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Announcements & Events

What I Learned from Speaking at Hero Conference 2019 in Philadelphia

May 10, 2019 by Kevin Dieny

One of the best ways to learn is to teach – like speaking for a room full of PPC nerds at one of the largest digital advertising conferences in the world.

Every story has a beginning, middle, and an end. This one starts over a year ago when I learned that I could select two conferences to attend in 2018 in order to build my networking, to stay ahead of the trends in my marketing specialties (acquisition and analytics), and to bring back what I discover for our team.

The two that I ended up choosing were CXL (I wrote about my experience at CXL here) and HeroConf 2018. Needless to say, I had an amazing experience and drew on some of the best insights and advice in the industry of digital advertising from last year’s HeroConf event. Then, about seven months ago, I saw their call for speakers for the 2019 event and I decided to spend a few weeks coming up with… the most amazing pitch!

The Pitch: Getting Selected as a Speaker

Since getting selected for my first speaking event I’ve done a lot of research on how to pitch, what to speak about, and tips on navigating the speaking circuit. The bottom line is speaking about what you are passionate about – it comes across in everything you do, and it’s easier to fall back on what you love when you are standing in front of a room of fellow experts. Things to consider taking seriously when selecting how to frame your pitch:

  • The audience of the event (who is putting it on and who will be there).
  • The length of the speaking session you have (15 mins vs. 45 mins).
  • The actionable takeaways you will be giving people (what will people walk away with).

When you can answer these, you will have a more targeted pitch that will help. You won’t get selected every time, and you don’t want to get selected for every single event unless you only plan to speak for a career. Find the events that work best for you and what you are passionate about. It’s a lot like job searching (everyone’s favorite) – you might end up putting in a lot more submissions than you find success for.

At the end of the day keep a record (or an archive) of all of your submissions with your answers to every question they asked. You will start to get better at identifying the characteristics that events are looking for out of their speakers.

The last bit I want to talk about is finding the right events. I’ve casually mentioned this already, but it’s critical you find the events that are run well (nothing like the Fyre Festival) and get a spreadsheet going of all of the events you think would be ideal. Get their dates down, find out if they are accepting calls for speakers, and then keep your notes well organized. Speaking isn’t an afterthought; it’s got to be a serious attempt to share what you know to the professional world.

My Pitch: Convincing Your Boss(es) to Confidently Spend (More) on Advertising

As an analyst and PPC nerd, I thought about what topics I end up coming back to over and over again. That topic was centered around proving the effect of marketing so that we could have a bigger (and practical) budget.

Historically, marketing departments that are set up as cost centers are the first to get cut, budgets slashed, and are rarely seen by organizations as the true sales enablers they are. It makes sense too – it’s difficult to measure, track, and prove the exact influence of the budget compared to the other departments in an organization. Out of this problem has come many wins and losses in getting my ideas and projects accepted by stakeholders and decision makers.

My passion as a marketer has always been around analytics and being a customer-centric data evangelist. So how could I take the problem I’m always facing (proving larger budgets) and my passion projects (customer centricity) and turn them into a talk? The marriage of these ideas was immediately clear to me (my nerd moment) because every time I have that problem I turn to the context of data to support my case.

I had my topic and wrote out a very early outline. That outline led me to read two dozen research papers on the topic of customer-centric thinking, data maturity, transformative practices for businesses, books on CLV and decision making, and ultimately podcasts while I was driving to work and back. I had only started digesting the information I needed when I settled on a draft outline for my pitch that helped me fill out the submission (here’s a snapshot of that draft):

draft-outline-pitch-callsource-heroconf2019

manila-clv-folder-callsource-heroconf2019 I ended up with a pretty different outline than this one-pager when it came time to build my presentation spanning 20+ pages. My manila folder was bulging with research on the topic.
I kept gravitating towards CLV… so I highlighted with various colors every mention of the topic in my research, coded it for the specific area it spoke to, and built a guide to help me stay focused. Here’s what that looked like: color-coded-guide-clv-heroconf-callsource2019

From this, I wrote my 20+ page presentation in the form of a long essay broken up by headers and slide numbers, so I had exactly what I needed to build my slide deck. I even wrote a blog on the topic of CLV to prep for my talk. I basically wrote out everything I’d want to talk about in the order (like a story) that I’d want to talk about it. I felt that although I wasn’t planning on reading from a script when I spoke, I still wanted to have some idea of all the possible information I could talk about for each section. Initially, I scoped the talk to be 105 minutes long, and I had 30-40 minutes to give my talk, so a lot needed to be condensed.

