Telemarketing Firm relocates to Auburn to accommodate growth
By Patti Enrado
Interface Tech News
May 2000
PowerTel Marketing Group’s relocation of its corporate headquarters to a 15,000-square-foot facility in Auburn in the second quarter will allow the firm to grow as much as 30 percent and centralize all its operations, according to CEO and president James Dewolfe.
PowerTel currently employs 60 telesales and 15 administrative personnel, but Dewolfe anticipates those numbers to grow to 160 and 35, respectively, by the end of the fourth quarter.
The company, which provides telephone sales, customer service and fulfillment to clients that advertise on television, radio print and the Internet, has recently expanded its operation to provide support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The company’s growth is tied to its services. “We currently convert consumers into customers at a rate of three times the national average,” said Dewolfe. “Most of the consumers who call respond to ‘soft offer’ promotions where no price has been mentioned. Our closing ratio ranges from 30 percent to 45 percent on products that range in price from $79.95 to $299. This performance is realized because of the intense screening/training and compensation system that we use, which was specifically customized for us from years of historical data.”
With the Internet becoming a powerful tool for consumers, PowerTel’s goal, according to Dewolfe, is to have IT people and sales people form a partnership that will capitalize on the company’s core competencies. This would include working with programmers to use sales techniques on the Internet via text chat or voice over Internet protocol to boost sales.
Dewolfe added that PowerTel chose Auburn because it is central to almost two-thirds of Maine’s population within a 30-mile radius.
Additionally, said Dewolfe, “Auburn is offering low interest rate financing for rehabilitation and fit-out of existing buildings in the Mill Street area.”
