SIP is different from the VoIP H.323 primarily in that the protocol focuses on point to point connections rather than using a central routing scheme. Think of it like this. VoIP is an IP version of a standard phone system. Each phone on the system is rather dumb and is activated only when the central system routs a call to it. SIP, on the other hand, can utilize a smaller internal structure because most of the work is done on a network’s periphery. With VoIP, it is the central system that handles much of the workload of compression, dialing, and connection work while SIP passes much of this work out to the network ends.

For a call center, this means that the requirements for a central voice server are much smaller while the requirements for the systems in use by the agents could increase. The benefit is that a call center’s server will be always be busy with a variety of other functions. On the other hand, the agents’ systems are generally overpowered for what they need to do. It is just impossible to purchase a computer that is just barely capable of running the agent’s required software. SIP moves much of the workload away from the busy server and puts it on the agents’ systems. By spreading out this workload, SIP based call centers are limited by their total bandwidth rather that the traditional limitations of routing VoIP calls through the central system.

1: Modular Interconnectivity

With IP-based call center software, a call center’s operations can be tied into a company’s other IP-based operations. This means that the call center’s dialer can communicate and share information with a CRM, phone system, email, web, chat, sales, and many other  systems.  Through the proper implementation of an information gateway, the new call center software can communicate directly with a central server or multiple data servers.

For example: For an inbound call center providing technical support, the agents can enter in a customer’s information and an unresolved issue. This information is shared with a central database. A development department’s software has access to this central database and looks at all of the unresolved issues. If it finds an unresolved issue with a high occurrence, the software sends the issue to the developers. After the developers find a solution to the issue they send it to their software, which then trickles down to the call center’s dialer. This then allows agents to call back customers and provide the solution to the issue.

2: Remote Connectivity

With an IP-based call center, remote agents have the same capability as agents in the same building as the call center server. For security, a remote agent can establish a VPN connection to the call center’s servers and operate exactly as if the agent were in the same room. With the VPN connection, the configuration for Agent software would be the same as a local machine.

This also allows multiple locations to be administered and controlled from a central locations. A call center can have offices across the country and yet still allow each location to operate as one.

3: Telecommunications Options

With modern voice gateways it is possible for call centers to choose the best telecommunications option available. VoIP, SIP, analog, or digital T1 are all among the options available. These options provide scale for a call center software package. A small call center might find better value using an analog gateway for just a handful of agents while larger call centers  might choose VoIP or a SIP trunk. This allows a call center to select the most cost effective solution while retaining options to scale up or down as needed.

4: Compatibility

Because an IP-based call center utilizes a standard, all functions can be handled as any other IP-based piece of software. Agents do not need separate headsets as the voice is routed directly to each agent system.

Prerecorded Messages: Prerecorded messages for the purpose of marketing and sales are no longer permitted. This includes calls answered by consumers and their answering machines. Such a message is allowed, however, if the consumer has signed a specific written consent. Companies may no longer rely on previously established business relation with a consumer in order to justify a prerecorded message. This exception is still permitted under the FCC’s rules, but no longer under the FTC’s.

Written Consent: The signed, written consent allowing consumers to receive prerecorded messages must be specific and separate. An End User License Agreement will no longer suffice as permission. Such a document must be specific in its purpose. The required signature may, however, be obtained in any manner allowed by the Electronic Signatures In Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN Act).

Exemptions: Several types of organizations and a few functions are allowed to continue the usage of prerecorded messages. Charitable organizations, some healthcare related activities, and political calls are exempted from the ban on prerecorded calls. Also allowed are informational messages which do not attempt to sell, such as an airline’s flight information.

For more information, read the FTC’s Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

Call center operations serve a variety of functions. There are primarily two forms of call centers routinely operate in, inbound and outbound. As an inbound platform, they are used to provide support from corporations directly to their consumers on an individual basis. They can provide internal support for large and expansive corporations with operations spread out across the country, but who still need to access centralized functions such as IT services, HR, shipping, and a variety of applications. They can provide internal call routing, reminiscent of their original long-distance function.

What Call Centers can do

Call centers can directly and indirectly generate capital for the corporations that operate them. Both inbound and outbound call center operations can serve as a direct means to communicate with consumers and generate sales. Advertisements can direct consumers to contact the corporation through an inbound line where the agents provide their services directly to the consumer. Catalog sales can be generated both from a website as well as an inbound call center. Outbound operations can generate income from a variety of services; from selling coupon books to providing consumers with options for remortgaging.

Indirectly, call centers can save or earn their operators income. Collection agencies can attempt collections by contacting customers. This can be done by either the corporation who issued the collection or by a third party who is contracted to make collection attempts by issuing corporations. Internal inbound call centers can provide internal tech support to widely distributed offices. Tech support lines generate income indirectly by providing technical services directly to the consumer which reduces the return rate and hopefully increases customer satisfaction. Such tech support lines can also provide direct income by offering upsales to consumers.