Here’s the 20+ pager: takeaways - 20 plus page presentation - Hero Conference

The condensing happened over three months… January ‘til the end of March, when I set to have everything done. I only had to prepare for one single conference talk, so I could be fairly liberal with my time while I worked, finish my MBA, and had my fourth kid (not much happening at all). I was able to give my talk to my marketing team here at CallSource, and over three different occasions, they helped me narrow my talk substantially. I was able to refine what I wanted to say up until the day that presentations were due (here’s what my title slide looked like):

convincing-your-boss-to-spend-more-on-advertising

Then came practice, practice, practice… I think I spent a few days running through the slides in full. The day before I spoke I took a few hours to run through the first dozen slides to make sure I could memorize what I wanted to say and in the right order. The morning of, I practiced just the first few slides until I was very comfortable with it. When the time came, I wasn’t nervous but excited to share all that I had learned and put into this talk. Preparing for months and pouring hours into this helped me realize what it takes to speak at these kinds of events.

kevin-speaking-snapshot-callsource-heroconf2019

You think you know what to expect, but it was a wonderful surprise to feel the support of other speakers, attendees, and my team here at CallSource who helped me. That’s why you should speak because you will stretch yourself and push yourself in ways you didn’t know possible.

Everything Else

keynote-session-heroconf2019Outside of speaking at the event, you get to attend all of the sessions. That includes keynotes, breakout sessions, lunch, and networking events.

As a speaker, you gravitate towards other speakers because you are all in the same boat, but it’s important to connect with the attendees. These people are some of the nerdiest and most passionate marketers on the planet, and they are there to hear you and others talk marketing. What could be better?!

networking-event-heroconf2019Traveling is a hog… planes, hotels, Uber/taxis, shuttles, parking, checking in and checking out. It takes a lot of effort and resources to make the best of it. I filled up 20 pages of notes in my event notebook with tons of notes to reference when I got back. Unless you’ve got a photographic memory, I would take notes galore. When speaking try to film, take pictures of, and record your talk (ask the event manager if you can or if they can) for a way to document your achievement. At HeroConf there are a handful of speakers that show up each and every year because they deliver impactful talks and the attendees want them back. Speaking is a tremendous privilege and if you rock everyone’s socks… you might get invited to speak again!

In Summary

  • Speaking is a long-term proposition. Plan at least 6 months to a year out.
  • Find the right events and do your homework to understand the audience and topics that you are passionate about for the event.
  • Take your pitch seriously and ensure that you have solid takeaways for attendees.
  • Refine your presentation and use the support of your company or your network to help you focus your talk.
  • Attend the rest of the event and network with your tribe!
  • Learn more about HeroConf here.

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: Announcements & Events

13 Notable Inbound Phone Call Automotive Stats for Dealers

April 10, 2019 by Cassie Ciopryna Leave a Comment

Even in 2019, the phone is not dead.

While smartphones have become smarter and smarter, they are still being used to make actual phone calls – and consumers are calling auto dealerships as a part of the buying process.

In the brand new Automotive Inbound Call Data Report, CallSource analyzed over 106 million phone calls to auto dealers over a 4 year span. The report illustrates how vital inbound phone calls are to the automotive industry, and delivers key takeaways for dealers to keep in mind when prioritizing phone calls.

Take a look below for 13 of the most important stats from this study, or view the whole report in its entirety here.

The phone is paramount to auto dealers

    1. Over half (54%) of all inbound calls to automotive dealerships are revenue-winning opportunities.
    2. One in four leads calling a dealership are for sales – 75% of prospects calling in are for Fixed Ops.

Make all calls to the Sales department count

    1. Only about half (51%) of your sales calls in 2018 were viable leads.
    2. 80% of inbound sales opportunities are being missed.
    3. Less than a quarter of all sales opportunities (20%) are actual confirmed appointments.

