What To Consider When Choosing A Telemarketing Company

By Author: David Regler
Total Articles: 3
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Telemarketing companies come in many different types. Even if we ignore freelance telemarketers, a telemarketing company could be anything from a micro-business with just a couple of people up to a large-scale call centre telemarketing company.

The decision of which type of telemarketing company is right for your business depends on a number of factors; this article is aimed at helping you choose the best telemarketing company for your particular business.

Essentially, there are three things which will help you make your decision:

1)the scale of your campaign
2)the prospects you are targeting.
3)the complexity of your proposition

Let's examine each one in turn and consider how they will affect your choice of telemarketing company.

1)The scale of your campaign

Firstly, you need to think about the scale of your telemarketing campaign. How many prospects are in your database? Are we talking a few hundred or a few hundred thousand? A large call centre telemarketing company will be ideally suited for a large campaign. They have many agents they can bring into play and also have ...
... the technology, such as auto-diallers, to improve efficiency over large campaigns.

However, the opposite is exactly true about their ability to deliver on small campaigns. A large telemarketing company is simply not set up to handle campaigns less than a few thousand prospects. Because they need to set up systems and train their agents, a large telemarketing company needs large projects. For a smaller telemarketing company or micro-agency, small projects are ideal. They will struggle with a very large campaign as it ties up their people exclusively on one project. A small campaign with a few hundred prospects is ideal for a smaller telemarketing company

2)The prospects you are targeting

As well as the size of your campaign, you need to consider the type of prospect. Are you targeting consumers, small business owners or CEO's of large companies? What about industry sector? In general, a larger telemarketing company will be less specialist, and more like to have experience calling business-to-consumer.

A smaller telemarketing company, on the other hand, is likely to have more of a niche offering. Often they will specialise in specific sectors or calling specific types of prospects. This is usually because they have less churn in staff compared to a larger call centre telemarketing company, which means that their people will develop skills in certain sectors.

Matching the sector and level of prospect with the right telemarketing company is an important factor in selecting the right telemarketing company for your business.

3)The complexity of your proposition

Finally, in choosing the right telemarketing company you should also consider how much of a fit they are with your proposition. Again, generally speaking, a larger telemarketing company will rely on scripting the pitch for their agents. For complex propositions, or where a level is technical knowledge is required, this is a dangerous route to take. As soon as the prospect asks a questions (and takes the telemarketing agent off script they will struggle and your company will loose it's positioning in the eyes of your prospect).

With a smaller telemarketing company which, as we said earlier, can retain agents better and who generally employ more experienced teams, they can rely on the experience of their people to pitch unscripted. Also, because with a smaller telemarketing company you will usually get the same person working on your campaign, they are able to learn your proposition over time. Compare this with a larger telemarketing company where your agent is more likely to me changed frequently and you can see why a smaller telemarketing company is a better fit for a more complex proposition.

So, in summary, the larger the telemarketing company they better they are suited for large-scale campaigns with a simple, scripted approach. If your proposition is complex or you want a telemarketing company that is experience in your specific sector, you are better selecting a smaller telemarketing company for your campaign.

David Regler is Managing Director of Maine Associates Ltd, a telemarketing company specialising in new business services including sales lead generation, appointment setting & telemarketing services.