Do Not Call Register changes could squeeze IT resellers
- 18 February, 2010 16:12
- Comments 17
IT resellers could find their ability to sell to new customers severely hindered by plans to extend Australia’s Do Not Call Register to include business and government telephone numbers.
Amendments and expansion of Do Not Call Register legislation are currently under inquiry in the Australian Senate. If approved, the proposal will limit a company’s ability to make marketing and sales calls to potential business customers listed on the registry. The inquiry was launched on November 30 and reports are due next week.
If passed, managing director of marketing company, Direct IT, John Anderson, claimed the new legislation could massively affect any IT company’s ability to use telephone sales to generate new business and customer leads. Telemarketing is one of the most common methods IT reseller organisations use to source customer opportunities.
“It’s a disaster,” Anderson said. “It’s not just going to affect IT, but all sectors because so much business is done over the phone.”
Anderson said telemarketing calls were annoying, but pointed out many organisations relied on the process to find new business. If prospective suppliers are precluded from calling customers on the register, it could also impact the customer’s potential to get better deals. Anderson, who has been in the industry for more than 20 years, estimated businesses could lose about $380 million per year.
“The way the government is trying to overcome this inconvenience will end up having a serious impact on business,” he said. “In a large part of the reseller market, sales people ring local businesses to see if they need to upgrade their printers, or if they want a scanner attached, and so on.”
In addition, Anderson claimed companies that weren’t on the register would get “hammered” by telemarketing.
“This is going to impact the Australian economy if it is introduced,” he said.
In January, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) responded to the Senate, stating intentions to extend the Do Not Call Register (DNCR) could greatly reduce the ability of all businesses to access significant market segments. In its letter, the industry group highlighted the fact many companies used various methods like telemarketing to contact potential new customers.
“As a small IT business of 15 people, the administrative overhead of checking every phone number with a DNCR before we make a marketing call will reduce sales productivity by about 25 per cent,” an AIIA member stated. “This will increase sales costs accordingly. In the real world of business, the telephone is the only effective marketing tool.”
The Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) also slammed the proposal as ‘unworkable’ and cited an Access Economics survey, which found changes could have far-reaching consequences including reduction in revenues, employment, competition, innovation and market efficiency.
If the Do Not Call Register proposal is passed, the extension would allow business, government, fax services and emergency service numbers to be placed on the list.
ADMA CEO, Rob Edwards, said it was hard to quantify how much it would costs businesses if the proposal was approved.
But an Access Economics report indicated ongoing compliance costs to the industry would be in excess of $100 million.
Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.
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Comments
yay-whowantsasalescallanyway?
“This is going to impact the Australian economy if it is introduced,”
yup, I'll get a bit more work done because I don't have to answer annoying sales calls...
phil
Be nice to note that many people actually support this amendment too as they are simply sick and tired of all the useless, time wasting phone calls. Be nice to see how much the economy might improve if people didn't have to answer every sales call?
Claims that a small It business would lose 25 per cent of sales productivity are pretty far fetched. Run a script against the list to check it - it's not like you need to do it manually. They are IT companies aren't they? so that sort of process could easily be automated
Besides, if you are just relying on cold calling people that don't want to be called, then you have a pretty flimsy business plan to begin with.
Giuseppe De Simone
Just think of all the extra time I will have to send well designed marketing material by mail! Telemarketing calls from untrained and underpaid call centres are the bain of my life. I wouldn't mind so much if the person calling me was courteous and informed but they rarely are.
Graeme
The main mass call offenders are telephone/broadband sales. I just put the phone down. It would be a shame not to be able to receive calls from businesses I don't already do business with an which are genuinely interested in promoting a new or more competitive product that I am interested in. I would support the dnc list provided that you had to specify what kinds of businesses you don't want calls from (eg telephone sales). As a small business trying to make a go of developing and marketing inovative products, it would be make things difficult if I was not able to pick new businesses I want to get in touch with and ring them up. Where does it stop? Are you not allowed to call anybody you don't do business with already if they are registered on th dnc list? That's just crazy.
Anonymous
@Graeme - if you want to get the calls don't put yourself on the list.
