Sales Lead Generation

Advantages of outsourcing to a telemarketing company

• Telemarketing companies are set up for the particular purpose of receiving surveying contracts from other businesses. This means that they are well resourced for the task. They will have software packages designed to receive and set up scripted surveys quickly and easily. They are also likely to have good systems for making telephone calls quickly, so that the market research is carried out efficiently and as many people as possible are surveyed. The project could therefore be implemented more smoothly than it might be in-house.
• Telemarketing companies employ professional market researchers. This means that they have the best possible experience and skills to obtain valuable information from potential customers. They are more likely to be able to put people at ease and arguably less likely to aggravate irritable customers (although see the second bullet point under ‘Disadvantages…’ below in order to read some balance to this statement). By contrast, if a business keeps this task in-house then it will be carried out by employees who do not necessarily have the necessary skills and experience. They might also feel aggrieved about doing a somewhat difficult task which they do not recognize to be part of their day to day employment duties.
• Many telemarketing companies will take on marketing projects on a pay-per-result basis. This means that the telemarketing company will be motivated to obtain as many survey results as possible. In turn, they will incentivize their employees to gather as many answers as possible (using techniques such as bonuses, competitions and prizes). Employees working in-house are less likely to be similarly motivated as they will receive a standard salary anyway (although it would be possible to implement an in-house bonus package). See also the fourth bullet point under ‘Disadvantages…’ below for balance to this advantage.
• Telemarketing is a competitive industry and therefore you should be able to negotiate a competitive rate for your project with a reasonable amount of ease.

Disadvantages of outsourcing to a telemarketing company

• A telemarketing company will have little or no knowledge of your business’s particular industry. This means that their employees will only really be capable of working from the specific script which you have provided. The danger here is that a potential customer might want to ask specific questions outside of this script. This could make the telemarketer appear slightly disingenuous and could potentially reflect poorly on the business. This is less likely to happen in-house, as the callers will have a better knowledge of the mode of operation of the business (although administrators, who would probably be chosen to conduct an in-house project, would probably still struggle with technical questions).
• Since the telemarketing company will be results driven, there is a danger that the telemarketers could become overly aggressive in their sales techniques. In any case, the business will almost certainly be relinquishing some of its control and influence over the project. This could result in the business’s goodwill being detrimentally affected in certain circumstances.
• The business will incur fees from the telemarketing company which it would not have had to pay had it decided to keep the work in-house. This is perhaps a slightly misleading statement because, if the business did not have the resources to implement the marketing project itself, then it really is left with little opportunity other than to make expenditure in one form or another, or call off the project. However, if a business does have members of staff who have capacity then it might be more cost-effective to utilize the full extent of their services.
• Because telemarketing companies often take work on a pay-per-result basis, they might pressurize their employees to achieve results. There is a risk that untrustworthy employees will make up survey results in order to receive bonuses or reduce pressure.