Telemarketing via Skype - It Works! | Warrior Forum - The #1 Digital Marketing Forum & Marketplace

kebertt

11 years ago

Autodialers are a MUST in telemarketing - saves time and keeps the flow going

Some great tips here

Thanks
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benbro 11 years ago

Thanks K, you're right. Telemarketing is one of those things where flow is everything!
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Climb Online

11 years ago

Fantastic, give yourself credit for actually using the tools too benbo

Are you using the auto voice mail feature?

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benbro

11 years ago

Thanks, Susie. No, I haven't used the auto voice mail feature. But given that the tool has an ato vmail detection feature, I'm considering recording an outgoing vmail mssg and at least trying it out.

Just out of curiosity, have you used the auto vmail functionality yet? Thanks

Thanks
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ronr

11 years ago

Never knew about Escow Dialer thanks. Often when I get calls from telemarketers after I answer there is a long pause before the telemarketer starts talking. Does that happen with Escrow dialer or does it happen when you a lot of callers in a dialing center?

Ron

Thanks
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PanteraIM

11 years ago

Originally Posted by ronr

Never knew about Escow Dialer thanks. Often when I get calls from telemarketers after I answer there is a long pause before the telemarketer starts talking. Does that happen with Escrow dialer or does it happen when you a lot of callers in a dialing center?

Ron

The long pause is the VM/Live person detection algo checking if it's a live call or not.

These are only found in predictive diallers and not with Skype. You can change the settings in most of these predictive diallers to be less or more aggressive, the more aggressive the setting the longer the wait.

Usually the agent is hooked up to 4 lines and will call on each line until there is a live answer. What's cool about these diallers is that say you have an average call time of 50 seconds for the last 100 dials you've made, at the 40 second mark the predictive dialler will automatically dial the next batch of numbers on the list, so if the call goes south as soon as you hang up you can talk to the next lead.

Thanks
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benbro

11 years ago

Originally Posted by TrumpiaTim

Interesting, never thought of using Skype before to cold call

well you know what they say...necessity is the mother of invention

Originally Posted by PanteraIM

The long pause is the VM/Live person detection algo checking if it's a live call or not.

These are only found in predictive diallers and not with Skype. You can change the settings in most of these predictive diallers to be less or more aggressive, the more aggressive the setting the longer the wait.

Usually the agent is hooked up to 4 lines and will call on each line until there is a live answer. What's cool about these diallers is that say you have an average call time of 50 seconds for the last 100 dials you've made, at the 40 second mark the predictive dialler will automatically dial the next batch of numbers on the list, so if the call goes south as soon as you hang up you can talk to the next lead.

This explains so much, thanks for clarifying this PanteraIM. Just out of curiosity, is there a comparable solution that would be suitable for a single offliner? Thanks again!

Thanks

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Jr180180

11 years ago

Interesting! Thanks! Bookmarking that site.

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benbro

11 years ago

Originally Posted by ronr

Often when I get calls from telemarketers after I answer there is a long pause before the telemarketer starts talking.

Hey Ron, I've noticed that too with telemarketers who call me at home. But to answer your question, that does not happen with Escow. My guess is that the technology the big guys use is totally different than Escow.

Compared to those dialers, and I have used them before as a telemarketer, Escow is very basic. You can actually hear the the phone ringing via skype when you're dialing the number.

Whereas, in the call centers I've worked in the only time you hear something is when the person picks up the phone or the answering machine picks up.

Honestly, if skype click to call was able to recognize telephone numbers in excel or in google docs, I wouldnt even need a dialer. Escow just allows you to import an entire spreadsheet of numbers and then calls them in very rapid succession for you.

Originally Posted by Jr180180

Interesting! Thanks! Bookmarking that site.

Cool mate, glad I could help!

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mojo1

11 years ago

Congrats on ramping up your calling efforts and thanks for the Skype tip.
The expense for the service seems affordable.

Look forward to hearing more good news about those appointments.

Go gettem' Benbro!

Thanks
1 reply

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RimaNaj2011

11 years ago

I use skype as well. How do you call so much? I thought it was 50 calls a day limit.

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marc.v

11 years ago

Originally Posted by RimaNaj2011

I use skype as well. How do you call so much? I thought it was 50 calls a day limit.

Their fair usage policy says no limit.. but it also says it's not to be used for telemarketing. At the end of the day, it seems like everyone gets away with telemarketing on Skype.