Fixed Ops generate the majority of inbound call leads

    1. About ¾ of all inbound prospect calls to dealerships are for Fixed Ops.
    2. An average of 40% of calls to Fixed Ops have resulted in an appointment since 2015.
    3. 60% of Fixed Ops calls are missed opportunities – no appointment set.
    4. Appointment conversion rates to Fixed Ops have increased from 35% in 2015 to 52% in 2018.
    5. Almost 90% of parts calls don’t result in an appointment.

Service calls and appointments are increasing year-over-year

  1. Over half (58%) of calls to the Service department in 2018 resulted in an appointment set.
  2. Dealers are able to convert more calls to the Service department into appointments than they can in Sales and Parts combined.
  3. Service appointments have been increasing since 2015, but 40% of prospective service appointments are still booking with the competition.

Improve your inbound phone performance

Numbers don’t lie – the phone is vital to automotive dealers. It is imperative for dealerships to track phone calls and implement changes for performance increases.

Check out the full automotive report here to view the above stats and for advice to help your dealership improve.

Filed Under: CallTrack, LeadMetrix + DealSaver, Call Coaching, Telephone Performance Analysis Tagged With: Call Management, Performance Management, Digital Management, Announcements & Events

CallSource is Pleased to Announce the Promotion of Kelley Koliopulos to Director of Retail Sales for Automotive

March 15, 2019 by Kelli Conley

CallSource is happy to announce Kelley Koliopulos’ appointment to Director of Retail Sales Automotive Division; this is a newly created position dedicated to deepening existing relationships and solidifying CallSource’s automotive team.

“Kelley brings over 25 years of automotive expertise to this position. As we expand our automotive sales team, Kelley’s contribution will be invaluable in making sure the teams are aligned in messaging and strategy. Kelley will also focus on providing dealers with the tools and training they need to improve their business strategy with our EveryLead dashboard,” states Pogo Parr, Vice President of Automotive.

Kelley has been with CallSource for 6 years as a top performing Regional Sales Manager and Strategic Partner Manager. Her promotion will give her the opportunity to develop her fellow team members and continue to work with her key accounts.

This announcement follows a strong year in CallSource’s history of automotive. As the inventor of call tracking, CallSource has been in the automotive industry since it started with call tracking. As the landscape of attribution has changed, CallSource has pivoted to become the leader of offline and online attribution and is still the most reliable call tracking provider.

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: Announcements & Events

Meet the CallSource Team: An Interview With Greg Semerdijan

December 27, 2018 by Cassie Ciopryna

An interview with one of CallSource’s Automotive Key Accounts Managers, Greg Semerdjian.

Name: Greg Semerdjian

Title: Key Accounts Manager

When did you start working for CS? January 2013

What position did you start in? Customer Care

What is your current position? Key Accounts Manager

You’ve held quite a few positions in CallSource. Care to walk us through those?

I started in Customer Care in 2013. After that, I transitioned to an Automotive Account Manager before finding my way into Auto Media. From there I have been in advising and Project Management both within Automotive and our Strategic Programs division.

How have your priorities and responsibilities changed and shifted with each different position you’ve held with CS?

While the titles have changed over the years, at the end of the day my primary responsibility has always been relationship management. Whether that relationship is with an individual dealership or one of our strategic partners, the goal is still to set that partner up with the correct solution to ensure their needs are met.

What is your favorite part about your workday?

Even though I am coming up on 6 years with CallSource, I still feel like I learn something new every day.

What would you say is your greatest accomplishment so far with your career at CallSource?

Running point on completing a particularly difficult integration for one of our Tier 1 relationships. This project had been off and on over the years (even preceding my time at CallSource) but once we had the right team in place we were able to finally complete that integration.

You not only participate in many of our Corporate Games sporting events that we do every year, but are also a part of the non-work affiliated but almost-all CallSource employee softball team, Dirty Pitches. What is your favorite sport to play and what do you like best about playing these group sports outside of work?

Being a former wrestler, I love to get on the mat any time I can. Also being someone that doesn’t heal as fast as he used to, baseball/softball would be a close second. As for getting the team involved, one thing that CallSource does better than anywhere else I have worked is people.

