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So, drum roll, please, for our first official Employee of the Month, Account Manager Yasaman Garner. Yasaman joined the Sales Verification company in October, 2010, after six years in other customer-service retail positions. Her friendly demeanor and attention to detail made her a natural at 3rd party verification. She quickly moved up to Account Manager, and as such has direct responsibility for ensuring client satisfaction and TPV program success.

“Yasaman is really the face of our company for her clients,” Executive Director Sara Goldberg said. “The care she demonstrates in those relationship is extraordinary. All pertinent data and qualitative feedback is delivered swiftly and efficiently. Beyond that, though, she really builds the kind of trust with clients that carries a relationship for the long haul.”

That two-way communication is what makes Yasaman such an effective third party verification account manager.

“I give my clients feedback on the ways our team can better work with their sales team to create a better understanding for the customer and increase the percentage of quality verifications,” Yasaman said. “We pride ourselves on making changes as quickly and efficiently as possible so the client can launch new processes, markets or extensions to current markets as quickly as possible.”

Congratulations to Yasaman, the January Sales Verification Company Employee of the Month.

But when they show an appreciation for each other? Well, that’s when we know that the caring, team atmosphere is genuine. And it warms our hearts.

Jacque O'Malley (l) and Sara Goldberg at the party

Heading into the holiday season, one of our third party verifiers had a sudden blow to her health, and was forced into emergency surgery that threatened her ability to walk again. Her brother, also a Sales Verification Company employee, was overwhelmed in caring for her and her five children. Their hopes for a happy Christmas were pretty
grim.

Her colleagues decided to pitch in and fill their tree with the kids’ most wanted gifts; a bike, some radio-controlled cars, and a small mountain of Legos. The generosity was contagious, and the giving soon spread to include several other children of the SVC team.

The employees had a secret Santa exchange for themselves, and created a potluck feast. A volunteer decorating committee added the final touches, transforming the third party verification center for a festive holiday celebration.

“It was very happy occasion,” Executive Director Sara Goldberg said, “and one of the most genuine displays of holiday spirit I’ve ever seen. It’s very heartwarming to see that kind of support for each other in the workplace, and I think it’s a great testament to the work atmosphere we try to create.”

May we all carry our holiday spirit throughout 2012.

Statistics are how we measure the health of the TPV business. We’re always aware of the ups and downs, looking for patterns of success and areas of improvement. Recent trends indicate that our hard work is paying off. Since the beginning of September, our internal call quality percentage has been on the rise.

Each of our third party verifiers are monitored daily on each campaign. The quality assurance team is trained to listen not only for one-time mistakes (which are correctly immediately), but also for potential tongue-twisting areas of the script that might need addressing with the team as a whole, or even with the client. It’s our goal to deliver a concise, easy-to-understand verification of customer understanding.

And based on our numbers, we’ve been doing a great job. Our overall service level is consistently above 90%, a number that includes not only our accuracy measures, but also our speed-to-answer and our average talk time. One of our biggest clients conducted their own internal review, and our call quality on their campaign was above 96%!

So business is good, volume is up, and all the seats are filled. We’re bursting at the seams, actually, which has prompted us to begin the search for a larger office. More business than you can handle is a problem any operation would like to have, and we’re fortunate that our third party verification service is expanding to meet clients’ needs.

Congratulations to October’s winner, Tomika Jones.

“All the sales verifiers have a good time with the award,” Executive Director Sara Goldberg said. “It’s a way of stirring up some lighthearted competition on the TPV floor while keeping the focus on our quality and efficiency measures, which is where it needs to be every day.”

The Award is based on several metrics including call quality, talk time, zero-tolerance complaints, and per-hour production.

“I’m certainly excited to win the award,” Jones said. “I take great pride in my work, as we all do, and it’s great to have that hard work recognized by the management team. Now I’ll just enjoy the title for the month, and look forward to winning again.”

The third-party verifiers on the campaign for Payless Power, an energy retailer based in Texas, took a short break from the phones recently and enjoyed an afternoon snack, compliments of the client. The TPV reps were smiling and the mood was light, and not only because of the goodies. The event was a celebration of months of hard work, and a testament to a true vendor-client partnership.

“I couldn’t be happier with what The Sales Verification Company has done for our business,” said Sam DeHoyos, Vice President of Operations for Payless Power. “The feedback they have provided has increased the effectiveness of our sales force. The stats are up, and we see great growth ahead.”

The spark came from an onsite visit to Payless Power by Sara Goldberg and Milly Borja, Executive Director and Senior Account Manager, respectively, for The Sales Verification Company. The personal attention and face-to-face relationship building helped level-set expectations, address concerns and challenges, and cement the partnership that has become the bedrock of day-to-day success.

“It really is all about relationships,” DeHoyos said. “I really enjoy working with Milly. She understands and responds to our concerns, while providing valuable feedback, and the result has been a dramatic increase in effectiveness.”