Thanks
2 replies

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TravisO

11 years ago

STILL, nothing beats with calling the people. In this way you can perfectly interact with your offers and lucky if your customer loves your voice. They may buy your product immediately.

Thanks
1 reply

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benbro

11 years ago

Originally Posted by mojo1

Congrats on ramping up your calling efforts and thanks for the Skype tip.
The expense for the service seems affordable.

Look forward to hearing more good news about those appointments.

Go gettem' Benbro!

Yes, that's right. It's remarkably affordable relative to some of the other options out there. Thanks for the kid words too Mojo!

Originally Posted by RimaNaj2011

I use skype as well. How do you call so much? I thought it was 50 calls a day limit.

Hi Rima, I looked at that too but found so much conflicting information that at the end of the day I just decided to try it and see what happens. Plus, I'm really of the opinion that if a company markets something as unlimited they really need to honor their marketing and not bash folks over the head w. the fine print.

That's just me though

Originally Posted by marc.v

Their fair usage policy says no limit.. but it also says it's not to be used for telemarketing. At the end of the day, it seems like everyone gets away with telemarketing on Skype.

Thanks for clarifying Marc.

Originally Posted by TravisO

STILL, nothing beats with calling the people. In this way you can perfectly interact with your offers and lucky if your customer loves your voice. They may buy your product immediately.

So true indeed, Travis!

Thanks

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RimaNaj2011

11 years ago

Originally Posted by marc.v

Their fair usage policy says no limit.. but it also says it's not to be used for telemarketing. At the end of the day, it seems like everyone gets away with telemarketing on Skype.

Yeah, I used to make my callers stop at 40-45 because I thought the limit was 50. I should keep going then I guess hah

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benbro

11 years ago

Originally Posted by kevin Hislop

I use skype all the time, but not for prospecting... now that i have a rubbish mobile signal, this could be a good solution.

skype + hands free bluetooth mic sounds awesome

Thanks for the idea

Kev

It very well could be..And yep, that's my exact setup. I'm one of those that likes to walk and talk - so the bluetooth headset was made for me

Originally Posted by RimaNaj2011

Yeah, I used to make my callers stop at 40-45 because I thought the limit was 50. I should keep going then I guess hah

Perhaps. Because you will never know til you try, my friend.

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kevin Hislop

11 years ago

I use skype all the time, but not for prospecting... now that i have a rubbish mobile signal, this could be a good solution.

skype + hands free bluetooth mic sounds awesome

Thanks for the idea

Kev

Thanks

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TrumpiaTim

11 years ago

Interesting, never thought of using Skype before to cold call

Thanks

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Climb Online

11 years ago

Get the skype add on for excel, create skype links and you got click to call!

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kenmichaels

11 years ago

Originally Posted by susie haynes

Get the skype add on for excel, create skype links and you got click to call!

can you show us that?

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Climb Online

11 years ago

Originally Posted by kenmichaels

can you show us that?

Sure, imports leads, click on skype tab, click create skype links...

The phone numbers turn into hyperlinks, click the number and
it will auto dial. Using excel 2007.

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kenmichaels

11 years ago

Originally Posted by susie haynes

Sure, imports leads, click on skype tab, click create skype links...

The phone numbers turn into hyperlinks, click the number and
it will auto dial. Using excel 2007.

I meant, can you show us the code to ... turn the nums into links?

Thanks
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PanteraIM

11 years ago

Originally Posted by kenmichaels

I meant, can you show us the code to ... turn the nums into links?

Sup,

You need the Skype addon, only works for windows:

Download Skype on your computer - Mac, Windows, Linux - Skype

There's an FAQ included, but you need click 'Highlight Numbers' and it will turn any valid 10 digit string into a clickable skype link.

Originally Posted by benbro

well you know what they say...necessity is the mother of invention

This explains so much, thanks for clarifying this PanteraIM. Just out of curiosity, is there a comparable solution that would be suitable for a single offliner? Thanks again!

All good.

It depends how nerd you want to get with this and if you are capable of running a server or just want a single pc solution.

If you have a spare PC with a good connection you can have a server running OSDial

osdial.org

It's completely scalable to how many seats or lines you want, very stable, very fast. You need a separate computer as I said before as well as a basic understanding of networking and of course Linux.

This is the free solution.

