Telemarketing staff is key to Dial-A-Mattress' success

Telemarketing,  Sep 1995  by Schwab, David M

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As the old saying goes, "One phone call can make all the difference in the world," and at Dial-A-Mattress, the nation's number-one telemarketer of bedding supplies, that has certainly proven to be the case.

For companies such as Dial-A-Mattress that move their products through 800-line telephone numbers, not only must their telemarketing staff be completely knowledgeable about the product line, but they must also possess the necessary talents, savvy and personality to effectively explain the product benefits and then close the sale, quickly and efficiently, all by phone. At Dial-A-Mattress Mid-Atlantic in Laurel, Maryland, their telemarketers do just that. The key to their success, of course, is training...so much so that the company's sales representatives are referred to as bedding consultants.

The first step of the procedure is an intense, one-month training program through which new employees acquire product knowledge and computer expertise before they are permitted to answer a single telephone call. Monday through Saturday, newly hired employees undergo extensive classroom training with mattress manufacturers to become proficient--and knowledgeable--about both the company and its product line. Following the intensive training session--and continuing indefinitely through the employee's tenure with the company--the consultant spends a minimum of one day each week driving around town shopping the competition or visiting a manufacturer's warehouse to observe the physical production of mattresses, box springs and bed frames. Dial-A-Mattress also brings experts from the manufacturers into their corporate headquarters to teach and lecture the new trainees as well as computer experts who familiarize the employees with all aspects of the company's technology.

"By the time we're through with the training process, our personnel know more about bedding products than the presidents of most mattress companies," said Jeanne Parias, a bedding consultant supervisor at Dial-A-Mattress.

And the training doesn't stop there. On a regular basis, Parias flies experts into town to continually teach bedding consultants better sales techniques. One example is Dr. Peter Marino, author of The Golden Rules of Selling Bedding. Recently, Dr. Marino visited from Minnesota to host a classroom seminar for the entire company, not just the trainees. And during those rare occasions where telephone traffic is light, Parias will often pop a training video into the VCR to provide the staff with some extra instruction.

"When our bedding consultants graduate from our program, they are as well-educated as a salesperson who has worked the floor of a retail bedding showroom for 20 years," said Adam Kidan, chairman and CEO of Dial-A-Mattress Mid-Atlantic. "The bottom line is that these techniques make the company's focus on service virtually second to none."

The market is driven by an extensive advertising effort which features the 1-800-MATTRESS phone number (Leave Off The Last "S" For Savings!) made famous through millions of gross impressions over New York television and radio during the past six years, and hundreds of thousands of impressions in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland media. Dial-A-Mattress Mid-Atlantic purchased the number (and every other related variation--such as 1-800-MATTRESS) to ensure exclusivity.

To accommodate the enormous number of calls that result from virtually every television and radio commercial in the marketplace, Dial-A-Mattress has established a telemarketing center in their Laurel headquarters with space for more than a dozen bedding consultants, 42 telephone lines and a state-of-the art computer system. Typically, between 10 and 12 bedding consultants are on-staff during heavy phone periods, with one or two consultants handling the overnight action. Just behind the telemarketers sits a 10,000-square-foot warehouse with a constant inventory of 2,000 pieces, which turn over every 10 days.

"Since our customers do not have the opportunity to personally test our products as they would in a store, it's up to our bedding consultants to ask all the right questions to ensure the customer receives the product which is absolutely right for him or her," Kidan said. "For that very reason, training is not only important, it's crucial.

"Of course, it's costly to train employees like we do," Kidan said. "But the short-term costs ultimately pay off for us in the long run."

After making a purchase, the customer has 30 days to test the mattress for quality and comfort. If, within that 30-day period, the customer is not completely satisfied, he or she can exchange the mattress for a new one, free of charge.

"We are the only company to offer such a deal, and as a result, our exchange rate is less than two percent," Kidan said. "It's pretty incredible how accurate our consultants are."

Customer satisfaction is a top priority at Dial-A-Mattress. In fact, the importance of this ideal is underscored by the company's policy of "fining" employees should a customer decide to return a mattress. "We need to know these mattresses like we sleep with them every night," said Parias.