Article at a glance:

Using call centers to boost revenue

• For some telecom and credit card companies, call centers account for more than half of all new revenues.
• But a fear of putting service customers off with sales pitches and an ignorance of how much value is at stake have made many retail banks slow to implement a service-to-sales program.
• We estimate that successful efforts to cross-sell during inbound service calls could boost a retail bank’s sales of new products by 10 percent, based on a study of North American banks.
• To realize this goal, companies must first provide consistent, high-quality customer service. Then executives must ensure that all employees have the proper mind-set, motivation, and skills.