CallFire

We are excited to announce the launch of the International Cloud Call Center.  This new product contains all of the features in the previous version of Cloud Call Center, but now enables agents to be located anywhere and call out to anywhere.

Pricing is based on the phone number making calls, and the phone numbers being called.  If an agent is calling from out of the US, they are billed for the time they are logged into CallFire multiplied by the per minute rate for their phone number.  If an agent is Calling out of the United States, they are billed the per minute rate for the number they are calling multiplied by the total time they are connected to the call.  To see the rates for any given country, international telephone provider or phone number, see the rate table.

Cloud Call Center Pricing

Click here to see an example

Click here to see an example

Click here to see an example

CallFire also offers International Voice Broadcast as part of the international portfolio.

CallFire’s new agent interface and feature set offers an enterprise level look and functionality for businesses and organizations of any size.

Here is a detailed view of the new agent interface.  The features have been outlined in a variety of colors, and will be explained individually below.

Tabs

Tabs are location in which URLs stored in the excel spreadsheet can be displayed for agents to see.  If the administrator included columns with a company URL, or a CRM url for each entry, these will be displayed in tabs at the top of the agent interface.  Agents can view the tabs while speaking on the phone, and will increase their knowledge of the party they are speaking to.

Script

Scripts can be provided for agents to assist them with their phone calls.  The campaign administrator has the ability to compose scripts for agents to read during each call. This allows agents to be consistent with their customer contact, and never forget important details.

Disposition

The disposition field allows agents to easily make notes and ask questions.  The new agent interface includes a free text field for general disposition notes as the previous version, but it now offers functionality in adding additional questions and compiling results, making gathering statistics easy for administrators. These can be multiple choice questions with customizable options or short free text questions with an open response.

Connected Box

The connected box enables personal information to be displayed for agents to see while they are on the phone. The box contains all the information that is in the excel spreadsheet used to upload numbers.  Any information the administrator wants agents to see will be its own column in  the file.  A few likely uses for this field are name, company, and phone number. Any type of information the administrator finds useful for agents to see can be included accordingly.

Call Transfer

Call transfer facilitates the transfer of a call if an agent needs to pass on a customer to another party.   If an agent wishes to transfer a phone call at any point, they can enter a phone number and transfer the call to anyone at any time during the call.

SmartDrop

The SmartDrop feature lets agents leave a pre-recorded  message when an answering machine picks up.  This allows users to save time that they would have spent leaving individual messages. For users that choose not to use answering machine detection, the moment they hear an answering machine, they can click SmartDrop and move on to the next call. This will leave a pre-recorded answering machine message on that machine.

Next Call

The next call button is used when a user is ready to move onto a new call.  There was a next call button on the old interface, and it still has essentially the same purpose.  Once a call with an individual is complete, hit next call to reach the next person.  It is also essential to press the next call button after using the SmartDrop feature.

Report an Issue

Agents should use the report an issue button if a user is experiencing an issue while using the Cloud Call Center.  Reporting an issue right when there is a problem is extremely important for troubleshooting.

Call Recording

Call Recording is now available for all Standard and Pro Campaigns.  While it’s not part of the agent interface, a new feature launched with the updated Cloud Call Center is the option for Call Recording. If either the Standard or Pro options are picked, administrators have the option to record all calls, giving them a chance to check up on agent performance or verify the content of specific conversations.

CallFire announces a new Do-It-Yourself Lead Generation webinar for businesses interested in generating leads by using Power Dialing, Opt-in Voice Broadcast & intelligent Call Tracking to drive new business in the United States and Canada.

The DIY Lead Gen webinar series first aims to educate business owners and at-home sales agents on how to save money by using Cloud Call Centers and Cloud Telephony tools to quickly connect themselves to other businesses.  The second half of the seminar covers how to use opt-in Voice Broadcast notification and Call Tracking to communicate important messages to existing clients and track marketing efficacy of your campaigns.

Session 1:  How to use Cloud Call Centers and Power Dialing

* Preparing an Excel list of my business telephone phone numbers.
* Optimizing ROI by developing a thoughtful callback strategy.
* Monitoring other sales agents that work from home.

Session 2: How to use Voice Broadcast & Call Tracking for notification & lead gen.

* Preparing an Excel list of my customer phone numbers.
* Developing an effective recorded message for my voice broadcast campaign.
* Creating Call Tracking campaigns to track marketing efficacy & continued notification.

To attend CLICK HERE at 11AM PST 9/22/2009

Sign up for the CallFire Spark newsletter and learn about Cloud Telephony here.

What is changing on September 1st, 2009?

See detailed information on FTC website

Beginning September 1st, 2009 FTC enforcement policy regarding pre-recorded voice calls utilizing autodialers will change.  The FTC will begin its ban on pre-recorded telephone calls for solicitation purposes unless the solicitor has received a prior, written and signed agreement from the call recipient.  Some exceptions for pure information (non-solicitation) calls are permitted.

