By Oct. 1, dealers across the nation will face a need to restructure their business practices or be open to hefty fines and possible lawsuits. CallScan offers protection for dealers and their customers on both state and national levels. The complete compliance solution provided by CallScan is a necessity for dealers seeking an all-inclusive method for implementing the required policies and procedures.
"Many dealers are just realizing that the new Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) applies to their traditional sales person activities," commented Al Babbington, CallCommand(TM) CEO. "Dealers must make changes in their processes or face fines of $11,000 for each violation. The CallScan system simplifies everything; it offers the tools and training to ensure compliance for as low as $195 per month," Babbington added.
CallScan provides the dealer with all needed requirements to implement a "Safe Harbor" environment, as called for by the new DNC legislation, as follows:
-- Safe Harbor Guidelines for Updating Telemarketing Policies & Training for all Dealership Personnel:
Under the FTC's new TSR, businesses must have a written telemarketing policy that is consistent with the imposed requirements and must also train ALL personnel receiving inbound and placing outbound calls accordingly.
CallScan provides guidelines for these policies and procedures as well as offers on-line training that simplifies the legislation and walks each person through the rules that apply to them. The training can be completed in an hour or less.
Maintenance of a Company-Specific No Call List:
Each dealership must maintain a company-specific no call list (for customers who request not to be called by the dealership) and must train personnel on how to handle customers who request to be put on that list. CallScan customers can simply logon to the CallCommand(TM) Web Site and update their customer list on a daily basis. This will allow easy look-up of state, federal and Dealer-specific no call lists in one simple step.
-- Record-Enabled Database for Call Errors:
Dealers are also required to implement procedures that can demonstrate an error has been made in the event that a call is placed to a customer on the National No Call List. CallScan enables dealers to maintain a log and implement processes to monitor complaints.
-- Access to State & Federal No Call Lists:
Each dealership must maintain State and federal No Call lists with updates no less than once a quarter. The entire list is predicted to contain over 60 million names and the FTC requires an annual fee of $7,375 for the national database or $25 per area code of data. Dealerships that do not have well organized, automated databases will find the whole process time consuming and expensive. CallScan simplifies the process and dealers can check single or multiple names with ease. Not only does CallScan enable access to the entire national database, it also protects users by updating the entire database daily.
-- Individual Telephone number DNC Look-Up:
The CallScan system includes a search feature. If a client is unsure whether a customer is on the DNC list, they can log onto the CallCommand(TM) site and enter in the name.
-- Bulk Telephone Number DNC Look-Up:
The new law states that as of Oct. 1, dealers can only call customers who have made a purchase within the last 18 months, or who have contacted the dealership with an enquiry within the last 90 days. Dealers could face a $11,000 fine for each customer called in error. With CallScan, a dealer can upload an entire database to check it against state and federal DNC registries.
Dealers stand to make errors on end of lease calls in particular. For example, if the dealer receives a list from their lender of customers close to end of lease, the sales manager can take the list and upload it into the system which will generate an Excel spreadsheet that divides the names into who is safe to call and who is not.
Another area that leaves a dealership vulnerable to errors is high salesperson turnover. Typically, when a sales person leaves they give the new salesperson an old prospect list. If the name is more than 90 days old the dealership is again open to a $11,000 fine for each error. Again, using CallScan, the new salesperson can upload the prospect list and check it against the DNC list.
According to Babbington, knowing whom they can contact and when will become one of the dealers' most important tools: "The NADA Guide to Federal Telemarketing Restrictions is 28 pages. Compliance is simply too difficult for dealers to implement on their own. CallScan is an easy-to-implement, turn-key solution."
About CallCommand(TM):
CallCommand(TM) is a leading provider of communication solutions for retailers, businesses and government agencies. Their patent-pending technology decreases marketing and comunication costs while simultaneously improving customer responsivness. All of their solutions are fully Web-based and do not require hardware, software or telephony equipment.
CallStream(TM), CallCommand's original product release, is a revolutionary, Web-based personalized calling system designed to provide superior voice messaging to cell phones, land phones and other devices. Combining the latest, most innovative telecom and internet technologies, CallStream provides for quick, reliable execution of targeted communications. The solution is entirely Web-based and as such is incredibly user friedly and requires no infrastructure -- no hardware, no software. CallStream(TM) enables its clients to deliver personal voice messages to any customer database, regardless of size, instantaneously -- from any location.
CallScan(TM), the newest release from CallCommand(TM), offers state and federal do-not-call-compliance solutions. CallScan will assist dealers in building an infrastructure to support the new legislation being imposed by the Federal Trade Commission. Most importantly, this feature will aid dealers in ensuring that all safe harbor requirements are met and that any violations that may occur are the direct result of an error.