Newspapers Doing More With Less: Boost Retention at a Lower Cost by Outsourcing

By Bob Davis

Now more than ever, circulation managers are being asked to do more with less. I’m sure that as you have done and redone your budgets for next year, you have looked for every possible nickel to save yet even more savings are required. So let me suggest a great place to look to cut costs while actually increasing your output. Outsource your retention calls.

Now I know that when ask retention managers how things are going, they’re likely to tell you that the reps are doing a great job, but beware. I’ve found several common problems exist even when reports are positive.

Bad timing, wrong strategy
Most in-house retention teams spend way too many hours calling during daytime hours, not a very productive time to try reaching your customers.

Chances are that your retention team is calling way too early in grace. More than 50 percent of your early-grace subscribers will pay on their own. Calling too early gets sales that the newspaper would have received anyway by just waiting a week or two for the check to come in the mail.

And in-house retention teams try to save subscribers with a discount strategy instead of using a quality conversation approach to sell value over price.

The best way to boost your subscriber retention is to call deep in grace, or more than two-thirds of the way into the grace period, and to have quality conversations centered on value, not price, with every subscriber you contact.

The robust call flow
Having a quality conversation requires a robust call flow. This begins with a world-class greeting. The first 15 seconds of a call determine how the rest of the call goes, so the greeting must convey enthusiasm, assurance of help from the very start, plus clarity of purpose.

Next is discovery. We need to understand the subscriber’s wants, interests and needs as well as the true reason he or she has fallen into grace. We discover these variables by listening, restating and assuring help, drawing out hidden concerns, isolating primary concerns, finding areas to add value, and bridging to a solution.

We have to present a solution that strikes a chord with the subscriber. If we’ve done a good job at discovery, the solution will present itself. This is the essence of consultative selling.

Next, if we have provided a solution that adds value and addresses the subscriber’s wants, interests and needs, the subscriber is ready to respond positively to the offer—but it, too, must be presented correctly.

Then comes the assumptive close. If the call flow is handled correctly, closing the sale with an assumptive approach will, time after time, win the save.

The quality conversation:
A robust call flow provides five actionable steps to improve your in-grace calling


The problem is that many newspapers don’t have the resources, especially these days, to provide the training and coaching needed for their teams to master the quality conversation.

Comparing performance
Now that you are looking for every possible way to cut costs and boost revenue, conduct a test. Find a quality retention outsourcer and split your records for two or three weeks between the outsourcer and your in-house team.

I predict that the outsourcer will do the calls cheaper and better. And with today’s budgetary demands, it’s worth finding out whether or not I’m right.

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Call center expert Bob Davis is president of Robert C. Davis and Associates, a training, coaching and consulting company specializing in the newspaper industry. He is also co-founder and managing partner of Surpass, an outsource call center handling customer service, retention, telemarketing and advertising sales calls for newspapers and other companies. Both companies are based in Bedford, New Hampshire. More information is available at www.robertcdavis.net and www.surpasscalls.com or by calling 603.472.9705.

Outbound classified sales: How to trade fear and avoidance for self-confidence and top performance

By Bob Davis

Lately I have been teaching a group of long-term inbound classified reps I consider to be among my favorites. The other day while I was teaching, a woman in the class who had been with the newspaper for more than 30 years told the group a story about computers being introduced to the department in the 1980s. Back then she and the other reps were afraid they would get cancer working so close to the computer screen for extended periods.

One of her co-workers was so concerned that she made a cone-shaped hat and a nose protector out of aluminum foil to shield herself from the presumed radiation coming from the monitor. She was so convincing in her fear that she got others in the department to wear this silly outfit. Looking back now it’s laughable. It also brings to mind an important question. Do we fear making outbound calls today the way reps in the 1980s feared computer monitors?

Indeed, I believe the number-one factor holding reps back from making outbound calls is fear driven by lack of self-confidence. This leads to avoidance behavior. In my experience in newspaper call centers, most classified reps will do just about anything to avoid making an outbound call.

The good news is that we’ve been very successful in helping reps overcome fear and avoidance by showing them how to make better outbound calls, and more of them. Here’s how:

• Be enthusiastic. If you look like you’re having fun while you are making the calls, reps will be more willing to give it a try. I like to teach a two-hour class first thing in the morning on a slow day. Then I follow the class back to the floor and work with each rep as they make outbound calls. Sometimes I make three calls, and then they make three calls, laughing and having a good time along the way. Other reps tune in to what is happening to the point that they become eager to work with me. Enthusiasm really is the key to the success.

• See the good. When we first begin working on outbound calls, reps stumble. After every call I could tell them everything they’ve done wrong, but I don’t. This would deflate them! Instead, I focus on the good things they’ve done on the calls. This builds them up and they become more open to coaching.

• Expect the best. In the beginning most reps have only been making about six dials per hour, so they look at me in shock when I tell them I expect 30 dials per hour. Yet once the expectation is out there, they do it. Even if the rep’s skills don’t improve (they always do), results improve dramatically because the reps are talking to so many more people.

• Celebrate success. At the end of each day, we have a celebration. Everyone gets to tell about their successes that day—how many outbound calls they made, how much money they generated. This really gets everyone excited about what they can do.

Based on my experience, implementing these ideas—being enthusiastic, seeing the good, expecting the best, and celebrating success—will help your reps improve dramatically. It’s the kind of leadership and confidence-building that newspaper classified departments need badly today.

My recommendation is to get started right away. You’ll love the results.