2020 has been a trying time for the majority of UK business. Congleton-based, Toucan Telemarketing are no exception.
The team, who use a focused telemarketing approach to secure appointments for their clients, have had to make a few changes.
“We’re very proud to say that in 19 years of operation, we have never had to make anyone redundant,” says founder Paula Bates. “The secret? Maintaining small teams and offering a personal approach.”
Paula cites examples of many larger competitors who have either made redundancies or announced profit warnings in the last few months.
“When you’re smaller, you can absorb impact better. We’ve seen first-hand how larger companies are having to make voluntary redundancies. We treat this as a learning opportunity,” says Paula.
Where Competitors Went Wrong
While there is no shame in building a large business, Paula warns that it’s important not to lose that personal touch along the way.
“Toucan Telemarketing extols an account manager approach, giving sales prospects their own dedicated contact with whom they can not only do business, but converse naturally”
Paula Bates, Toucan Telemarketing
“Calls aren’t always about sales,” suggests Paula.
“Particularly during this pandemic, we’re making calls to check in on our prospects – to see how they’re adjusting, what working environment they’re in, and to check that our data is still up to date.”
Lacking Resources
“In some cases, sales teams lose contracts because they’re not able to provide the resource they promise,” Paula notes.
“The beauty of outsourcing to small companies like us is that we can focus on the background work, like cleaning data.
“That gives our clients time to focus on sales.”
Inability to Adapt
For other larger competitors, it was simply a case of not being able to adapt to their new working environments.
“Many larger agencies would have employed staff who simply didn’t have the capacity to work from home.
“Likewise, many of these rely on scripts, or having a supervisor on-hand to assist them during the call. Without these, they struggled working remotely.”
Why Toucan Telemarketing Will Continue to Prosper
Toucan Telemarketing’s competitor loss may be their gain, but for Paula, it’s important not to lose sight of the smaller agency approach.
“What we are able to offer people is experience and knowledge”
Paula Bates, Toucan Telemarketing
“When you outsource, you are buying into a team of people,” Paula concludes. “We’re confident that we’ll come through this stronger thanks to our pool of talent.”
Business Aspects Magazine thanks Paula Bates for her contribution.
