subject: How To Evaluate A Potential Telemarketing Service Provider [print this page] When comparing potential telemarketing firms, there are many factors to look at and while some may be more important to your business than others, it is necessary that you weigh all factors that can affect your telemarketing outsource plans.
For many companies, the first thing to evaluate in choosing a telemarketing outsource company is the pricing. It will help a lot if you can make an apples-to-apples price comparison of your prospects since they would have slightly varying pricing schemes. Also, look at other setup costs which can stretch your budget.
While pricing is certainly important, however, it should not be the only deciding factor in choosing a telemarketing outsource provider. Remember that this provider will be directly interacting with hundreds of your existing and potential customers so they are actually an extension of your company. Therefore, you are essentially looking for a partner and not just any supplier.
Also, look for a company with solid experience in offering telemarketing outsource services. Its perfectly fine to work with start-ups as long as their management team has proven experience in the telemarketing industry. Established call centers are naturally the safest bets because of their level of experience and proven track record.
Make sure to evaluate the quality of the workforce of your prospect telemarketing outsource company. Ask about the companys basic hiring requirements and their compensation structure. The average length of stay of employees and policies like internal job promotion are other very good indicators of good management practices. These factors indicate how well a company values its employees, which greatly affects employee performance.
When comparing telemarketing companies, looking at their additional services can help eliminate providers that do not have the level of telemarketing outsource support that meets your needs. Reporting is one of the most important features of a telemarketing companys offering. You want to make sure that the company will be able to provide detailed and accurate reports that include all the data that your own staff will need.
Also, check that you have the ability to monitor calls in real time by listening in to live calls. This is very effective in checking whether or not telemarketing outsource agents are following call guidelines and procedures. Lastly, choose a telemarketing company with a solid commitment to data security. Find out what specific measures they have put in place to protect company information and customer data.
