Instead of hiring telemarketers to work within your agency just for you, you could choose to pay an outside vendor to provide telemarketing services. These vendors generally charge a per-call fee or an hourly rate per telemarketer. An additional fee is sometimes charged for each successful contact (X-date received, appointment set). There may be other fees for services such as having to look up a telephone number.
Using an outside vendor has advantages and disadvantages. Let's run through them so you can make a more informed decision:
ADVANTAGES
DECREASED COSTS: Unless your own in-house program involves a massive and steady volume of calls (in the range of 100,000 or more per year), you may find it hard to match the price offered by an outside telemarketing firm. By combining your volume with other clients, the firm can reduce overhead and labor costs.
QUICKER, CHEAPER START-UP: A good telemarketing vendor has experienced telephone representatives and state-of-the-art telephone equipment already in place, so your program can be established quickly without your having to purchase any specialized equipment or new telephones.
MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE: A good telemarketing unit will be run by experienced capable managers in the telemarketing field. An in-house operation may find itself with a management problem once telemarketers come on board-telemarketing is labor-intensive, employing people on a part-time basis and often at a base minimum wage. A different set of supervisory strategies apply to these people than apply to your salaried staff. Use of an outside telemarketing firm avoids these problems.
SIMPLIFIED MONITORING AND TESTING: An outside telemarketing firm is often the best place to conduct a test of a new program. Vendors may be able to use advanced techniques to pre-test a campaign to discern the effectiveness of telemarketing as the marketing method employed.
DISADVANTAGES
FREQUENT BUSY SIGNALS: If your prospects want to return a call from a telemarketer, they may find themselves frustrated trying to get through. Telemarketing firms can provide economical service only by maintaining call patterns that result in many busy signals when people call in.
FINANCIAL INSTABILITY: Most telemarketing firms are relatively new businesses, and their nature is sometimes difficult. Phone companies have been known to shut off a center's phone lines with no warning, resulting in a damaging backlash if any advertising has been placed before the center is shut down.
NO DATABASE OR CO-WORKER ACCESSIBILITY: Outside telemarketers don't have access to your company records and client files, or to other employees who can serve as a valuable source of information. If a prospect contacted has an insurance question, there will be no one else to turn to.
NO PRODUCT OR AGENCY KNOWLEDGE: Telemarketers from an outside vendor will be a lot less loyal to you and your company. They're paid to get the information, no matter who it's for. You will not be able to train these people at all on your own products, services, and agency goals.