Profile: Justin Bartley, Strategic Opportunities Australia
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Justin Bartley Number of years in role: 3 |
Strategic Opportunities Australia has a focus on B-to-B outbound telemarketing services. Company Director, Justin Bartley, based in Sydney, is very much an optimist who believes in hard work and the need to be aware of what is going on around you.
What do you do?
Strategic Opportunities Australia specialises in implementing full telemarketing campaigns for all industries. We have specific experience in lead generation, and our campaigns target senior level decision makers.
We believe that no two campaigns are the same. Although campaigns may appear similar on the surface, each one requires careful logistical planning so that we can implement individual communications designed to deliver to our clients needs.
Strategic Opportunities Australia recruits only experienced telemarketers with a wide range of work experience who work on campaigns from start to finish. Each campaign is dynamic and we are constantly looking at what we can do to achieve the best results for our clients.
What results are expected in your position?
To make sure we are hitting the KPIs for our clients. Reaching our targets is very important for us as we try our best to create repeat business with our clients for repeat business is more profitable for our company. Our work can create many challenges for us. There is a reason why some things work and others don’t - we have to understand all the issues to make the most of each campaign.
What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
Creating a management team that is competent, reliable and efficient. After all, a captain is only as good as his crew. I would like to think having the right attitude, being flexible and professional is a good way to achieve in your career.
What is the best and worst thing about your job?
The best thing is growing a company slowly but surely with happy on-going clients, building the relationship with our clients and making sure we all have clear communication on how we are moving forward together. Making suggestions and working with our clients to make sure we are all working as a team together.
The worst thing is when we create opportunities for clients they don’t work on the opportunity like they should. For example, sometimes we create an opportunity and pass it on to the sales person within a company. If that person is not a good seller, is lazy or does not have the right attitude we are often blamed for a poor result. This can be frustrating.
Any tips on how to get and stay ahead?
Even on your worst day you need to try to stay optimistic, listen and understand what people are saying to you. Work hard and be aware what is going on around you.
How do you encourage loyalty with your staff and clients?
We are a very transparent company to work for and with, we treat our staff with respect and try to understand what issues and problems they have with campaigns.
We encourage our clients to talk to the telemarketer/s assigned to the campaign before commencing. This builds confidence with both the client and telemarketer and sets the campaign up for strong communication.
What do you think employees want from their employer?
Honesty and to be made to feel part of the team. I would like to think that if any of the staff have problems we would work with them and try to resolve any issues rather than ignoring them.
What does your company do for its staff that you feel is different from what other companies provide?
We treat our staff as humans, not as numbers. More importantly our staff know they are part of the team, and we make sure we hear feedback on both good and bad things.
Staff members are very well briefed on campaigns before they start so they are aware of the expectations for the work they will be carrying out. We allow a certain amount of warm up time for the staff to get onto the campaigns. It’s a bit like getting a new job; each campaign needs a little time to warm up. We work with our staff very closely at this stage to understand their feedback.
What are the biggest human capital issues your industry is dealing with? …and what should be done about them?
In the past we have had some clients approach our staff directly and even staff have approached clients directly.
We now have better contractual arrangements for this reason. Also it’s important to make sure before you take on any member of staff to check out references, and have relevant questions for the referees. Also find out why they are interested in working for you, make sure they don’t have an attitude towards their job of `it will do for now’.