Things to keep in mind before evaluating Outsourcing Telemarketing Companies

1. Things to keep in mind before evaluating Outsourcing Telemarketing Companies Telemarketing is an ever green marketing avenue since generations and will continue to be so for many years down the line as well. The general perception is that most people find telemarketing calls pesky but the fact is that there are lot of people out there who simply love receiving information on the phone and keeping up-to-date with the latest facts about their industry. This is even truer in the case of B2B telemarketing as compared to B2C telemarketing. All business owners are open to the idea of working with businesses that can help them grow. Outsourcing Telemarketing Companies give them a great amount of flexibility to reach out to the maximum possible customers at low costs. However some business make the mistake of thinking that running a call center in house would help them save on marketing costs. This is simply not true as it is no easy task to assemble a team of telemarketing agents and train them on a constant basis. The smarter choice is to outsource this service to a professional telemarketing company. These companies have set processes to recruit and train their staff and stay abreast with the latest trends of the industry. However the success of the entire campaign lies on the telemarketing company you choose. There are plethora of Outsourcing Telemarketing Companies out there and evaluating them is not a straight forward task. There are a number of factors to be kept in mind before you make this all important decision. Over time telemarketing companies tend to become sector focused or work in particular kinds of industries. During evaluation you need to check if the agency has previous experience of working in your industry. This would mean that you would be able to gain an extra advantage due to the wealth of experience that they already carry in relation to the nuances of your industry and the mindset of the target audience. Do not be surprised if they also offer some valuable guidance on the campaign strategy and offer suggestion on the kind of campaign goals that need to be set. There are various kind of telemarketing services on offer. Some companies only work on lead generation whilst some excel at appointment setting services. Premium companies have the capability to make cold calls and generate sales. You need to evaluate the core competencies of the company before you end up signing up with them. It would also be a good idea to work with different sets of agencies depending on the objectives. Even if you do manage to find an agency that provides all the services mentioned above it is advisable to enter into a minimal relationship with them at first. Set goals and access their performance against them. If they are able to perform satisfactorily then you could ramp up the campaign in a big way and go all out to achieve all your marketing goals. However do not make the mistake of setting the initial bar too high. Any agency will need some warm up before they are able to perform at full throttle. If you set the bar too high you may end up eliminating a highly eligible agency. Thus be judicious and select a partner who will be able to

2. generate more customers for your business and have a positive effect on your company’s balance sheet. For better results always ensure that you have a single point of contact from your company who interacts with the agency. Do not allow multiple people to interact with them and provide feedback as it will end giving contradicting feedback and hamper their performance. A single point of contact ensures that all the suggestions are filtered and accessed internally first and only the ones in line with the campaign goals are passed on to the agency. Set the reporting structure to match your internal requirements. Many agencies have pre-set reporting formats in place but you need not feel bound to accept them in an as is condition. Feel free to ask for customizations and even to the extent of number crunching in ways that fit the internal mechanisms you have in your own organization. Do not shy away from evaluating the agency from time to time and monitor their performance. However do not be an overbearing presence over them as you need to allow them the freedom to bring their own individual flavor to the job at hand. Once you have evaluated all the Outsourcing Telemarketing Companies you need to choose the right fit based on the parameters we have discussed. You should then set goals and targets for the entire duration of the campaign. Track the progress of the campaign on a weekly basis and ensure that it is aligned accordingly and does not deviate too far off course. If you feel that the outcome is drifting further and further away from your goals then do not shy away from terminating the contract and replacing the agency.