Lead Management Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. What Is Exactly Auto Dialer / Automated Dialing?

Answer :

Auto Dialers are telephony devices that have auto dialing or speed dialing capabilities. These are devices, which are capable of dialing a large number of people automatically through a database or are capable of randomly or sequentially dialing telephone numbers to deliver a unified message or messages. The term Auto Dialer is applicable to a wide range of products available in the market, such as auto dialer telephony computer, predictive dialer, voice-mail system and speed-dial system.

Auto dialers are designed to make outbound calls. They utilize controlled voice activation to record answers to questions. This provides the prospect with a normal conversational environment or interactive environment whereby one can speak in a normal fashion without bothering about pressing buttons on the keypad. Auto dialers are meant to be creating qualified sales leads and finding pre-qualified prospects for your business.

Question 2. What Are Voice Mail Systems?

Answer :

Voice Mail Systems are one of the devices to process and coordinate inbound calls. The system asks the called party to use the buttons on the telephone's Touch-tone keypad to perform all branching functions. It is not the best method available for lead-generation.

Question 3. What Is An Ivr?

Answer :

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems are devices that are used by organizations with the database at the backend and used to provide information which is dynamically changing over the phone automatically. The perfect example of use would be Banks using IVR to provide customers account information over the phone automatically after validating each transaction.

Question 4. What Are Auto Attendants?

Answer :

Inbound automated attendants answer phone calls with a simple message or a menu of choices. Besides they receive voice mail messages and can transfer calls to other telephone numbers, if one has the Centrex telephone service facility or in-house automated call distribution device.

Question 5. What Are Predictive Dialers?

Answer :

Predictive Dialers are devices, which are designed to make sales people more efficient by eliminating dead time between calls. For example, the job of a predictive dialer in a company that sells magazines, with 10 sales people and 20 telephone lines would be to transfer calls to the next available sales person with the data. In other words, predictive dialing is a system that automatically dials the telephone for your telemarketers connecting only live voice contacts to them every 7 - 9 seconds. The way our system does this is by 'listening' and filtering out the answering machines, busy signals, operator intercepts, and other types of nonfunctional calls. This process therefore, increases your telemarketing production by doubling the amount of contacts your telemarketers can make every day.

Question 6. Which Is The Best System For Me?

Answer :

We realize that it's a difficult task to choose a system. People who have used computer telephony devices in the past may know what to look for in a system, as per their business needs. What you need is a system, which is most efficient, least expensive and user-friendly in nature. The last few years have seen a plethora of computer telephony systems being introduced in the market. The fact remains that only a few of these work well. To top it all, these systems are also overpriced and not efficient with a poor recognition of what or who is at the other end of the line. Some are built upon the 'voice mail' platform. These are low-priced, low-efficiency systems. These rely heavily on the use of 'tones' on the phone keypad.

Question 7. Will It Work For My Business?

Answer :

 Few factors that determine the number of leads generated are:

• Quality of the software running the dialing campaigns.
• Quality of the script used.
• Demand for the product/services.
• Healthy Business culture, fortunately all the above variables are controllable.

Question 8. How Soon Should We Expect Results?

Answer :

Immediately! Unlike other modes of marketing, you will be talking to prospects right from the time of the deployment of the terminal.

Question 9. Does System Requires An Ongoing Administration?

Answer :

No, system does not require an ongoing monitoring; it can work in stand-alone unattended mode and can be scheduled well in advance even months before in some cases and will automatically start or stop at preprogrammed time.

Question 10. What Is The Learning Curve On System?

Answer :

As soon as you receive your system, with an excess of 24 HRS knowledge based web site and with live technical support you will be up and running in less than an hour.

Question 11. What Is A Cti Card?

Answer :

CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) which integrates computers with telephone. Companies like Dialogic sister concern of Intel, Brook trout and Pika are some of few companies manufacturing these boards and we provide interface with all these boards.

Question 12. What Are The Benefits Of Automated Call Processes To Businesses?

Answer :

TCMS offers the integrated technology from the world's best on the market that will allow your business or organization to automate outbound as well as inbound calls processes, so that you have time to do other things! Just to name a few , In & outbound call processing can be used to gather intelligence about different markets while creating qualified leads and automate to establish effective relationships with customers.