"Are you not allowed to call anybody you don't do business with already if they are registered on th dnc list? That's just crazy."
It's not crazy mate, its respecting their wish not to be called by you.
John
This form of "blanket ban" is horrible for firms that target specific businesses that can clearly benefit from the product or service they are promoting.This scheme does not differentiate between these firms and those who simply call anybody and everybody without first ascertaining if their product or service is even relevant to the intended audience.
Certain employees will applaud this as some form of victory for "privacy" (which is itself ridiculous in a business sense), though more senior staff with a better grasp on business will appreciate that this scheme is a double edged sword that may appear beneficial, until such time as your organisation decides to go to market with a product or service that has the potential to help certain businesses and increase your revenue in the process.
Remember, this doesn't simply mean you can shut out everyone you don't deal with already, it also means you can NEVER contact anyone either; desirable in a residential setting, horrible for business.
If this scheme is implemented, you can expect:
- increased levels of e-mail spam
- higher prices for print advertising (too bad if you don't like it, you can't call anybody anymore)
- increased use of paper (to supply the increased print)
- your message lost in a sea of print advertising (translation: not only will print advertising become more expensive, it will also become less effective)
In addition, you'll find that the businesses who don't initially put themselves on this list will be bombarded with both useful and useless sales calls and will eventually have no choice but to also add themselves to the register. End result: a huge decrease in human interaction between Australian businesses.
At a time when the rest of the world is working harder and smarter, communicating more and more, it's saddening to see the Australian government pushing businesses in the opposite direction, effectively removing telephones from the workplace.
Richard
It will increase the barriers of entry for new businesses. There's no way I would ever have gotten my company off the ground if I was not able to make sales calls to prospect new business. For those people who think that sending mail to prospective clients is cost effective (of environmentally friendly) in comparison you clearly don’t understand how business works across the board. Furthermore, such legislation does not prevent overseas companies (regardless of their local laws) calling and prospecting Australian business, eg. Indian call centres suggesting you switch phone services. The people who will win from this are large and/or established businesses. In general, business will suffer from lack of new competition. Finally, some of those sales calls I’ve received have lead to some amazing productivity benefits to my company which ultimately helped me to continue to employ and grow.
Phil
@John and @Richard - so if I am a worker and I don't want you calling me, you still think you should have the right to ignore my wishes?
Bit rich isn't it?
Companies and government departments will still have avenues for people to contact them under the program - it's just those that choose not to be contacted will be able to operate without the annoyance of sales calls.
Adam
If anyone is 'annoyed' by getting sales calls - I suggest you wander down to your sales department and ask them how they reckon they'll be selling the products or services your own firm offers if they can't ring prospects. I predict they won't be aware of this potential change because its getting very little airplay. People are mistakenly thinking its a call centre industry issue and once your sales people realise it applies to them too - they'll be very concerned. And if your sales department is concerned ... you should be concerned ... they earn the money that pays the bills in most companies.
You might also want to consider that this amendment will protect large vendors by creating a barrier to entry to small entrepreneurs trying to get their first sales, international organisations setting up with no business networks to draw on and even other competitors who may be considering entering a new segment or going after major accounts with encumbent suppliers.
How will companies learn about new technologies or services that are available to them which could improve producitivity, efficiency or compliance? By reading direct mail? By going to conferences? By advertising? ... these are all very expensive (and relatively ineffective) mediums that only the large vendors can afford.
Phil
@Adam - again, not every number will be on the list - only those that don't want to get outside calls from sales people. There is a massive assumption in a lot of the comments here that companies and government agencies will put all of their phone numbers on the list and companies looking to pick up new business won't be able to call full stop. That is simply silly. No company or organisation will block every external sales call coming through. The list will, instead, allow them to channel those calls to the people they want to deal with them and to filter them much more efficiently.
I get four or five a day, as does our own internal IT manager. It often takes up to an hour to go through if we bother to be polite. It's a waste of time and we don't want them calling directly.
"How will companies learn about new technologies or services that are available to them which could improve producitivity, efficiency or compliance?"
Surely you have heard of the internet by now? Besides, if they do want to learn about new tech, services or other issues they will proactively seek out that information themselves?
