What Do Telemarketing Services Do?
Simply put, a telemarketing service is a company that provides your business with telephone sales representatives (TSRs). Depending on what services your business needs or wants, these TSRs make calls for appointment scheduling, direct sales, information verification, lead generation, and/or surveys. Telemarketers will either make calls to others on your behalf (outbound) or accept calls from businesses or customers (inbound).
A good telemarketing service has a major effect on your bottom line. A dedicated team of telemarketers with the right training is a valuable addition to your business; they are an extension of your team. The quality of the company and its workers is just as important as the money you’ll save.
It is important that you figure out what you want your telemarketing service to do before you start to look at different companies. Do you need them for one function or multiple? Are you reaching out to consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B)? Establish a clear outline of what you want, as well as the volume of calls you need the service to handle. The telemarketing service you choose should follow your guidelines and adhere to the existing goals and strategies of your marketing campaign.
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The Benefits of Outsourcing to a Telemarketing Service
The point of outsourced telemarketing services is to help your business. Outsourcing brings a host of benefits, some of which include:
- Cost savings: Telemarketing is a great way to generate leads and close sales in bulk. Setting that up within your business is expensive, but outsourcing gives you an expert team at a fraction of the cost. Rather than hire and train a new batch of employees yourself, outsourcing give you access to a team that already knows what to do. There are also several types of payment and contract options available, so you can do whatever works best for your business.
- Expertise: Not only is setting up your own team of TSRs expensive, but it takes time to train them and build up their expertise. By outsourcing, you acquire a team with years of experience in the field, making it easier to close sales and generate leads starting on Day One.
- Flexibility: Outsourcing to a telemarketing service offers more versatility than setting up your own in-house team. Pricing plans are flexible, based on your needs and, should you not require the services on a constant basis, you do not have to use them at all times. For example, if your business is seasonal or does more business during certain parts of the year, you only have to use the services when they’re needed.
- ROI maximization: An outsourced telemarketing service delivers a higher Return on Investment (ROI) than an in-house team. In addition to granting you access to a team that already has plenty of experience, outsourcing eliminates hiring and training costs.
How Much Does a Telemarketing Service Cost?
It is difficult to provide the exact cost of telemarketing services, as services charge based on a variety of factors. What follows is a general pricing guide to provide an idea of what you can expect to pay for your outsourced telemarketing services.
- A U.S.-based telemarketing service that charges by the hour has an average cost between $20 and $75 per hour.
- An offshore telemarketing service that charges by the hour has an average cost between $12 and $20 per hour.
- A telemarketing service that charges by the lead has an average cost between $35 and $60 per lead.
Charges in addition to the hourly or per lead charge may include:
- Many services require an upfront payment to begin working on a call script and training employees, which has an average cost between $300 and $500.
- A prospect list has an average cost of $300 per 1,000 names.
While these costs may seem high, it is important to note that they are still less than the cost of setting up your own in-house telemarketing team.