The Telemarketing Process

Before implementing a telemarketing campaign, several key issues need addressing to be sure your objectives are met:

Management Commitment

Your agency-management team must be fully committed to telemarketing for it to work. Whether you're using an outsource telemarketing company or employing in-house telemarketers, your commitment must be solidified philosophically and financially. Without 100% support, the program will inevitably fall short of its goals.

List Preparation

Before embarking on the telemarketing campaign, determine which markets to target-and evaluate them at the agency and company levels. Consider price, competitiveness, your competition's products and services, and local underwriting expertise, to ensure that your chosen targets make sense for your agency.

For Commercial Lines, determine which SIC codes you want to target, any geographic criteria (by ZIP code or county), and the size of the businesses (by employee or gross sales). Make sure the target size equals the targeted premium average you want to obtain. Different classes of businesses require different size criteria. When evaluating the size of accounts and the premium involved, you may be able to justify calling on smaller accounts if they're close to your office; however, you may find this to be cost-ineffective.

Purchasing Quality Lists

A telemarketing program can be successful only if its foundation is strong. That foundation is a top-quality list. Zeroing in on who you want to target and choosing the appropriate vendor source for your market is the core to making your telemarketing efforts work.

Automation

Just as a good list is crucial to a successful telemarketing campaign, the implementation and operation of an automated contact management system is essential. If you don't have a contact management system in place, you need to implement one; if you already have a system, be sure it's used in your telemarketing campaign. Your sales center coordinator, producers, and anyone else involved in the telemarketing campaign must be completely committed to using the system to keep track of leads and X-dates, send out letters, follow-up appointments, etc.

Administration

Whether you choose to outsource your telemarketing efforts or implement a campaign in-house, it's imperative to appoint someone to coordinate and manage the entire process. This person should have some working knowledge of personal computers and database-management systems, such as the Automated Sales Center, ACT, Marketforce, Telemagic, Goldmine, etc. He or she can be a sales center coordinator you hire or a customer support rep assigned to this additional task. The sales center coordinator is responsible for serving as the liaison between the outsource firm generating the leads and your sales manager and producers. If you have an in-house telemarketing staff, the coordinator will communicate between your telemarketers and sales manager and producers. He or she is responsible for managing and maintaining the database of leads, running reports, ensuring producers go out on scheduled appointments, and so forth.