We work hard but also have a good time. Where else have you worked that you actually want to spend even more time outside of the office with your co-workers? Outside events like corporate games and the Dirty Pitches give us an opportunity to have fun off the clock and get to know each other even better which I feel translates to an even better work environment.

I know you’re one of my go-to Game of Thrones fans to talk to the next day after new episode premiers. Now I have a few questions.

  1. Are you pumped we’re getting the last season soon? Summer has been going on for way too long, winter is finally coming.
  2. Who is your favorite character? It’s a tossup between the Faceless Man and Oberyn.
  3. Who do you hope/think will get the iron throne? I’m rooting for Tyrion but it seems like the cards are playing out in Jon Snows favor.

Since GoT hasn’t been on, what are some other binge-worthy TV shows that you’ve been enjoying?

Right now we (my wife and I) are running through Man in the High Castle and American Horror Story.

Something else besides TV shows that I know you also have good taste in is food. What are some of your favorite dishes to cook/eat and a good restaurant you recommend people try if they are ever in the LA area?

I like to experiment with all kinds of food in the kitchen but right now I’m really into BBQ. As for restaurants, some of my favorites are Raffi’s Place in Glendale, Sushi Raku in Agoura Hills, and The Hat.

You became a dad almost two years ago. What’s your favorite part about being a dad?

Every day is something new. It is amazing watching the world you know through the eyes of someone discovering it for the first time.

You always come to work with a great spirit and attitude, even despite getting here at 6am most days. What’s your secret?!

Even a dream job can become a drag depending on how you approach it. All jobs have their challenges but if I can have fun with what I do and help others have fun with what they do, those challenges seem easier to overcome. That and I drink (probably too much) coffee.

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: Announcements & Events

CallSource Reflections: Why and How to Optimize Your Online Reviews

December 18, 2018 by Elliot Leiboff 1 Comment

Elliot Leiboff“CallSource® Reflections” is a blog series by CallSource’s® co-founder and President, Elliot Leiboff. Elliot co-founded CallSource® alongside the late Jerry Feldman in 1992. Over the years, Elliot has developed a small call tracking company to a full service lead generation performance organization. CallSource® invented call tracking. Elliot has witnessed a myriad of inventions, tried different strategies, invested in technologies and basically seen it all.

CallSource® is a classic American tale of an idea that turned into a business that has thrived through grit and determination. “CallSource® Reflections” is Elliot’s blog series on lessons learned as a business owner before the era of startups and VC funding.

Elliot’s monthly blog contributions take the reader on the journey of how our solutions have evolved.

 

Reviews are crucial to the success of your business in today’s tech-savvy, consumer market.

When CallSource first invented call tracking, the internet was a new shiny tool. While some people were starting to utilize its capabilities, there were still others who didn’t even have a computer in their homes.

Now, over 25 years later in 2018, practically everyone has the internet at their fingertips at any given moment – and depends on it for many things.

One thing that people depend on the internet for is online reviews. Whereas word-of-mouth used to be the only way to get a good recommendation for a company, now consumers can instantly hop online through their computer, smartphone, or tablet to find out what their peers have to say about businesses that offer products or services they need.

That is why CallSource has recently added an online review platform to the array of performance management products available for our clients. We want to make sure we are covering all aspects of a business’ success through our products, and successfully managing your business’s online review presence is becoming more and more important.

If you’re not managing your customer reviews, it’s safe to assume they’re managing you. Here are 5 simple steps to optimize your online reviews.

1. Find Out Where People Are Talking About Your Business

The vast number of websites and businesses dedicated to compiling online reviews for consumers alone should tip you off to just how much people value feedback. Depending on your industry, there may be a number of niche websites you should consider in addition to the big names like Yelp, Facebook, Google, etc.

2. Read Your Reviews

It doesn’t get much simpler than this. What are your customers saying about you? What’s your overall rating? Make sure to be aware of your reviews and what is being said about your business so that you can analyze them for common threads (both positive and negative) and make changes to your business accordingly.

3. Respond

Always respond to an online review in a timely manner. People want connection, they want to be heard. Besides, you’re not just responding to an individual—you’re responding to every future prospect reading the reviews and your reactions to them. If there are things you need to apologize for, apologize. If people are raving about you, thank them! Just remember—every response you write represents your business, so stay professional and never post when angry.