What does this mean for CallFire ?

ALL CALLFIRE USERS MUST ENSURE THAT FOR ANY TELEMARKETING CALLS THAT SOLICIT BUSINESS OR SERVICES OR NEW DONORS, THAT THE USERS HAVE PRIOR, EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT TO RECEIVE PRE-RECORDED VOICE CALLS FROM THE PROPOSED RECIPIENT.  Detailed information can be found on the FTC website.

a) No changes for Call Tracking (inbound) & Cloud Call Center (live voice) customers.

b) No change for Businesses who use CallFire to notify current, written opt-in for pre-recorded voice customers.

c) No change for Customers using Voice Broadcast for opt-in business notification (non-solicitation calls).

d) Customers using CallFire’s Voice Broadcast for solicitation/outbound lead gen MUST ENSURE data lists are Opt-In to receive pre-recorded voice from the particular company in the form of written consent, including the person’s phone number and signature.   The written consent must be specific to agreeing to receive pre-recorded voice calls from the particular company.  Written consent obtained in compliance with E–SIGN will satisfy the requirements of the law.  For example, agreements obtained via an email or website form, telephone keypress, or voice recording.  Any agreement obtained pursuant to E–SIGN must be sufficient to show that the consumer: (1) received clear and conspicuous disclosure of the consequences of providing the requested consent — i.e., that the consumer will receive future calls that deliver prerecorded messages—and (2) having received this information, agrees unambiguously to receive such calls at a telephone number the consumer designates.

What can I use as an alternative?

The Cloud Call Center with Power Dialer is the perfect alternative to using Voice Broadcast for your lead generation.  CallFire’s Power Dialer will connect your sales agents to live people, while sending pre-recorded messages only to answering machines that promptly disclose at the outset a toll-free number that a consumer can call to assert an opt-out request.  This is consistent with the FTC’s stated policies.

Remember to use the CallFire Do-Not-Call list

Companies are also required to keep their own Company-Specific do-not-call list.  This allows consumers to opt out of future calls made by the organization.  The CallFire system allows you to add numbers to the internal DNC list, and then scrub against them before running future campaigns.

Who is required to access the DNC Registry?

Any company engaged in telemarketing to the public is required to maintain its own SAN number to gain access to the DNC registry and to update the scrub list every thirty-one days  The few exceptions are non-profits, a pure market research survey company, political organizations, or companies with an existing business relationship or written agreement to call.  Exempt Organizations that still wish to access may access it for free.

More Information

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ALL INCLUSIVE OR PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE.  YOU SHOULD CHECK WITH YOUR OWN ATTORNEY PRIOR TO ENGAGING IN TELEMARKETING UTILIZING PRE-RECORDED VOICE OR ENGAGING IN ANY TELEMARKETING CAMPAIGN.

Please visit: https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/

The CallFire team will be manning booth # 319 at IT Expo West next Tuesday Sept 1 – Thursday Sept 3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Come by, talk to us, learn about our products, and get to know the team.  We will also have give-aways, so come by and see what we have!

I spent this Sunday afternoon at Eco Fabulous in Newport Coast. My interest in the relationship between tech & sustainability, got me here.  Green conferences like Opportunity Green are pushing businesses to embrace sustainable business practices, while outlining the business benefits of doing so. A homesourcing analysis by IDC forecasts 300,000 ‘homesourced’ workers in the U.S. by 2010. It’s no wonder Cloud Call Center platforms like CallFire are considered serious players in “Green Tech”.

Cloud Call Centers and Hosted IVRs seem to be the #1 way to reduce the overall carbon footprint of your call center or small business workforce.

Reduce emissions by hiring from home

The average US call center agent commutes 24 miles via automobile.
In a 50-week year, this agent will account for 6,000 miles/yr.
The average agent carbon footprint is about 2 tons of C02 each year!

Slash call center startup costs & reduce waste

The average call center requires 130-200 square feet per agent.
Agents require a PC, telephone & high speed internet connection.*
A 100-seat call center can save 168,000 kWh/yr by homsourcing.
*Note: Utilizing idle computing hardware seems to be a green trend.  Watch “The Story of Stuff” with Annie Leonard.

Cloud Call Centers lead to happy agents

Improve employee satisfaction by reducing commuter costs, reducing parking frustration & vehicle wear.
Hire the best agents anywhere in the world, while targeting low-cost geographies.
Increase agent productivity & decrease sick-leave as it did for Holland America Cruise Lines.

Now that Cloud Call Center agents can use their own home office, PC and internet connection, the barriers to develop call centers for the enterprise and SMB markets are reducing quickly.  With $0 hardware and no recurring infrastructure costs, hiring from home is both sustainable & preferable to most US business owners.  

Hi Everyone!

