Facilities and personnel are only part of the expense in running a call center, regardless of where it is sited. A big recurring cost is telecommunications services. The larger the center, the bigger the lines coming into and leaving the facility. Pennies per minute on the phone soon become thousands of dollars and tens of thousands of dollars per month. Add to this the cost of data lines and you've got a major line item expense.
The fastest and easiest way to reduce call center costs is simply to pay less for the same quality of service. Is that even possible? It is when you optimize the value of your voice and data telecom line services. You may be lulled into thinking that you are already getting the best rates possible based on your usage volume. But are you?
Unless you've recently gone out for quotes from half a dozen to a dozen competitive service providers you may well be paying more than you have to. I'm not talking about trading down to a lower quality of service. I'm suggesting that there are high quality competitive carriers out there who are hungry for your business, especially in this economic environment. But you have to have a way to find out about them and work out the contract details.
Suffice it to say that simply signing with the incumbent local telephone company does not guarantee you the best competitive rate. If anything, they may treat your business as a captive market and offer limited if any discounts. You may well get incrementally lower rates on voice minutes as your call volume increases. But when was the last time they sat a contract on your desk that was half the cost of the last one? Ha!
So where do you find these alternate carriers and how much time and effort is that going to take? It could be a major project, or it might be a trivial effort. It all depends on how you go about it. The easy path is to work through a telecom services broker who has the tools, personnel and expertise in place to efficiently run a search specifically for your needs and location. Location is important as most carriers have limited service footprints and line prices are calculated from carrier offices to specific business locations.
The task of doing this is made easier by automated tools, such as GeoQuote (tm) from Telarus, Inc. This patented software system has been optimized to interface directly with carrier databases and develop optimum pricing, often in real time. You can give it a try yourself by simply entering some basic telephone and business address information into the GeoQuote online search form. You'll be well advised to also speak with a Telarus consultant, as they have access to special limited time offers not accessible by the search engine. You can request this through the form or call the toll free number and discuss options with a consultant at any time.
