One of the area’s best-kept secret is the success story of InfoCision Management Corp., a telemarketing firm based on Springside Drive that nationally employs 3,000 people, including 500 at its Montrose headquarters and 300 at a call center in Green.
The firm has grown consistently since Gary Taylor founded it in 1982 as a resource for religious nonprofits to gain information about their constituencies. Last year, it achieved a 25 percent growth record, almost unheard of in the industry, says Steve Brubaker, senior vice president of corporate affairs.
But not much is typical about this company, which has the National Rifle Association as one of its biggest clients.
The firm focuses on telemarketing efforts for conservative religious, political and commercial organizations. Its commercial division is its fastest growing area, providing customer service and sales support for national customers including several Fortune 500 companies.
“You really can only work one side of an issue,” Brubaker says of his clients’ conservative bent. “We choose to work with those organizations where we’d do the best job based on our expertise in the marketplace.”
That expertise, Brubaker says, is a direct result of the investment the company makes in its “communicators” — employees the rest of the industry calls telemarketing reps.
“Unlike the rest of the industry, InfoCision does not employ telemarketing service reps,” says CEO Gary Taylor. “We recruit, train and nurture communicators who specialize in and are motivated to become experts in specific industries and the clients we serve.”
Taylor says the communicators that staff InfoCision’s 21 call centers exceed industry averages in tenure (the average is four years at InfoCision) and age (average: 37). In addition, 75 percent of the staff is full time, another industry high.
The training the staff receives is also noteworthy. The company provides a manager for every seven to eight people who work on the phone, and it has trademarked its quality assurance program.
“Communicators’ phone calls are evaluated on 50 quality elements,” says Taylor. “Calls are rated by supervisors as well as a group of independent quality assurance agents who work outside of the center and have no contact with the communicators. This results in an unbiased rating that can affect up to 60 percent of an employee’s salary.”
Both Brubaker and Taylor say these measures result in a much higher response rate for InfoCision’s clients.
“We’ve learned that by investing more in quality than our competition, we produce numbers no one can touch,” says Taylor. How to reach: InfoCision Management Corp., (330) 668-1400.