4. Ask for More Reviews

Did you know consumers read an average of seven reviews before trusting a business? And that number is growing! Stay ahead of the curve and take the initiative to ask your customers to post their opinions. 68% of consumers left a local business review when asked*. Take advantage of their willingness to give feedback! Don’t be scared of negative reviews, either. Think of them as constructive criticism and use them to make positive changes to your business.

5. Consider an Online Review Platform

Now that you know where you stand, you need to keep an eye on incoming reviews. Set a recurring time, depending on how often you get new ones to go through these steps again. Don’t have the bandwidth to dedicate yourself to this important aspect of your business?
Use an online review platform like CS Reviews.

Not only will we monitor your feedback on the most influential review sites, we’ll also reply swiftly to your online reviews to resolve issues, help develop a brand advocate network, and aid you in generating more reviews to improve consumer confidence.

Source: BrightLocal Consumer Review Survey

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: Announcements & Events

Meet the CallSource Team: An Interview With Hillary Duda

December 5, 2018 by Cassie Ciopryna

Each month, we sit down with a CallSource employee to get to know them and their role a bit more.

Name: Hillary Duda

Title: Business Advisor

When did you start working for CS? I started working for CallSource back in September 2015.

What position did you start in? I began my CallSource career as a Client Support Specialist.

What is your current position? I am a Business Advisor in the Professional Services Division.

How have your priorities and responsibilities changed and shifted with each different position you’ve held with CS?

The biggest change from Client Support to Account Management and finally Business Advising has been my role with clients. In Client Support I predominantly handled account requests as an Advisor, my role is about building substantial and successful relationships with my clients.

So I know you are a fan of music and going to concerts of all kinds, as I am! What are the last three concerts that you attended?

The last three concerts I went to were Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry, & Shania Twain. Let me tell you, each of those ladies can put on a show!

With it now being almost winter and the cold weather here, I think it is relevant to bring up that you are a big soup-maker. I need some of your soup recipes. Why don’t you share one of your go-to soups that you’ll be making a lot this fall and winter?

That’s a tough one! One of my go-to soups is spicy chicken sausage with tortellini’s, kale, and an array of veggies in chicken broth! A complete comfort meal that is easy and guilt-free.

That sounds delicious! I’ll have to snag that recipe from you. 🙂 Besides soup, you also love donuts. Where did this love come from, and what is your favorite type of donut?

I can’t pinpoint exactly when and where my love for donuts began, but I’m honored and marginally embarrassed that that is what I’m known for within the office. Currently, my favorite donut is an old-fashioned cinnamon crumb with a steeping cup of hot black coffee… followed by a maple bar.

There’s a donut “piggy bank” at my desk, and fellow CallSource employees walk by and contribute to the donut fund. You can expect to find a box or two of donuts in our department every few weeks.

OK, enough about food. Let’s talk about your style. Not only do you have great hair and fashion, but your interior decorating at your home and for event planning is also so chic. Give us some tips or what your go-to staples are.

Thank you, I appreciate that! My biggest tip – It’s ALL about the details! When it comes to fashion, interior design, or event planning, have one or two statement pieces and work around it. Keep the theme cohesive and remember, less typically tends to be more.

Love it. So your family has a few different pets. Do you plan on getting a dog anytime soon?

I’m definitely a dog lover, even though I grew up with all different kinds of animals. Lately, I’ve had major puppy fever and have been teetering on the fence whether to make the jump or wait until my life becomes a little less busy. For now, I’m content with borrowing my brother’s puppy and my parents Labrador. I’m still working with management to push for “bring your dog to work day” – once I get it approved, you can best bet I’m getting a dog!

I agree with you – let’s work on that “bring your dog to work” policy, and I’ll finally get my corgi I want too! If you could travel anywhere in the world in the upcoming year, where would it be and why?

Next fall I would love to visit Banff, Canada when the mountains are covered in snow. I want to experience the winter wonderland and go hiking and canoeing at Lake Louise.

To end this off, I have a simple question: What is your favorite part about working at CallSource?

The people I work with! I can truly say that I look forward to coming into the office each day.

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: Announcements & Events

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