Discover a Myriad of Ways to Track and Record Inbound Calls, Part 2 of 2

By Jim Gilbert

After a one-week hiatus in which I discussed the amazing customer service I received while on a recent cruise, I’m jumping back into part two of how to use your call center as a strategic tool to increase sales. (For part 1 from Jan. 15, click here.) Audience feedback I got from part one indicated the need to address how best to record calls for training purposes.

It seems some of you have the capability to record calls and some do not. For those without the proper technology, you have a few simple options. The Internet enables some companies to record your inbound calls — for surprisingly little cost. For the past two years, I’ve been using an Internet lead-tracking company named KALL8 (www.kall8.com) to assign unique toll-free numbers to marketing vehicles in order to properly measure call volumes, response rates and cost per lead/order. Setting up a toll-free number is so simple. Even the most technically challenged of us can get set up in less than five minutes.

This company also provides call-recording services, which are as simple as hitting an on/off switch. Calls can then be retrieved by logging onto the provider’s Web site or having the calls e-mailed to you.

Several other companies offer the same services as KALL8. (A simple Google search of “contact center call recording” brings up literally hundreds of thousands.) Another company I recommend is Who’s Calling (www.whoscalling.com), which offers services similar to KALL8.

If you don’t want to go the Internet route, you can always go old-school. Use a tape recorder and one of those “thingies” that connects to the earpiece of the phone with a suction cup. You can find basic recording equipment at your neighborhood RadioShack or similar electronics store.

Next week I’ll discuss how to use recorded calls to increase your call-to-order conversion ratio.

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Jim Gilbert Author's page Jim Gilbert has been creating direct marketing programs that drive superior ROI for almost 30 years. Fluent in consumer or B-to-B, creative, operations, and analytics, he marries the strategic and tactical sides of direct and social media marketing in a seamless fashion that gets results. He's CEO of a multidiscipline direct marketing agency, Gilbert Direct Marketing, Inc., which focuses on direct mail, catalogs, DRTV, telemarketing, print, alternative direct marketing media and social media marketing. Jim has been involved in start-ups, expansions and turnarounds, and is an expert in helping multichannel marketers get to the "next level." He's a former adjunct professor, teaching direct marketing at Miami International University, and is President of the Board of Directors of the Florida Direct Marketing Association. Jim loves to talk direct marketing, and has done many lectures on direct and social media marketing.