team meeting
Make every success a team effort.

4. Incorporate something new

Having weekly meetings can get monotonous especially when you keep following the same format. To spice things up, you can try adding something to break up the pattern: show a related Ted Talk, bring in snacks, ask everyone to dress the same colour or have the meeting at a different location. Introducing variety even in the smallest of ways can help make the meeting feel different every single time.

 

Mastering the art of leading an engaging meeting can be very tricky, but we hope that these steps will help turn your reporting into something your team members can look forward to every week.

outsourcing fear

Overcoming Outsourcing Fears

Offshoring in the Philippines, Outsourcing in the Philippines / By

For entrepreneurs dipping their toes into outsourcing for the first time, the venture can be really scary. It’s understandable that business owners develop a fear towards the industry, as there will always be negative connotations attached to this process. However, a huge part of this fear usually comes from past experiences with hiring offshore or from angry reviews written by disappointed customers online.

AJ Agrawal, founder of Verma Media, shares about the most common concerns regarding outsourcing and how these fears can be quelled. According to him, good communication plays a major role in eliminating risks and in ensuring a smoother transaction. He addresses the root of popular outsourcing misconceptions and how you can avoid it.

You can check out this article to learn more about outsourcing myths, or read AJ’s full entry.

graphic designer

How Great Design Can Affect Your Business

Outsourcing in the Philippines, Web Design / By

Enticing visuals capture attention, but there’s a difference between creating a smart design and being tacky or overdoing it–and most companies struggle drawing the line between these traits. Visual appeal is often brushed aside in the corporate setting, especially when planning a budget. While not all, entrepreneurs cut costs on spending for aesthetics and assume it’s not a priority. This usually results in businesses relying on freelancers to do the designing, thinking that a project-based designer will cost cheaper. The reality is, when it comes to art, quality means everything. Here are a few reasons why investing in a regular designer is worth every cent:

Effective web design establishes your brand’s credibility

Have you ever researched a prospective business partner and found their website off-putting? Company websites are seen as a business’ shopfront, and must always aim to create a positive first impression. If you want to attract potential customers and partners, a polished website can establish your credibility and create a favourable user experience to your site visitors. In-house web and graphic designers can sometimes charge highly for their creative services, but rest assured that hiring professionals are worth every cent. It’s also important that you hire the right people for the job, as web and graphic designers both do different tasks but are often confused as interchangeable when they are not.

Colour Psychology and Colour Theory is real and artists know how to use it

artist painting

Though it’s not yet an exact science, the proper use of colours can impact a viewer’s mood and behaviour. Colours carry an emotional and cultural significance that can be incorporated in the multimedia design and make it more efficient or in line with the aesthetic goals. Especially when setting up your brand, a specific colour scheme can be used to reach your target audience better. For example, you own a hat shop for men and you want to expand your business by franchising in China, it’s best not to make a logo featuring a man wearing a green hat–this has cultural connotations in that country, and wearing a green hat in China actually means that their wives have committed adultery! Your target audience will perceive your brand as rude or offensive. There are more nuances when it comes to using colour, and expert designers know how to properly utilize colour symbolism in creating logos, websites, and other peripherals.

Half of your message can already be conveyed through design

Whether it be for graphic design, logo design, or a website design, adopting the fundamentals of art in creating a layout can be used to communicate with your target audience. Considering the following examples below:

design example

The differences in colour use, contrast, shapes, and typefaces can be used to convey a variety of messages. Trained professionals are equipped with the knowledge on how to “speak” design: visual art is like language, in a way that it can invoke a specific impression and harmonize it with the intended message. This is most important in logo design, as logos consist of a huge chunk of branding–it is considered as your business’ “face”.

Scrimping on your budget for design can subject your marketing materials to unforeseen circumstances, causing it to fail. I’m not saying that freelancers aren’t capable of creating great output, but rather, underpaying outsourced designers and freelancers can get you a substandard design that is likely to fail in conveying your brand’s message.

If you’re looking to hire highly-skilled artists & designers but still wanting to save, your best bet is to hire an offshore designer. You’ll get the same quality of output as an in-house artist but for lower wages and costs. Check out our services to see which options are the best fit for your business!

How to Work Smarter and Quickly Avoid Burnout

Careers, Employee Performance, Employee-Well-Being / By

As working adults, burnout is something we have felt at least once in our lives. It’s natural to get tired from constantly working hard day and night, after all, we’re only human. However, there’s a solution to help you avoid this so you don’t get sidetracked from reaching your goals. We’ve compiled a short list of tips to help you stay focused and refreshed.

1. Set clear boundaries between work and play

From the very second, you leave the office, set aside anything that’s work-related. Tomorrow’s tasks is tomorrow’s problem, and quit checking your emails outside your shift. You can choose between leaving your work phone behind or use apps like Cold Turkey or Focus Booster to help encourage you in keeping your mind off from work. The time you spend outside your job should be dedicated to your home life, other interests and self-care. My friend from Japan shared that her bosses advise her to turn down clients when they call her outside her shift. Even the mere act of answering their texts can give them the impression that her time isn’t as important as theirs.

multi tasking

2. Take things one at a time

Some people are born multitaskers, while the rest of us try in vain just to keep up with the demands of our job. There are ways to help you manage your time better, all of which you can easily adapt to your daily routine. Forcing yourself to do two different things at the same time might compromise the quality of your output and unnecessarily stress you out. Research has shown that when multitasking, your brain spends 40% more time to process switching between tasks. Additionally, a study by Stanford University discovered that even people who believe they are great at multitasking to tend to make more mistakes and took longer to complete tasks. The efficiency of multitasking is a common misconception and it’s better to focus on doing one task instead and then transition into another once it’s accomplished.

 

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Outsourcing small tasks can do so much for time management. Apps like TaskRabbit allows you to hire people for specific tasks and you can always check out UpWork and Fiverr for freelancers. Not only will you save on time, you can also save on energy and materials to get things done. You can also opt for a personal virtual assistant to help you plan ahead and manage your schedule better. There are also other productivity apps like Indigo, Hound and EasilyDo that can serve as your personal assistant if you’re tight on budget.

stress

4. Mental health is just as important as physical health

Self-care must always include checking on your psychological health. However, not everyone can afford to go to a therapist regularly which makes it harder for people to get the proper help that they need. When things get tough, you can opt for cheap and virtual alternatives such as Talkspace and BetterHelp which connects you to a licensed professional and allows you to have counselling sessions without ever leaving your home.

 

Staying motivated may be hard, but it’s not impossible. It just takes the right approach to help make sure you are on the right track to success.