So much so that Payless Energy felt compelled to say thank you to the verifiers by springing for the treats. The team snacked in shifts, of course, so as not to slow down production. The show must go on, after all.

Earning his keep

OK, maybe that’s a bit dramatic (we couldn’t resist), but we do want to report that at around 11:00 ET today, a transformer blew in our neighborhood, knocking out electric service to much of the industrial park in which we’re located. The emergency generator kicked on instantly and, as advertised, was at full power within seconds. Ten seconds, actually, was all it took for a reboot back to full capacity. We barely skipped a beat. In an odd sort of way, the story gets better when we report that the power was out for four hours and 45 minutes. While businesses around us closed up shop and went home, we kept on providing our third party verification clients with the security and responsiveness they’ve come to expect. An extended power outage would have cost clients and vendor alike thousands of dollars in lost productivity. Today, we’re happy we had The Beast in our backyard.

Yasaman joined The Sales Verification Company in October, 2010 as a front-line verifier. She demonstrated an ability to handle any TPV situation on the phone, while conveying a measure of leadership to those around her. She was quickly elevated to a Quality Control monitor, and later to Training Manager, where she mentored others in the traits necessary to succeed in our business: patience, clarity and exactitude. As our business in on the upswing, we needed to dedicate more resources to Account Management, and Yasaman was the obvious choice.

“We are so happy to have watched her rise through the ranks to her new post,” Executive Director Sara Goldberg said. “She has shown great determination in her new career, and she’s tackled everything that’s come her way in her previous positions. We know that she’ll be a great account manager, as well, and give our clients the attention they deserve.”

In her new role, Yasaman will act as the day-to-day contact with her TPV clients, providing statistics and performance metrics, facilitating script changes, and determining manpower needs based on sales projections. Her friendly demeanor and customer-service background make her a natural for the position, and she’s excited for the future.

“Every day is a brand new opportunity to grow,” she likes to say.”Each job I’ve had at the Sales Verification Company has offered different challenges and rewards, and I’ve enjoyed them all. I think that experience will be a great asset in serving my clients. I can’t wait to get started.”

We welcome Yasaman to her new post, proud to elevate and recognize one of our own.

The business of telemarketing is highly regulated and this makes playing by the rules extremely important to the ultimate success of our business. Properly executed third party verifications are essential to the achievement of correctly authorized customer switches from one provider to another, particularly in the telecom and energy sectors.

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has instituted very specific rules and guidelines for Independent Third Party Verifications (“TPVs”) in order to prevent the unauthorized changes of consumers’ carriers, a practice called “slamming.” The regulatory bodies in many states followed suit and adopted the same or similar standards in the statutes and/or rules that apply specifically to the provision of energy telemarketing services.

Among the various requirements of the FCC relating to TPVs are the following prerequisites: that the identity of the subscriber is revealed, confirmation that the person on the call is authorized to make the carrier change, disclosure of the names of the carriers affected by the change and the types of service involved, verbal confirmation of the date of verification with the consumer and a direct statement that the carrier change will be effectuated once the verification is complete, even if the customer has a question during or after the verification process.

Did you know that the FCC also requires that a TPV must be conducted in the same language that was used in the underlying sales transaction? You may also not realize that it is mandatory that the entire TPV transaction be recorded; every single call. Further, it is important to note that a carrier’s sales representative initiating a three-way conference call for verification may not remain on the line after the connection has been established. For more information on the FCC’s requirements, visit www.fcc.gov.

Is your head spinning yet? There are also many other agencies which impose additional rules and bodies of law on the telecommunications and energy industries, and it sometimes seems that applicable new legislation is discussed on the news every other week!

But you don’t need to worry about these things when you utilize the services of The Sales Verification Company. It’s our job to keep abreast of all rules, regulations, laws and standards which are applicable to our business. So rest easy, my friends. We play by the rules.

Everyone knows that professional reputations are slow to build but can be torn down in an instant. In the call center business, you’re only as good as your last transaction. That’s why the Sales Verification Company takes such great pride in the Quality Control of our third party verifications.

Mike Epley

We know it’s what sets us apart from the competition. Accuracy and integrity from our customer service representatives is simply what our TPV clients expect.

To help keep our good thing going, and to lift us even higher in our demand for excellence, we welcome Mike as our new Director of Quality control. Mike has over 25 years in the call center business, mainly in product control, call monitoring and training efficiencies. He’s made a career at keeping his teams in line and focused on the common goal.

“Everyone on the phones needs to understand that they not only represent their employer, but more importantly, they represent the client,” Mike said. “With third party verification, we are in the accuracy business, and there’s simply no room for veering away from the unique demands of any campaign. My people have always understood that. We create a positive environment, reward excellence, and correct where necessary. It’s a proven approach, and one that is ultimately reflected back to us in positive client feedback.”

Mike may not walk the sales floor with a bow-legged swagger and a silver badge, but we all know who’s keepin’ the peace in these here parts. Welcome aboard, Mike.