In an Inbound mode you can respond to customers through menu choices. For example, "A prospect calls your toll free number and enters the extension number or listing number you advertised. Then they hear your recorded information, and can select directly connect to you, leave you a voice mail message, or receive faxed information instantly. Simultaneously, your cell phone and/or pager informs you of the extension which was called and provides you the callers phone number (even if they have caller ID blocking).

Question 13. In What Ways Can The Integrated Automated Attendant Handle Calls?

Answer :

The Inbound Automated Attendant can answer your telephone in a variety of ways to provide information, transfer calls or take voice messages.

Question 14. Voice Or Script Recordings?

Answer :

You can record your own script or messages you want to deliver either in an Inbound or Outbound mode and you only have to do once through recording utility software provided with unlimited scripts.

We will assist you with customized script from our experienced and dedicated staffs just for this purpose. It will be designed to produce results keeping in focus your business needs rather than one size fits all.

Question 15. Are There Any Limitations To The Length Of Messages Or The Number Of Questions?

Answer :

No there are no limitations regarding the length of the message or number of questions one wants to ask either in Inbound or Outbound, but we strongly suggest not to have more than 30 to 35 second long message. You can get responses either in voice prompts or in touch tone response, for example press 1 for yes or 2 for no or you can get all initial information from called party before you transfer the call to a live agent.

Question 16. Live Call Transfer? Notification Of Live Call Transfer In Inbound Or Outbound Mode?

Answer :

Live calls can be transferred anywhere you want,to your office Cell phone while you are traveling, or to third party call center, or agents home or his/her cell phone.

Agent can be informed before picking up the live call or after picking up the call and announcing the live call transferred from and hence giving signals to the live agent that a particular call is transferred.

In our predictive mode it is mille seconds you can even hear person even picking up the receiver from his headset.

Question 17. Are Auto Dialers Legal In My State?

Answer :

We here at TCMS request that you apply decency and good telephone communication ethics when operating your Automated Dialing system. It is suggested that you keep accurate records, and when anyone requests that you remove their phone number from your dialing lists, please do so. A person's right to insist that your company does not contact them again in this fashion should always be honored. We have do- not- call list features incorporated within our software. Avoid calling your customers at the odd hours for example calling them in middle of the night or on week end evenings. 

Various kind of automated calling technologies are being used by various governments, state and federal agencies, by school districts, businesses, fortune 500 and fortune 1000 companies, associations, non profit organizations legally for years in different ways. While over the years various laws have been passed to regulate the use of Tele computer Auto Dialer equipment, never has this type of equipment been totally outlawed.

In lot of countries other than USA these technologies are still evolving and have helped a lot of governmental and other institutions to stream line their outbound and inbound campaigns and these technologies are going to bring great value to reach the contacts. 

We strongly recommend all of our customers to operate under legal parameters, you can call our customer support to discuss the effectiveness of these automated technologies used under permission based marketing or the use of with your existing customers.

Question 18. If Everyone Is Going To Be On The Computer Telephony Devices Or Auto Or Predictive Dialing Devices, Doesn't It Prove To Be Less Effective?

Answer :

That's the reason why other media forms are not so effective any longer. Everybody is trying to get consumers and market attention through the same old media, day in and day out.

Innumerable advertisements in dailies, magazines, on radio, television and other conventional media forms are offering screaming "offers" at targeted or untargeted market. It has cluttered up the environment to an extent that one offer seems to be overlapping another, diffusing each other's differentials. At the end of the day, it's all falling on deaf ears. 

Dialers, on the other hand, have been around for so many years and yet, are the best-kept secret in the world! One reason why the potential has remained untapped is that virtually everyone who currently owns Computer Telephony devices feels that every other person owns such a device in competition. 

It is a fact that auto dialers have been around for so many years without gaining the popularity they deserve. It is going to take some time before the concept gains mass popularity and experiences a clutter in its environment.

Question 19. Can I Use A T-1 Line With My Auto Dialer?

Answer :

Yes, but you must use a board especially made for T-1 lines. Also, you must use a D4 SF AMI circuit.

Question 20. What Are The Minimum System Requirements?

Answer :

Computer with Windows 2000 or NT 4.0 (Workstation or Server) or Windows XP, with 64 megabytes of RAM, 133 megahertz processor, 500 megabytes of hard drive space, Sound Blaster compatible sound card, Microphone, & Speaker. Voice Boards require an available IRQ & an ISA or PCI slot in your computer. For ease of installation & the best performance, we recommend Windows 2000. (Windows ME is not compatible).