Marketing Services

Support Services: Keith Fotta, Gryphon Networks

1 Oct, 2002 By: Thomas Haire Response

---

Keith Fotta, president and CEO of Gryphon Networks in Norwood, Mass., recently earned recognition as "Innovator of the Year" from the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) for his company's innovative "Do Not Call" (DNC) service for telemarketers. Recently, Response sat down with Fotta to find out more about Gryphon and its new technology.

Keith Fotta

 

Response: How did you come to recognize the importance of a "Do Not Call" solution for telemarketers?

Fotta: After I graduated from Boston College, I served as a broker for Dean Witter for five years. Then, in 1988 I founded my own brokerage firm, which made me a registered principal with the NASD. I was personally responsible for whatever my people do - it really helped me realize the importance of compliance with regulations.

 

At the same time, we began to see the foundations being built in the "Do Not Call" movement. Florida passed the first law in 1988, then came the Telephone Consumer Protection act in 1991 and the Telemarketing Sales Rule in 1995. The financial services sector is already more compliance-oriented than any other service in America, so we were used to following new regulations. I sold off the brokerage in 1995 to create a business focusing on creating a technology solution to the problem these growing regulations would cause telemarketers.

 

Response: So you jumped into this full-force very early?

Fotta: Yes, we did. We saw an opening because no one was working on a solution. We worked to introduce ourselves as Telemark Technology to four or five major players in the telecom industry to see what we could do, created a development firm and a market over a five-year period. We got the patents on our products. In 1998, we gained our first Fortune 500 client. But, the same year, Georgia passed the second state law. Since then, it's been a flood - there are now 32 states with DNC laws. It was in this same timeframe that we changed our name to Gryphon and rebranded.

 

 

Response: And now you have a product that has been recognized as a terrific innovation?

Fotta: We've patented a totally network-delivered service that allows telemarketers to comply with all DNC laws. All of the intelligence in this service lives in telephone carrier networks. We put it there. This is big, because all telemarketing firms across the nation use different equipment - analog, digital, different carriers. Our customers purchase no equipment at any time. It uses the telephone companies as a filter. We help assist our customers to purchase the DNC lists from each state that passes a law. This way, we can integrate lists into one turnkey service for our customers. What happens when a representative dials a number listed as a DNC is the telemarketer hears a message that this is a DNC customer and the phone never rings in the customer's home. Representatives can also add customers who request to be put on a DNC list by simply pressing "#0" to add the name and number.

 

 

Response: Does the system also have reporting capabilities?

Fotta: Yes, all reporting capabilities are accessible 24 hours a day, up to the minute by accessing a customized Web site with your own security code. It provides call-center type reporting. Many of our customers say this is more valuable than the DNC capability.

 

Bookmark it: digg del.icio.us technorati yahoo facebook twitter