'Do Not Call' List Could Benefit Telemarketing Companies(email this article)

Dallas – July 30, 2003 – In the wake of the FTC’s recently created ‘Do Not Call’ list, scores of telemarketing executives are claiming that the new federal registry will decimate their industry. But, according to Edward Mandel, president and CEO of Dallas-based Positive Software Systems, just the opposite may happen.

“The days of mass, ‘smile-and-dial’ cold calling are over, as well they should be,” said Mandel. “Our customers—leading telemarketing companies, service bureaus and enterprise contact centers—have looked to us to increase the productivity of their telemarketing agents well before the recent spate of state and federal legislation. Obviously, calling people who don’t want to be called is not a productive use of an agent’s time.”     

Mandel points out that while the sheer volume of cold calls will certainly decrease as a result of federal, state and internally generated ‘Do Not Call’ lists, the percentage of successful calls will dramatically increase as businesses leverage sophisticated technology to ensure that the right agents call the right people at the right time with the right information. Mandel maintains that by reducing the amount of time agents spend making unproductive calls, and by reducing the annoyance of unwanted calls among consumers, ‘Do Not Call’ lists offer a win-win proposition and represent a potential boon for businesses in terms of increasing the return on their telemarketing and customer interaction initiatives.”  

“For those companies that see the clear benefits of reaching only consumers who are genuinely interested in their products or services, ‘Do Not Call’ data supports the development and execution of highly focused, high-yield telemarketing strategies,” said Mandel. “The overarching challenge is to centralize campaign management on a single server that automates list management, including ‘Do Not Call’ compliance, and integrates multiple contact centers and dialers, which is where our ContactQ solution comes in.

“Our focus on increasing agent productivity and reducing operating costs resonates well in today’s tough economy, and our ability to ensure compliance with ‘Do Not Call’ regulations only strengthens our value as we continue to help businesses reap the bottom-line benefits of smarter, more effective telemarketing tools and strategies.”

About Positive Software Systems
Positive Software Systems provides proven enterprise-wide solutions that improve the efficiency and increase the profitability of sales and collections activities for leading telemarketing companies, service bureaus and enterprise contact centers.

ContactQ™, the company’s flagship product, is a strategic customer interaction data warehouse for managing enterprise wide contact strategies from a single server, connecting multiple predictive dialers, contact centers, data hosts and remote agents.  For more information visit www.positivesoftware.com.

Editor’s note:  Edward Mandel is available immediately for comment and to provide expert industry insight on ‘Do Not Call’ regulations, contact center data security issues and centralized campaign management challenges.