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Even in a society that thrives on email, a phone call can be a powerful sales tool. While poorly run telemarketing services have earned a bad rap for "calling at dinnertime," business-to-business cold calling still generates solid sales under the right conditions. Industry experts highlight three more benefits of outsourcing lead follow-ups to a call center:

• In-house calling can get expensive. Telemarketing requires phones, hiring agents, training teams, computers, dialers, and more. Hiring a telemarketing service leverages existing resources.
• Marketers use telemarketing services to quietly test new offerings. Most call centers can randomize scripts to inexpensively evaluate a market.
• Well-trained agents at telemarketing services can pre-qualify leads for in-house closers. Instead of hiring additional staff, call center agents can pre-screen sales leads and offer "warm transfers" to highly trained company representatives.

 

Top 5 Factors to Consider When Selecting Telemarketing Services

Although many decision makers study the per-call cost of adding telemarketing services to their sales strategy, experts suggest looking into five indicators of a call center's overall success:

• Do Not Call Compliance. Prospective telemarketing services should detail their procedures for scrubbing leads against the National Do Not Call Registry and against customer-supplied privacy lists.
• Low Abandonment Rates. Callers hear hold messages when they pick up a phone before an agent is ready. Low call abandonment rates are not just good customer service, they are required by law in most states.
• Representative Clarity. The best telemarketing services hire agents with clear speaking voices and enthusiastic attitudes. A heavy accent or a lackluster delivery can kill a sale before it has a chance to succeed.
• Conversion Rates. Modern telemarketing services can track even the most minute data, from top-level close rates to the average length of successful calls.
• Service Compliance Statistics. Telemarketing agents must comply with federal, state, and local trade regulations. In-house auditing teams and external compliance bureaus help make sure agents act ethically and effectively.

Three Steps to Finding the Right Telemarketing Service

Large services offer networks of call centers around the world. Boutique shops offer highly trained, local staff. Some virtual teams even work from home. Regardless of the kind of service under review, experts often measure success through three simple tasks:

• Review each center's metrics. Call center account executives should be able to detail success rates for similar campaigns.
• Evaluate calls to a support line. Telemarketing services frequently staff their feedback lines with top agents.
• Sample some role-play sessions. Account executives at the best telemarketing services can make agents available for sample calls in real time or via recording.

For companies who are considering outsourcing their telemarketing functions, this information can help them select a telemarketing service that meets their needs.

About the Author: Joe Taylor Jr. is an internal business consultant for a Fortune 500 company, who writes about finance, culture, and design. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Ithaca College.