Phone Dialers – Good or bad for business
August 28, 2009
We have all answered the phone at some point and been greeted by a recorded message to tell us we have either qualified for a cheap holiday or to wait for an important message. The first thing I do is put the phone down and I am sure the majority of people do the same thing. On a more serious note I believe that the use of phone dialers in this way puts a black mark on the telemarketing industry as a whole. People in general like to listen to a human voice that they can engage in a dialogue with. This is true even they are only telling you to go away. Dialers only make people ignore the ringing of a phone which in the long run is bad for business. Leave telemarketing to the telemarketers and not the machines with a recorded voice.
“I’ll be back!”
Call centres abroad – good for business?
August 26, 2009
Would you rather have your business conducted here or abroad? More and more businesses are outsourcing their telemarketing business to companies outside of country of which they are based. Whichever way you look at it, it can be cheaper to hire English speaking staff in places like India or the Philippines. Some of the largest companies in the world have call centres in India in sectors such as finance, airlines, and telecoms. In some countries such as the USA and Austria call centres have even been established in prisons. The question here is do you pay more for a service where you have an established relationship with a UK based company that is familiar with your product or service? Or do you go for the cheaper option and outsource the work to India, the Philippines or even countries such as the USA?
Training Days – A worthwhile investment?
August 24, 2009
All telemarketing agencies have some kind of training schedules. These are very important in keeping your staff abreast of new campaigns, new strategies etc.
Recently our telemarketing agency ran a training day with a difference. The office was closed and we held a day where telemarketers where encourage to work in small groups and complete a series of tasks. One of the tasks set was to build a tower using spaghetti and mallows. First the teams had to decide how high they thought they could build the tower in the time given. The team getting the highest standing tower would be deemed a winner.
The real objectives here being working as part of a team and setting targets. Other activities included setting individual goals, looking at how you will achieve them, and how you know when you have achieved them. The day was a success with everybody taking something away with them, something they could use in their normal working day. In my opinion days like this can be invaluable and are a worthwhile investment. Does anyone have a different opinion?
What makes a good Telemarketing Agency?
August 21, 2009
Picking the right agency for your telemarketing campaign is a crucial part of the selling process. You need to look carefully at potential telemarketing agencies and ask yourself a few questions. First do they provide you with a framework on which they will run your campaign?
Things to look for here are:
- Samples of previous projects showing dials made per telemarketing day.
- Is the telemarketer training bespoke to a particular campaign? This one is crucial as you need to know that the telemarketers they provide are fully conversant with your products and services.
- Will they provide a team specializing in your industry?
- How do they report on outbound call results and do they provide feedback at regular intervals?
- Does the agency specialize in B2B telemarketing or B2C (Some companies do both)?
- Can you speak to the telemarketers on you campaign direct? Some companies will operate an open door policy where you will be able to communicate directly with the agents on you campaign.
- Is the campaign for lead generation or appointment setting? Campaigns are usually a mixture of both. What you need to look at here is some idea of the results you will expect to get on your campaign. An example of this would be decision maker hits out of outbound calls made.
These are just some of the pointers to look for when considering the best telemarketing agency for your campaign.
Profitable Telemarketing
August 19, 2009
Direct Telemarketing can be a profitable way of promoting your business when carried out correctly. That said if handled badly direct marketing can also do harm to your business and lots of it. The way to ensure you have a good campaign is to use a reputable telemarketing agency with plenty of previous experience. Ideally the company you use will already have had experience dealing with companies in the same field as yours. For example if you are an IT company wanting to promote services or products B2B or B2C, use a telemarketing agency experienced in making outbound calls on behalf of similar companies to yours. Before deciding which agency to use ask them who they have worked for before, a good telemarketing agency will always be happy to give you this information. Don’t forget the company you hire is acting on your behalf, so by default they are representing your company to prospective customers. The best telemarketing agency will get you the best results!