Telemarketer opens Toledo office

Toledo Business Journal, Nov 01, 1998

The month of October saw the nation's largest, privately-held telemarketing firm, DialAmerica Marketing, Inc., open a state-of-the-art call center in Toledo.

The newest branch of DialAmerica, located on the third floor at 1946 N. 13th St., is the company's seventh office in Ohio. Using the latest in predictive dialing technology, the center will employ 200 people to handle magazine subscriptions for companies like Time, TV Guide, Sports Illustrated and People.

Based in New Jersey, DialAmerica posted sales in excess of $200 million in FY97, making it a leading telemarketer for health, membership and continuity clubs that provide video/audio, software, books, magazines, credit cards and other financial services, as well as cellular phones, Internet and telephone services from the telecommunications industry.

"DialAmerica's decision to open another center is mainly due to the high-caliber employees we're able to attract," Toledo Branch Manager Michael Sparks said. "These quality employees are needed to pass our stringent standards and training program."

The company will be providing flexible hours to its employees, who will earn between $7 to $10 per hour -- including estimated commissions on sales. The initial hiring phase calls for 32 telemarketers, four to five supervisors and two clerks. There will also be five full-time openings in a management development program.

DialAmerica differs from commodity-type telemarketing by providing performance-based pricing. This incentive to produce sales has resulted in DialAmerica's intensive training of telephone sales representatives, the use of the latest technical equipment and close consultation with clients to maximize productivity.

The company's operations in Toledo will also benefit local charities, including Special Olympics and the Leukemia Society, as it donates 12 and a half percent of its proceeds to these organizations. "DialAmerica has raised $90 million for Special Olympics and $12 million in 10 years for the Leukemia Society of America and will now contribute even more," Regional Manager Rich Sperber said of the donations.

Established in 1957 as Life Circulation Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time, Inc., DialAmerica services 60-70 percent of the magazine subscription market. Its other divisions are Book & Entertainment, Cable & Interactive services, Financial Services. Software & Video and Inbound Services.

Collectively, DialAmerica's employees place more that 250 million phone calls annually from approximately 6,000 workstations with 11,000 telephone sales representatives.