Case Study: Advisory Service Upgrades Dialler

An advisory organisation has improved its inbound and outbound dialling with help from Ultracomms.

LifeSearch is a protection advisory organisation, covering life, critical illness, income and mortgage protection. Most of its calls are outbound, responding to incoming queries either online or via referrals from other organisations.

The problem

LifeSearch was working with a standard telephone system, which had performed well enough, but as the company continued to expand, the management team realised the need for a more flexible platform that would support efficient call management.

“We have just over 100 advisors, split into nine teams across three sites, each with its own support resource. We are typically making around 7,000 outbound calls per day, with approximately 1,000 inbound, so it’s a fairly high call volume,” said Paula Bertram-Lax, Director of Client Advice. “An advisor will discuss with the caller exactly what their requirements are and, depending on those, there may be further calls, or a need to speak to insurers to get the best recommendations, or to ask for GP information and so on. Clients have the same advisor throughout that process, to help ensure a really personal, caring service.”

The solution

In response, LifeSearch deployed a cloud-based outbound dialler service provided by Ultracomms. This cloud-based solution gives the company flexibility, scalability and ongoing support. It is also a cost-effective solution that supports outbound and inbound requirements and compliance obligations.

“The Ultracomms solution stood out for several reasons: as a cloud-based solution, it is so easy deploy; value for money; the fact that it is rich in features; and the support that Ultracomms is able to provide,” said Chris Johnson, Services & Change Director. “The technology was new to us and we needed a partner who could guide us through that process, not just during implementation but for years to come. The support is also very good. They react very quickly to anything we need, but also they are proactive, regularly advising on how we can utilise the dialler more efficiently and helping us understand our compliance responsibilities.”

Using LifeSearch’s API, the outbound dialler is integrated with LifeSearch’s CRM and other internal systems, so that as soon as a call connection is made, all the relevant client information is visible on screen.

Advisors are presented with outbound calls automatically, so there is no manual intervention required.

The benefits

LifeSearch has seen improvement in productivity of staff, who have enthusiastically embraced the outbound dialler.

“Statistics we have produced internally show a lead conversion rate of over 50 per cent when using the outbound dialler, compared to just over 20 per cent with manual dialling, as we are able to get to opportunities more efficiently,” continued Chris Johnson. “The Ultracomms systems also seems to be very flexible when we need to adjust parameters. Those changes can be made very quickly too, so we can be very agile.”

Much of the management of the outbound dialler is carried out in-house, but there is regular dialogue between LifeSearch and Ultracomms, particularly around new features that can be adopted to improve outbound call management even further.

In addition, the business model is based on transparent and concurrent usage, to help organisations like LifeSearch to budget effectively, particularly when recruiting new staff.

For more information about Ultracomms, visit their website.