Richard
@Phil - People are lazy and don’t usually go out and actively seek change. I can’t understand how anybody would spend an hour a day dealing with 4-5 calls they don’t want. That’s nonsense. Read the point about 25 percent compliance costs for salespeople. I think you also missed the point about how sales are generated (read Adam's comment again and mine for that matter). When sales fall below a certain point people loose jobs. If it's not your job it will someone else’s. Oh well, I suppose all the experts in the article saying how it will be a bad idea must be wrong. Just as well we have politicians telling us how to run businesses.
Mickey
@ Phil.
"It's a waste of time and we don't want them calling directly."
Then why don't you tell them to stop calling?
"Surely you have heard of the internet by now?"
Not everyone uses the internet, as shocking as it may seem. Often products and services are better 'explained' over the phone.
Phil
@Richard - That's another pretty big assumption. Yes, they do go out and seek change - isn't actively going onto the register an example of this? - and it is far from nonsense for those that get hassled constantly by sales reps. I think you'd also find most sales are generated by existing customers who would be happy to get your calls - i.e. the 80/20 rule. Again, it's not a matter of stopping the calls completely - it's about upholding the rights of individuals to not get these calls if they don't want them - a point entirely missed in this article. No company is going to block all calls and no company is going to stop seeking out new information, technology and services. The register merely lets them filter the calls they get to the place that is best for them.
@Mickey - we have and that's why the register has been developed. Companies don't stop doing it unless there is a penalty looming over their heads.
And if you are an IT reseller looking to sell to people that aren't already on the internet, then perhaps you aren't hitting the right market - ??
I think you need to ask yourself the question: why should you have to receive any sales' reps calls if you don't want to? If you do want the calls then great, you won't put yourself on the register. For those that don't want the calls, then their choice should be respected. Or are you suggesting it is okay to simply disregard those people's wishes??
Ban The Telli Marketers
Telli marketing is spam its an unwanted product of evolution they attack the weak and feeble who dont feel like they should say no ..in particular..... Old People ..you want to advertise use the radio or Tv or here's another thought the paper Sunday Times or Quokka .
If I wanted any of crap you sell I'ld call you
GET THE MESSAGE STOP BLOODY RINGING
Sammy
I advocate that we have two qualifiers for every registration on a new DNC list:
1. Which categories of calls should not be received. (phones sales / financial services calls / networking technologies calls / IT services calls / infrastructure equipment or services calls etc)
2. Whitelist those in the company that can receive calls, or whitelist a number for such calls, which can be screened...
We have built many early stage and very valid businesses by phone prospecting and introductions, which many prospects have welcomed and accepted, even when they did not know us.
It is again a question of seriousness, validity and intent.
Killing off the genuine business introduction process via the phone due to the shonky behaviour of segments of the industry shows a distinct lack of business process understanding or knowledge. Always dangerous.
Then you will increasingly flooded by overseas call centres, such as from India, inundating you with crap, whilst Australian professionals become even more uncompetitive.
Anyone for some ceiling insulation batts free of charge? Your call from Mumbai is waiting on Line 2...
Michelle
I am constantly harassed by sales calls each day. 70% of the phone pick ups I do are for companies wishing to 'speak to the owner of the company'. Since I get so many of the same sort of calls I started off polite but now I just say 'thanks but no thanks' and hang up on their ear. Often I get called back by rude and aggressive salesmen demanding to know why I won't take their calls! Like I don't have a choice or something! I must waste literally half my day on answering their calls instead of getting on with my work. When they finally change the amendment and stop the increasing and now overwhelming harrassment from sales calls I for one will be one of the first to sign. If you can't sell your products without phoning someone in this electronic age you are just bone lazy. Not to mention cheap - as most sales calls are done offshore. Get a life and STOP HARASSING PEOPLE FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH DESIRES!!!
Jay
I cant WAIT for this to be applied to business - if I wanted to save $10 on our office monthly bill, I wouldve looked - BUT ITS NOT WORTH MY TIME AND EFFORT SO STOP RINGING AND LET ME DO MY WORK IN PEACE.
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