My name is Tina and If you use CallFire then you may have participated in my Webinar.    I get a lot of calls about “best practices” for using CallFire’s Virtual Call Center, Voice Broadcast & various Cloud Telephony tools for outbound call center sales.   Here they are:

Outbound Call Center Sales Tips:

1. Creativity is important
   Phone interactions are impersonal, so be sure to smile in the message.    Feel free to use humor, wit & charisma to engage your potential customer over the phone.   Building trust & relationships is key to making sales.
2. Use fresh data & scrubbed lists
   Generating leads & sales can only be accomplished if you have a great list to call.   Existing customer databases, InfoUSA business listings, and online lead-gen are great sources for high-quality data.
3. Use a woman’s touch
   Try using a woman’s voice for your recordings.   Many DIY’ers use their own voice to save a few bucks.  Check out services like Voice123.com to get a professionally recorded greetings.  Your target demographic may react differently to voices of varying gender.  Try to diversify every aspect of your outbound effort!
4. Communicate with your customers
   We all get wrapped up in our amazing sales vision, but don’t forget to ask your customers what matters to them.  For example, you might want to figure out what time of day each of your customers prefer to receive telephone updates & callbacks.  Use this data to schedule your campaigns accordingly.
5. Try Call Tracking & Text-To-Speech
   A balanced outbound sales effort strives to track it’s efficacy over time.   Call Tracking & Hosted IVRs are a great way to track your marketing efforts, at the campaign level!  If you haven’t checked out advanced voice services, give us a call, or watch this video to learn more.

Thanks everyone!  ~Tina

Cloud telephony platforms can help your business generate inbound sales calls.  Here’s a few different ways our customers are making their sales lines ring, using VoIP.

Use Toll Free numbers to reveal ads that drive the most sales calls
Say you have 100 different online advertisements but aren’t sure which impressions eventually turn into phone calls.   Use call tracking to purchase 100 phone numbers for each ad-campaign (each number simply forwards to your sales line).  As the calls come in, you can easily visualize which ads are driving the most sales calls.  These advanced reports can be used to further strengthen your ad-campaign.

Use a hosted predictive dialer to free up salespeople’s time
Automate the way your agents make outbound calls and save hundreds of hours every month.   By using a hosted predictive dialer and your existing telephone system, your agents can fly through 100’s of calls every hour.  Agents can take lives calls immediately, and if they get an answering machine they can click a button to leave a prerecorded message, allowing them to move on to the next LIVE call.

Voice blast your PBX’s missed/abandoned list
Call centers occasionally get overloaded and you may have customers who (for whatever reason) hang up while waiting.   Don’t let these leads go to waste.  Export them to create an automated, press-1 voice broadcast.   Example: “This is an automated callback from ABC Inc. We are sorry nobody was available to take your call.  Please press 1 now, to speak with a sales agent.  He or She will be with you shortly.  Thank you.”   This automation ensures that customers get a follow up & further strengthens your customer service offering.

Add “Click-To-Call” to your website
The idea is simple – add another way for a customer to call you.  By adding a click-to-call option to your website , users can enter a phone number and in moments they can receive a live call from one of your sales agents.  How does it work?  After your lead submits their phone number in the “click to call” form, your sales agent receives a call that says “Press-1 now to speak to connect to a new lead.”   In moments both parties are connected and your sales team does the rest.

Create a unique phone experience using Text-To-Speech
Your client may appreciate an automated phone call that can read them their: account balance, schedules & timings for events, and even driving directions.  Developers can try using VoiceXML to send phone calls that can create a unique experience for users while reducing the volume of trivial phone inquiries your agents must field.

Have you used VoIP in other interesting ways?   Tell us how, using info@callfire.com.  Your story, and links to your business, could end up on the CallFire blog.   ~DR

Do you use a hosted-CRM utility?  Do you use CallFire’s Virtual Call Center?  If your answer is ‘Yes’ to both of these questions, your VCC agents might benefit from a link to your CRM platform, directly within the CallFire Agent Popup screen.

When a call is connected, your agent sees the SugarCRM contact instantly.  Here is an example:

How it works
If you embed this code in your Excel list, for each phone number, it will place a clickable link in the Agent pop-up window.   The link will open your browser based CRM.

Example code
2132212200<name of person>,<iframe src=”<<<<<  embed html link here >>>>>>>>>>>” width=”100%” height=”500″><p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p></iframe>/

<a href=”<<<insert crm link here>>>”><img src=”<<<insert image location here>>>” alt=”Call Me Now!” /></a>

Don’t want to use Javascript? Try:
<a href=”<<<put link here>>>” target=”callfireCrm”>Open CRM</a>

Want even more control? You can take your integration a step further with CallFire Voice APIs.   Developers can easily use SOAP web services calls to inject data directly to your Agent’s CRM interface, in real time!   Visit the CallFire Developer Wiki or call 877.897.3473. 

Here are a few videos to make everyone’s lives a little bit easier.  If you’re a new CallFire user, these videos will walk you through the campaign-creation process.  (Non-techies looking for a more detailed walkthrough, please click here for a detailed, 7-minute Voice Broadcast campaign-setup walkthrough.)