Call centers can be either permanent in a fixed location or hosted. Permanent call centers generally provide a physical location for agents, supervisors, and administrators. Permanent call centers can also be staffed with remote elements. Agents who possess the bandwidth can login and operate with the call center software exactly as if they were present in the physical location. Such systems can also be leased by organizations who wish to conduct operations for a short period of time or with seasonal applications. This application is generally utilized by a politician’s staff for the purpose of contacting constituents directly to increase poll standings and election turnouts.

Hosted call centers are completely remote operations. The server is located at the provider’s physical location while the administrators, supervisors, and agents log in remotely. The benefit of this is that small-scale and seasonal operations can take advantage of an erected system while receiving the same capabilities and services available to a more permanent system.

How Call Centers Work

Outbound call centers utilize predictive and auto dialers. These systems call consumers by accessing a lead-list, dial the number, and automatically connect an agent to the call. These lead-lists are either purchased from a third party and provide enough information for the predictive dialer to decide if that lead should be attempted, has it been attempted in the past, was an answering machine detected, and so on. Auto dialers ate just that, they automatically dialer the number provided by a lead list. Predictive dialers can call two or more numbers and connect agents to any number that answers. Auto dialers are generally cheaper that good predictive dialers and make the most sense for a first or third party attempting to contact a list of consumers. Predictive dialers are most beneficial when an operation makes numerous cold calls; for example a call center that is selling merchandise or a politician’s staff.

Functions such as administration, branched scripts, logins, and non-voice routing are generally provided by a server. Voice is routed differently, depending on the type of system in use. In a PoTS setup, the server has numerous cards which are connected to the agents’ phones with standard telephone cord. This is an older method than newer systems, but such systems still exist and can be purchased for a steep discount over the original price. The more modern systems route voice through a voice router or system. The voice is connected to the agent by means of a workstation PC. This workstation is connected to a fast network and allows the agent to access all functions of the software through the computer. This allows the software to better control the interface. Such a system can present information to the agent’s screen related to the type of call as well as information about the consumer called.

Branched scripts are scripts that allow an agent to progress through a series of question and answers. The script will guide the agent by presenting the exact information and solutions possible. An agent using a well designed script can provide technical support for a product without having any knowledge of that product. Branched scripts cal also be tied to what are called campaigns. Campaigns are a way for a single agent to provide service in a variety of areas. For example, a call center’s agents can have an inbound script that provides technical support for a certain product. If the inbound traffic dies down, the predictive dialer can switch over some agents to outbound to contact possible customers and attempt to sell a product. A single inbound call center can also use campaigns to provide services for multiple customer types. A call center can posses several contracts to provide services for multiple operations. For example, a call center can provide technical support for the products of three different companies, booking functions for a hotel chain who has expanded operations out to a third party during peak times, and serve as a point of contact for an election staff.

With the expansion of technologies into all facets of life, call centers shifted away from the traditional application of handling long-distance switching to provide a variety of support services. This increased usage of call centers created a larger user base, which, along with the evolving price drop in required hardware, brought the price of call center establishment and operation down to the point where any organization with a need could acquire the necessary components to create a call center.

While the applications of call centers expanded rapidly since the eighties, the late nineties brought a technology that made call centers cheaper, more efficient, and versatile. Internet telephony dramatically altered the nature of call centers in both the way they operate and the functions they serve.

Today call centers can operate anywhere in the world by routing the calls through the internet. This has not only expanded the ability for centralized call centers to operate in any location with a sufficient amount of bandwidth, but the explosion of consumer subscriptions to broadband connections allow call centers to decentralize operations by utilizing agents wherever they may be located, independent of where the call center is located.

Call center consultants can gauge how much operational decisions will affect a call center’s cost as well as determine ways to make the operation more efficient. Consultants can determine how much a change in services or a rate hike will cost in the terms of increased calls. This will help operations not only determine exactly how profitable the change will be, but how much the call center must ramp up logistics in order to meet an increased demand and the most efficient way to do that.

Customers are affected by the changes in different ways. A rate increase can be viewed differently by different types of customers depending on age, location, economics, and a variety of other factors. Consultants can also monitor the stress level in the voices of customers to measure the emotional state of the callers. With all of these factors, consultants can determine exactly how much each customer costs the call center operation.

Remote call centers offer larger companies the ability to receive call center operations on demand. These call centers offer their contracts flexible and seasonal staffs to meet the demands those companies require. Most operations can provide inbound and outbound call center operations and can switch on the fly using well designed branched scripting.

These call centers offer their customers the services of remote agents, many of whom work from home. The agents can set a flexible schedule, the call center can decentralize the physical location while still maintaining centralize supervising and administration, and contracts receive the flexibility to expand or contract operations as the situation needs.

Advantages of Providing Remote Call Center Services

There are several advantages of remote call centers for those who wish to set up their own home business: flexible hours, financial savings because of decreased transportation and wardrobe costs, time savings because it eliminates commuting, more family time, and being able to take your job with you if you move or travel once in a while. A good hourly rate and excellent benefits are typically offered, also.

What Qualities are Needed by Home Business Owners Who Want to Work at a Remote Center?