I don't run Windows so I can't use it, but a good dialler for most of you chaps would be the PD by Voicent.

Predictive Dialer | $285 Predictive Dialer | VOIP Predictive Dialer | Call Center Predictive Dialer | Hosted Predictive Dialer

It has unlimited line support, it's fast and you can do voice broadcasting, predictive dialling, auto dialling and leave VMs in the one program.

You need your own SIP server tho so you should have a VOIP account already, (you can't use your Skype account to make calls with this)

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socialentry

11 years ago

I am highly partial to vicidial myself but like the OSdial Pantera mentionned, you need to know at least basic networking and linux concept.

Also knowing the basics of asterisk is very handy

Thanks
1 reply

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OnlineStoreHelp

11 years ago

Ok I have to be the dumb one to ask... I am more curious how you have a list of 150 names a day to call...

Unfortunately Skype won't work for me. They don't have any 808 numbers and local businesses won't give you the time a day without a local number.

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socialentry

11 years ago

Originally Posted by OnlineStoreHelp

Ok I have to be the dumb one to ask... I am more curious how you have a list of 150 names a day to call...

Unfortunately Skype won't work for me. They don't have any 808 numbers and local businesses won't give you the time a day without a local number.

1.You can scrape them off, you can use Ken's mobile renegade. It's great.

2.If you don't want to use skype, you can use a SIP VOIP provider. Usually, they offer a of DID numbers you can lease for cheap.

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Climb Online 11 years ago

Originally Posted by kenmichaels

I meant, can you show us the code to ... turn the nums into links?

Not really sure what this code is your talking about, just download and install
skype for excel add on.
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benbro

11 years ago

Hi Susie, I was told skype discontinued the excel addon. Does anyone know where I can find the plugin please? Thanks!

Edit:
Nevermind, I found it. For anyone looking for the tool Susie mentioned it's no-longer offered by skype. But Softonic carries it - http://skype-office-toolbar.en.softonic.com/

Thanks for that bit of info Susie and everyone else who responded to my earlier question too!

Thanks

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Climb Online

11 years ago

Your right benbo, skype no longer supports that add on. They were about to get their ass sued by irate excel users... LOL

PM me your skype id and I will send the file to you.

Thanks

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benbro

11 years ago

One more question, Susie. Now that I've activated the add-in, I'm noticing this bothersome notification window that pops up everytime I click on a number. It looks like the one I attached to this post.

Is there an easy way to disable that notification. I tried tinkering w. the trust center commands and nothing worked. Also tried MS Mr. Fix It and that didn't work either.

Thanks again!

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Climb Online

11 years ago

I get that too, I have no idea how to disable it.

I just click yes every time and get on with it.

Thanks

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benbro

11 years ago

Well, i reckon its still much quicker than using the skype dialer. Plus, it is free. Might just go ahead and cancel my escow and use the extra 10 spot to get another skype #

Thanks

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Sam_G

11 years ago

Originally Posted by benbro

Hey all, as some of you may know...I've just started doing offline work full time a little over a month ago.

Well, anyhow...I wish I had known then what I do now.

Use Skype for Outbound Calls

The thing that led me to using skype was

My cell phone bill - I do not have unlimited minutes
People who I called earlier in the day or week, randomly calling back from caller i.d. at weird times

So I started thinking about ways to free up my cell phone and low and behold one day I was logged into skype and saw their offer for unlimited US calling for $2.99/mth.

I clicked it and got the quarterly for 15% or 20% off.

Next Improvement - Skype Autodialer

This the fact that my hands were free while I talked made it easier for me to track my calls...After looking at the averages, I found that I was calling approx 77 to 94 calls per day.

Unfortunately, the skype dialer is slow and tedious so after a two weeks of it, I thought to myself something has to give..So I began looking into autodialers for skype and came across several.

The one I finally ended up going w. is called the Escow Dialer for skype (its $10/mth per user and worth every bit) and what a difference a day makes!

The Bottom Line

I got it yesterday and made 120 calls in 3 hrs and today I made 177 calls in 4 hrs and I've got several appts lined up as a result of these two days after a one week drought.

While I'm certainly not gonna get in the habit of counting chickens b4 they hatch; after a week long drought of no appts, I'm a happy camper.

Just thought I'd share that w. anyone who may have been going through the same thing I was experiencing.

Hi:
What about Soft Phones--many are free.

