IN the cut-throat world of telemarketing, one York company can take a deep bow for its plans to revolutionise the industry with the precision of a Samurai warrior.

Yozo, which takes its name from Yozo Yamao, the Samurai warrior who was instrumental in Japan's industrial revolution, today announced that it had won a contract to sell space in student magazine, Etc... for publisher Barker Brooks of Harrogate.

It is one of eight contracts won, many of them in the last month, since James Parry-Jones and Samantha Ward set up the business in York's Fishergate Centre last October after meeting while working at a call centre.

Their latest project is to organise an "open deck" gathering, for would-be DJs, at Orgasmic, in St Martin's Courtyard, tonight.

Disillusioned with the telesales and telemarketing industry, they sought advice about setting up their own business from the York, Selby and Malton Business Advice Centre, which delivers a range of objective services on behalf of Business Link York and North Yorkshire.

James and Samantha had a vision of a smaller company that would provide a more personal level of customer service and, with the help of business advisers Peter Dale and Tony Breckin they were able to develop a comprehensive business plan and turn their vision into reality.

Samantha said: "We chose the name Yozo because, like Yozo Yamao, we are forging a new way of thinking. We have created what we believe is a unique breed of company, underpinned by the basic Samurai values of honour, esteem and integrity. We wanted to move away from the stereotype of telesales and telemarketing by eliminating the rigid, formulaic way of using a script and offering a more personalised approach."

The result was a flurry of new projects for York firms, including data collection work for Acute Marketing, appointment-making and marketing work for Fusion Design, telemarketing and data collection for IMI Media, and facilitating business link-ups in York and North Yorkshire for Bartercard, the trade exchange organisation.

Samantha said: "We knew we had a good idea but we needed guidance in setting up the business. The Business Advice Centre provided invaluable help and advice, particularly on cash-flow and sustainable development. Without Peter and Tony's help we would not have got off to such a flying start."

Mr Dale said: "Sam and James are extremely enthusiastic about the service they provide and they have been great to work with. We will continue to advise them and help them build on their success."

A senior account co-ordinator, Sonya Wilkinson, has recently been appointed to help meet the growing demand for the company's services. Yozo's core business is direct marketing, appointment making, telemarketing and event management, but Samantha and James also like to be involved with other projects.

Updated: 10:00 Wednesday, March 10, 2004