The call centre market is entering a phase of explosive growth. As a consequence the already critical shortage of suitable call centre sales staff is expected to intensify.
Companies may be willing to pay high prices for appropriate people, but the inflated salaries on offer are causing churn in the market which impacts negatively on call centre sales, says Bryan Hattingh Executive Services consultant Ashleigh Prentice.
"With the call centre market still in its infancy, no one particular product dominates, and there is no perception of a `preferred employer` in the call centre market," says Prentice. "More and more players are entering the call centre market, and as competition intensifies, so the demand for skills will increase."
Prentice maintains that the ever-rising remuneration packages offered for good salespeople are causing a level of churn which is further destabilising the call centre market. "Share options and reward mechanisms are not preventing salespeople in the call centre market from moving from one company to another. Companies are willing to offer every incentive to attract competent call centre salespeople."
This situation will not persist, says Prentice. "As with all new IT segments, a shakedown is coming, when a few players will dominate, and the smaller solution providers will find niche markets to fill."
Salespeople should resist the temptation to move from job to job in pursuit of larger remuneration packages, warns Prentice. "As the market settles, a call centre salesperson may find he has run the gamut of opportunities and has developed a reputation in the market for job-hopping. The South African IT industry is small, and it is not uncommon for some salespeople to be regarded as unemployable because of their unstable career record."
The call centre is very much a solution-oriented offering, rather than a product offering. For that reason the ideal salesperson would have a business solutions approach rather than a technical background. Many call centre salespeople are being drawn from industry verticals that are targeted as lucrative markets for call centre solutions providers, such as banking, services and retail.
The call centre sales cycle is a long and complex one, and demands that a salesperson go beyond merely clinching the deal.
"The challenge lies in proving to the client that he can turn his call centre from a cost centre to a profit centre," Prentice elaborates. "A call centre salesperson typically will have to convince the client that his proposed solution will achieve this, he will have to assess the client`s requirements, and source technicians within his company that would team up to provide the appropriate installation, integration and training services."
The salesperson, Prentice points out, develops a close relationship with the client and gains an intimate knowledge of the client`s business.
"There is enormous value in this knowledge, and it is the one-on-one relationship that a call centre company will want to buy when it makes an offer to a salesperson. Call centre sales can be measured in millions of rand, and in a big-bidding market like this, companies are willing to pay a premium."
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