Tag: sales

Tips & Tricks, Transcription

What You Should Have Ready For An ATC Sales Call

Welcome back to our blog series on navigating sales calls with the Audio Transcription Center. In part one of this series, we gave you a sneak peek at what to expect during an initial sales call. Now, let’s turn the spotlight on you, the client, and discuss what you should have prepared for a seamless and productive conversation.  

In advance of our meeting we’ll email you our “Client Onboarding Form.” Be ready to provide a brief overview of your project. Things that we will talk about include:  

• The nature of the content to be transcribed 

• Timeframes & deadlines 

• Number of hours to be transcribed 

• Funding 

• Audio quality & audio details (ie. multiple speakers, complex accents, foreign language etc.) 

These details are numerous and varied, but all keys to the ultimate goal of delivering you a transcript that is greater than 99% accurate as our guarantee states, or there’s no charge – no ifs, ands or buts. (But remember, we cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear). 

There are some other things to come prepared with in reference to your project. Will your project require any of the following: 

• Verbatim or modified verbatim 

• Inclusion of false starts 

• Speaker attribution 

• Timecoding 
 

We do have our own in-house style guide that we have created based upon many of the commonalities within our own clients’ style guides. You may also choose to send us your own guidelines, or let us know whose guidelines you’d like us to follow. Again, the more information you can provide us on this call, the more accurate of an estimate we can provide to you.  

Our sales calls are more than just a transaction, they are a collaborative approach to understanding your unique needs. Prepare for our call by gathering these details, and we promise you’ll leave feeling like a partner – heard, understood, and ready to take the next step for your transcription needs. 

Stay tuned next month for the final part of our blog series on navigating a sales call with ATC. 

Inside ATC, Transcription

What should you expect during an initial sales call with ATC? 

It’s important to keep in mind that this process might not be right for everyone. If you have a smaller project, with a handful of hours to be transcribed, a full sales call might not be necessary to get you a quick estimate and begin work on your project. Fill out the form on our “Get A Quote” page and we’ll follow up with you within 24 business hours.

Sales calls can often be a choppy, uncomfortable, and stressful situation. A lot of the time you may just want one answer, how much? But, you’re stuck in this sales call focused on one thing, a salesperson trying hard to sell you their product or service. Personally, we know we don’t like that approach and that approach isn’t what we take at the Audio Transcription Center. That approach isn’t what has kept us in business since 1966.  

At the Audio Transcription Center, we want to make this process as easy and smooth as possible for you. In our initial correspondence via email (if you’ve completed our Get A Quote form) or on the phone (as we do often prefer to return a phone call), we set up a time with you to meet with our VP, Michael Sesling, and potentially another member of our team. You’ll receive a meeting agenda and Zoom link prior to our call so you can feel well prepared, and we always do our best to stay within the time constraints that we all have blocked off. We respect you and your availability and know your time is valuable.  

Our meeting agenda is not a strict plan, but rather a guideline to help make sure we hit on all the important points, to help the flow of conversation, and to help you feel ready for our call. Our meeting agenda includes:  

Introductions: Everyone present will introduce themselves. Michael, our VP, will give a brief history of the Audio Transcription Center, and you can give a brief history of your organization and project.  

Discussion: We’ll discuss the oral histories or content you want to be transcribed. This is the part of the call where we usually end up with more questions than answers 🙂 We will discuss ATC’s process including how we receive audio files, what happens when they’re received, what happens once they are transcribed, and what you can expect at delivery. This is also a time to discuss any other questions, concerns, or issues you may want to talk about in detail such as security, confidentiality, or accuracy.  

Funding: It is always helpful for us to know if you have secured funding, are in the process, or are still looking for funding. This will help us be able to assess and establish the urgency or timeline of your project, while also giving us an opportunity to help you depending on what various stage of the funding process you are in.  

Our sales call is a very easy going, laid back process where Michael welcomes you into his home (literally as he works from home). We aim to make you feel as comfortable as possible and make sure you walk away having a full understanding of our process. It’s a time for any questions you may have and for seeking clarification.

Stay tuned next month to read about what information you, as a prospective client, should have ready for a sales call with ATC.