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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 O C T O B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 organization that could help him expand beyond con- sumers and perform outbound calling and corporate sales to bed and breakfasts, restaurants and hotels. For example, with his former call center he just saw that a customer called and the time of the call, whereas SaviLinx will provide information on whether the con- versation was an order, complaint, request for a catalog or other information. " is can help us tailor our strat- egy," he says. "It's not just answering a call. ey have to know the product and be subject matter experts." Calyx had $3 million in sales in 2015 and expects that to grow 5% to 10% this year. Some 70% of sales now are online, while 30% come through a call center. e latter could expand as the company adds corporate clients. "We need help in terms of selling," Ranalletti says. "We're interested in Canada. SaviLinx can help us grow internationally." He says SaviLinx has workers who can speak one or more of fi ve diff erent languages, which will help with his future international business. Calyx is just the type of new client SaviLinx founder and CEO Heather Blease desires as she grows her business. "It's business process outsourcing," she says. "We have lots of startups as clients and we are helping them build their customer support process strategies from soup to nuts, as well as training." at type of outsourcing is something she said serial entrepreneur and AOL founder Steve Case advocates for startups so they can focus on their core business strategies. Ranalletti says he wants to make his business as Maine-based as possible, including contract vendors. For example, he's using Hall Internet Marketing in Portland to create his digital marketing and systems platforms. " ey built our internal vendor system," he says. Flex scheduling Ranalletti also likes that SaviLinx is only three years old and a startup itself, and has set up its business model to be fl exible. One example is so-called "SuperQ" teams in which a handful of SaviLinx workers have multiple specialties and can easily switch from one account to another. at's good for Calyx's business, which is seasonal and extremely busy at major holi- days and then falling off in between. " is helps us as we grow versus getting dedi- cated customer service representatives [year-round] now," he says. e SuperQ customer service representatives handle a number of smaller contracts, says Paul Van Savage, SaviLinx human resources specialist in charge of recruiting. " ey're adept at shifting gears and handling one, two or three diff erent incoming calls." ere currently are about a dozen SuperQ team members, but he'd like to grow that a bit as the company takes on more small business clients. " is is cost-eff ective support," Van Savage adds. "I see SaviLinx as being extremely fl exible and doing what we can do to meet specifi c needs of customers." Van Savage also is the type of employee Ranalletti liked to hear about when he fi rst visited SaviLinx: Van Savage, a former L.L.Bean employee working in the direct-to-business division, was looking for a job at a startup, and joined SaviLinx in late June of this year as a subject matter expert. By August he had been pro- moted to his current job as a human resource specialist. "I bring signifi cant management experience to the table," he says, adding that Blease looks actively to promote from within. Employees typically start out as customer service representatives, some making $16.50 an hour on government work. ey can advance to subject matter experts who help customer service representa- tives if they need expertise, then supervisory or adminis- trative positions, then project coordinators and then up further into salaried management jobs, he explains. "I had an opportunity to get in with a company that was growing exponentially at the time," he says. "I was willing to take any position to get into the company." He joined in SaviLinx's fi rst big push to nearly double its staff to 450 employees starting in May with 200 more call center positions from an unnamed insur- ance client. e company currently is seeking 130 more workers for an expanded government contract, 30 of whom are expected to be reassigned from inside the company and the other 100 to be hired from outside. e company has been growing quickly and expects revenue to rise to more than $10 million this year, up from $4.3 million last year. e 30,000 square feet of space at Brunswick Landing is fi lling up quickly, though about 200 of its employees are in Mississippi and some work from home. Some 75% of the revenue is from government work, which requires the comparatively higher $16.50 per hour starting wage, Blease says. Within that wage, workers can either choose to get benefi ts or they can use spousal benefi ts and still have the same wage. e remainder of the work is for commercial companies, including startups, and runs from $10 to $18 per hour plus benefi ts. Making it homey "My reaction when I fi rst came in was that I was impressed that people could make their cubicle their own and dress it up," says Van Savage. Call centers, which started in the mid-1960s, still carry the perception of long rows of bland cubicles under fl uorescent lights. at's not the case at SaviLinx, where visitors are commonly greeted by one of the offi ce cats, Savi or Linx, who spend the day roaming around, balancing atop cubicles and lounging in sunny spots. Several people also bring their dogs to work, including Amy Burns, a cus- tomer service representative and Gulf War veteran who is inseparable from her service dog, Mac, a four-year- old Chesapeake Bay retriever and huskie mix who can extract a head pat out of anyone who walks near him. Burns had been working at a local car dealership and likes the idea of working for a new, woman- owned business. Plus the pay is a lot better. "I look forward to coming to work every day," she says during a phone interview on "pajama day" at the company. She also is convinced she'll win the Halloween decoration context for her cubicle. She says the collegial atmosphere at SaviLinx helps when upset customers call in, or simply when taking 15 to 35 calls a day. She also learned skills during an in-depth, two-week training course for new employees. Key skills for call centers, she says, are listening, empathy, thinking clearly on your feet and computer knowledge. "People may call in upset, and [I feel good] if they know that I've given them the very best infor- mation," she says. "It's like a family here all working together. We all help each other." Lori Valigra, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached a t l V a l i g r a @ m a i N e B i Z . B i Z a n d @ LVa l i g r a PERSO NAL R EL ATI O N S H I P S AR E O U R PERSO NAL R EL ATI O N S H I P S AR E O U R PASSION . Portland 207.482.7920 207.482.7920 Auburn 207.791.2110 207.791.2110 F I N A N C I A L E X P E R T I S E I S O U R S T R E N GT H . norwaysavingsbank.com PERSO NAL R EL ATI O N S H I P S AR E O U R • I N V E S TM E NT M A N AG E M E NT I N V E S TM E NT M A N AG E M E NT • TR U S T S E RV I C E S TR U S T S E RV I C E S • FI N A N CIA L A DV I C E FI N A N CIA L A DV I C E • E S TATE P L A N N I N G E S TATE P L A N N I N G NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. It's business process outsourcing. We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients We have lots of startups as clients and we are helping them build their customer support process strategies from soup to nuts, as well as training. — Heather Blease, founder and CEO, SaviLinx

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