Global teleservices is the focus of the American Teleservices Association 16th Annual Conference, Oct. 10-13 at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.
The U.S. teleservices business is growing 10% to 12% annually, and growth estimates throughout the rest of the world are as high as 35%. This is the first time the conference has had an international theme, with an increased emphasis on speakers, case histories and even music from around the planet, notes Mary Weyand, convention chairperson for the North Hollywood, CA-based trade association.
The international track will include sessions on how U.S. teleservices experience translates in the global marketplace and the impact of cultural differences on telemarketing.
Learning about the growth and development of teleservices around the world can be an “electrifying experience,” Weyand says, noting she recently visited Latin America to speak about the domestic market and learn firsthand how the industry is developing outside the United States.
Altogether more than 40 sessions are scheduled for this year’s conference, which is the first ATA show was held in Music City since the 1980s. “It’s just an incredible place to hold a conference,” Weyand says.
Other topics on the agenda will include technology, marketing applications and people skills.
One of keynote speakers will be “Technotrends” author and futurist Daniel Burrus, founder and president of Burrus Research Associates Inc. Burrus’ clients include many Fortune 500 companies, such as Lucent Technologies, Bell Atlantic, Bank One, General Electric, Exxon and Toshiba.
Also keynoting is Dr. J. Mitchell Perry, chairman and CEO of JM Perry Corp. Perry is an organizational psychologist, entrepreneur and author of “The Road to Optimism” and “In the Zone.”
Valerie Sokolosky, president of Valerie & Co., will deliver a keynote on teamwork. “Attendees will learn how to better work together as a team to make the seemingly impossible work well,” Weyand says.
Sokolosky will discuss the lessons learned from the teamwork of those involved with the Mars Pathfinder mission. That team sent a space probe to the planet Mars – under budget, sooner than expected and exceeded their goals.
The regular conference sessions are organized in five topic areas:
World View
These sessions will focus on how call centers have become a global sales and service tool. Although the U.S. is considered the world leader in the development of teleservices technology and marketing applications, analysts predict that more teleservices commerce will be conducted outside rather than inside U.S. borders within a few years.
Call Center Management
Managing staff, marketing, sales and information technology is the theme for this series. Subtopics will include adapting to change, dealing with information technology specialists, technology integration, employee development and call center re-engineering.
People
Anyone interested in employee hiring and retention, improving moral, higher productivity and customer service excellence should mark these on their schedule. Other topics will include coaching, overcoming telesales objections and interactive call center management training.
Technology
Discussions about the Internet, technology choices, automated call blending, e-mail, reduction of labor costs through automated time management, interactive voice response and Web integration for call centers will be covered here.
Applications and Measurements
Sessions on this topic will include gathering and interpreting information, list segmentation, new measurement systems, and balancing productivity with quality management.
Network
