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188
The Front Office: Driving Sales and Growth
Servicing the Client: Call Centers
Move Global
Because of changes in communication technologies and voice-over IP, many large and mid-size U.S. corporations have partnered with companies in India and the Philippines to augment or replace their U.S. call centers. Communication technology changes have enabled call centers to be built all over the world. Countries such as India and the Philippines have highly educated workforces. Labor in these countries is less expensive than the United States, thus offering significant cost savings to companies while maintaining quality support services. Call center operations are significant and expensive but not a core competency for most companies, so it makes tremendous sense as a partnering opportunity. Partnering is limited only by the creativeness of those involved. Tips for creating strategic partnerships follow:
Creating Strategic Partnerships
• Keep an open mind; do not fear partnerships.
• Compete with larger organizations by filling service voids with partners.
• Discover that highly skilled teams are at your disposal.
• Partner selection is paramount to success.
Keep an Open Mind
Partnering may seem threatening at times, especially if your partner offers some of the same services that you do. Be open-minded and do not let fear stand in your way of developing partnerships that will help you grow your organization and its service offerings. No one company can be all things to all people and offer all the services that clients may need or want. Selecting a trusted partner, and clearly outlining the “rules of engagement” for operations, communication, lead sharing, and revenue sharing can help mitigate these concerns.
Compete with Larger Organizations
Any company, no matter how small, can compete with large companies by creating quality strategic partnerships. Small to mid-size service providers can compete against Goliath-size competitors through smart strategic partnerships and best-of-breed talent pools.
A small to mid-size company has two options for competing with larger organizations. First, focus on smaller clients that are not attractive to larger competitors, thereby eliminating the competition. Second, partner with firms that can help the firm service larger clients effectively. As long as the client receives good service at a competitive price and does not experience
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any “transaction costs” or disruption due to a partnership, the partner should enable most smaller firms to compete with their larger brethren.
Highly Skilled Teams at Your Disposal
Strategic partnerships enable the partners to create a combined group of highly skilled resources with diverse areas of expertise. Imagine creating the perfect team without having to increase infrastructure costs, training time, and time to market for any given project. Smart partnerships allow any company, regardless of size, to compete and grow its talent base quickly with the finest experts that it shares with its strategic partner.
Partner Selection Is Paramount
The selection of a good partner is paramount to the partnership’s success.
Service providers need to select their strategic partners carefully keeping many factors in mind. Critical elements in the selection include services provided, overlap of services, service demand, and the time horizon. For example, partnerships can have a finite life and should be dissolved if they no longer benefit both organizations.
Choosing partners wisely in areas where there is little overlap or competition will create a complementary team of professionals that can service large projects for any size client. Sometimes partners may offer some of the same services. This does not mean that those organizations should avoid partnering. The intended partnership may be narrow enough so that each company benefits from the other ’s highly trained workers in one specific area of expertise, while the other competitive services of the firms are excluded from the partnership. The goal is to create the best and brightest team possible to provide outstanding service to the client. Selecting the right partner will enable the professional services firm to field the best team to successfully complete the client’s projects.
Guidelines to Developing Successful
Strategic Partnerships
Here are six helpful steps in developing, implementing, and executing strategic partnerships:
1. Develop a system and implement a plan.
2. Quantify potential cost savings for new services.
3. Prioritize opportunities.
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The Front Office: Driving Sales and Growth
4. Mitigate risk factors.
5. Measure and monitor performance.
6. Reevaluate and deploy short- and long-term goals and continuously improve processes.
1. Develop a System and Implement a Plan
Develop a business planning process for strategic partnering that is a collaborative approach with decision makers in your group. Identify your strengths and weaknesses and where partnering makes the most sense. Find a partner who provides those services gaps that you cannot presently offer to your clients. Develop a management system to define how you will work with your new strategic partners and manage clients and their expectations. Get a contract in writing to help limit misunderstandings and establish upfront commitments between you and your partner early on.
Implement a plan that meets your company’s strategic goals and is executed with precision. Prioritize client needs and quantify and identify strategic resources that fill service gaps in your organization that will offer more services to your clients. Establish internal milestones of what you expect from your strategic partner and your organization. Are your goals in line with your overall business plan and company direction? Plan your strategic partnerships with customer growth in mind. Develop clear revenue targets and goals for the partnership to reach.
2. Quantify Potential Cost Savings for New Services
Quantify potential cost savings where a strategic partner can round out client service offerings and increase revenue opportunities in a cost-effective way.
There are many ways that you can work with your strategic partners. You will find new ways to leverage the relationship and skill sets that they have to offer. You may be able to cut your operating costs by letting your partner take over areas of service that cost you too much time and money and do not contribute to the balance sheet. Lock down significant discounts from your partner for the products and services that you will be reselling and get them in writing. Negotiate 30-day payment terms upon job completion and suspension of pay if your partner is not performing to your satisfaction. If you have special contractual payment terms with your client, get your partner to agree to similar payment terms based on your cash f low.
3. Prioritize Opportunities
Prioritize service and revenue opportunities, and develop new service offerings or intellectual property that you both can sell. Implement plans with
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your strategic partners that are executable and measurable over time. You may go through some planning sessions with your partner where there are seemingly too many opportunities and directions to go in. Narrow down your prospects with razor-sharp focus on executable and marketable services. Prioritize your opportunities with a shorter horizon in mind and test the waters.