You must have good personal skills and be articulate, with the ability to think on your feet. A good speaking voice and basic customer service skills are needed. You must be able to memorize substantial volumes of material quickly – usually a 2-3 week training period – and you must be able to follow prepared scripts and procedures.

If there is an inside sales position that is of interest to you, you might need some phone sales or customer service experience behind you; technical or help desk positions may need technical expertise, advanced computer knowledge and/or mathematical skills. You won’t usually need a degree. The typical turnover rate is 60% or more, so this means that remote call centers are almost constantly hiring and have plenty of room for advancement available.

For the people who have these talents, remote may certainly be a home business actuality.

Many debt collectors are turning to predictive dialers and auto dialers as a means to make the debt collection operation more efficient, thus increasing revenues. This is achieved by increasing the number of individuals an agent can contact over time by reducing calls received by answering machines, decreasing the dialing time, and increasing the efficiency with witch the agent can interact with the debt collection database.

These systems increase the ratio at which an agent is able to connect with a live contact. They can also be programmed to leave an automated message if a contact’s answering machine takes the call. They also filter out calls that are busy, unanswered, or lines that no longer exist. The systems can record this information and be programmed to act appropriately. For example, if a contact’s home phone has been disconnected, the system can try that contact again later, using a work phone.

Modern predictive dialer and call center software systems have the ability to connect to multiple databases. The contact list can be in one database and an associated script inn another. The agent can use the dialer’s ability to interface with different database to directly change a contact’s information, enter in payment information, suggest current refinancing options, and a variety of other services.

Orion’s Razor predictive dialer and call center system offer these options and more. The Razor software is entirely network based. This allows agents to work from homes and gives agencies the ability to scale up and down as their business needs demand.

There are numerous instances that show how good B2B lead generation is essential. Several manufacturing businesses call for companies to have a variety of parts available to them. The makers of the parts really should institute themselves with well-matched manufacturers so they can benefit both companies. An additional example would be a financial firm needing computers. B2B lead generation will assist them in choosing the best computer vendor to match their needs.

The method of making it easier for compatible companies find each other is B2B lead generation. The B2B lead generation market is presently larger than ever. Business-to-business lead generation can be done many different ways. It is not very often that traditional lead generation procedures like direct mailing and telemarketing are used, but tactics like trade show presentations and advertisements in trade publications are more familiar.

Trade shows are around for the precise purpose of assisting businesses to find other compatible businesses. A company must put on an impressive presentation if they plan on benefiting at all from a trade show. A professional, entertaining, and informative presentation is ideal for generating leads. Also, it is crucial that the right people are at the presentation. You don’t want to waste a wonderful presentation on an under attended or inadequately organized trade show.

One of the most profitable business-to-business lead generation tactics is trade publication advertisements. These ads are directed right at people in the industry reading the publication. Advertising on the radio or in a major city newspaper is not as effective as this.

Businesses rely on B2B lead generation. In order for a company to be successful, it must be respected within its industry. All companies involved are benefited by B2B lead generation.

• Low cost, fewer components in overall solution
• Accommodating structural design works well in multi-site and distributed environments

Cons:

• Depends on the answering machine detection and call progress detection qualifications of the basic PBX/switch platform
• Numerous PBX's will not work with a soft dialer design
• Dependence on the CTI link of PBX means that if the PBX is improved or altered, the predictive dialer will predictably need improved or altered also to make sure that it is correctly certified for the proper CTI link version

Hard Dialers

Hardware dialers use dedicated telephony switches to carry out call progress analysis and answering machine detection. Those switches typically have 2 key kinds of connections, agent audio and external audio. The agent audio connections are typically basic T1/E1/ISDN etc. telephony durations that is connected right to an existing PBX (although other connection kinds that do not call for a PBX are available such as Analogue or VoIP connections). When a representative first logs in for the day the dialer will make a call from the switch straight to the phone on the representative's desk. This open phone call between the representative and the dialer switch is kept open from then on for the rest of the session. The next kind of connection is the external audio connection which is the that will be used for making outgoing calls. These connections are usually ISDN/T1/E1 connections direct to the PSTN. When an outbound call is answered, the call is instantly connected to an already open agent audio connection of the representative chosen to take the call.

Pros:

• Fewer telephony connections are required for an implementation using an existing PBX (in hard dialers external audio connections can go straight to the PSTN, for soft dialers these all need to be connected to the PBX).
• Since customary telephony connections are the only link between the PBX and the dialer, the dialer normally will not require upgrading corresponding to PBX/CTI etc, and the dialer is affected less by software changes/types
• Advanced answering machine and call progress detection talents
• Remote representative capabilities - hard dialers can connect to any phone, anywhere on the PSTN. Very appropriate for working at home or remote sites
• Appropriate for establishing multi-site "virtual" solutions - where numerous call centers can work together on shared campaigns
• Can be used with just about any PBX or ACD as customary telephony connections are used, instead of proprietary CTI connections

Cons:

• More costly, more suitable for bigger (min. 50 seats +) call centers
• The majority of hard dialers are intended for the US market. As a result the management of dialer activity to meet EU/UK policies is often complex.