Cold calling gets hot

Direct Channel Cape, a call centre operation started in 2005 by three former Telkom managers, has grown from 10 to 120 employees in just eight months - and is set to grow to 400 people by the end of the year.

The company, originally started as Call Connexions, so impressed the judging panel at last year`s CallingtheCape industry awards that they received a special judges` award just four months after starting up. The judges noted at the time: "What they`ve achieved in the past four months blew us away. Their willingness to bet on the future of the industry in Cape Town sends an inspiring message to the whole community." Gauteng-based Direct Channel Marketing (DCM), with operations in KwaZulu-Natal, acquired 50% of the company in November 2005, following a referral by Luke Mills of CallingtheCape, giving both companies a national footprint. Direct Channel Cape recently signed up major clients such as Edcon and Medlife funeral policies, for whom they carry out outbound marketing, says director Shafick Hamdulay.

The firm also handles inbound business. For example, earlier this year, it was approached to set up an emergency call centre to deal with the overflow experienced by the City of Cape Town`s Electricity Department. Direct Channel Cape was able to set up a 24/7 operation within four hours of their proposal being approved.

Hamdulay says the growing number of campaigns running within the group means an ongoing need to recruit agents. His firm literally finds staff at grassroots level. "We go to malls to recruit agents," he says. "We take the jobs to the people." Once recruited, agents are given around two and a half weeks` training and set to work. All agents are previously disadvantaged individuals, says Hamdulay.

Hamdulay says the company is focusing on domestic sales at this stage, "but the intention is to look abroad later. First we need to get things right in SA," he notes.

He points out that there is still a huge need for local businesses and government to improve service delivery, and he sees call centres as a crucial element of this. Sadly, he says, too many organisations attempt to operate their call centres in-house. "This is usually more of a help desk. They should rather outsource call centre operations to the professionals," he says.

On starting small and growing fast, Hamdulay notes: "When we launched, all we had was guts and our own money." The group started its operations with small, `high-risk` campaigns, and grew fast. However, there have been challenges.

"Our biggest hurdle has been corporates who aren`t willing to offload business to emerging black business," he notes. "BEE business is only asking for a small percentage of overall business in order to prove itself and grow a track record. I don`t think they`re willing to do so yet, but I think it is being addressed slowly."