Thanks

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TheLinkMaster

11 years ago

benbro and susie.. maybe you can exit the protected view..You can click the editing button if it appears on the Message Bar. Else, click the File tab and in the Backstage view, click Edit Anyway. here's an article that could help..
What is Protected View? - Office 2010 Security: Protecting your files - Office.com

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benbro

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Sam_G

Hi:
What about Soft Phones--many are free.

Hi Sam, thanks for bringing that to everyone's attention. I'm not too familiar with them. Tried to figure it out by doing a search but much of what I was seeing was highly technical. Would you maybe care to elaborate pls?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by TheLinkMaster

benbro and susie.. maybe you can exit the protected view..You can click the editing button if it appears on the Message Bar. Else, click the File tab and in the Backstage view, click Edit Anyway. here's an article that could help..
What is Protected View? - Office 2010 Security: Protecting your files - Office.com

Hi TLM, hmmm. not seeing that. Let me dig a little deeper then and see if we can't figure this thing out. Thanks!

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vaalkaa

11 years ago

Thank you for this great info Benbro!

Thanks

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Joshua McCoy

11 years ago

Hey benbro (or anyone else using the dialer mentioned),

Do you know if the dialer has a blacklist feature that will screen out numbers that have already been previously dialed?

Thanks

EDIT: I found that info, looks like it does.

Thanks

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atrbiz

11 years ago

I'm going to test out this Skype office toolbar with my team. Looks solid and it's free.

Thanks

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echelon

11 years ago

I did not know it was possible to have a dialer for skype. I have tried offline marketing in the past but I did not reach the results I hoped for. If I have another attempt at it, skype could be a tool to use.

Thanks
1 reply

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hobgoblin 11 years ago

That's awesome! Love all this secret stuff... lol I really needed something like this to take it to the next level. Thanks for the info...

I was really looking for one of the features it has
"Automatically play voice messages on live person answered lines"

I would love to do a test like, recording the opening line of the pitch to play right when they answer the phone. Then wait for their response. If they are shitty, CLICK, and NEXT... if they are half way positive, then pitch on... has anyone tried this type of thing?
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imarketingpromoter

11 years ago

Thank you very much for generously sharing your experience with us. this is pretty useful!

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buddhaflow

11 years ago

Hate to piss on everybody's parade here, but using any Skype subscription for telemarketing is specifically disallowed.

Just FYI.

Skype's subscriptions are for individual use only (personal or business communications) in accordance with our Terms of Use and this FUP ("Legitimate Use"). The following is a non-exhaustive list of practices that would not be considered Legitimate Use:

Using subscriptions for telemarketing or call centre operations;

http://www.skype.com/en/legal/fair-usage/

Thanks
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Newbieee

9 years ago

Originally Posted by buddhaflow

Hate to piss on everybody's parade here, but using any Skype subscription for telemarketing is specifically disallowed.

Just FYI.

Skype's subscriptions are for individual use only (personal or business communications) in accordance with our Terms of Use and this FUP ("Legitimate Use"). The following is a non-exhaustive list of practices that would not be considered Legitimate Use:

Using subscriptions for telemarketing or call centre operations;

Skype Fair Usage Policy - Skype

I cant agree more.

I just received an email from Skype.

"Fair usage policy violation warning

We have noticed some prohibited usage of your subscription.

We will continue to monitor your account, your calling behavior and your overall activity using Skype. If the prohibited usage still continues, your subscription will be disconnected. You will no longer be able to use or purchase any of Skype's paid-for products.

The suspension of your access to Skype paid-for products will be permanent and you will be unable to transfer any existing products to a new Skype account, or receive a refund. However, you will be able to continue to make Skype-to-Skype calls and send instant messages.

We remind you that Skype's products are for personal, individual and non-commercial use only. Our Fair Usage Policy can be found within our Terms of Use. Our subscriptions cannot be shared or used for commercial gain, such as telemarketing or call centre operations.

If you have any questions, please visit this support article.
"

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bsummers

10 years ago

Agree, an autodialer is a must in telemarketing.

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Samuel Adams

10 years ago

I've tried Skype before and the call quality is not very good. Maybe it has something to do with connection speed. But the person on the other end (usually on a land line or cell phone) always complains of not being able to hear me well when I'm using the Skype call service. I'd be interested in finding out if there were any call quality issues when you used the service.