A Plea for Advice Regarding Telemarketers

[stuntpickle]

I have been an insurance agent working in the individual health market for close to ten years. I'm no stranger to cold calling; in fact, the majority of my written business (80%) has resulted from precisely that method of prospecting. I have tried various forms of additional marketing (internet leads, direct mail, in-house telemarketing), all to no avail. The best of these was in-house telemarketing, but it has been my experience that finding and training the right person is an effort as arduous and lengthy as setting off in search of the Holy Grail.

I have recently transitioned away from face-to-face sales and am now doing the whole process over the phone. I'd love to be able to invest some of my earnings into additional marketing and am now considering offshore telemarketing. From what I've read on this forum, such an endeavor can be hit or miss. And since my first real job was a mid-level manager at a five hundred seat call center, I clearly understand that a call center makes its money not by closing deals, but rather by putting asses in seats, regardless of whether said asses happen to be attached to heads.

I have searched this forum for similar threads and have hit upon a provider in the Phiippines (I think) called Hirate Solutions, which according to the law of ironic business names should guarantee me a fairly low rate solution. Unfortunately, I cannot find any explicit statements regarding the effectiveness of said company. I'd be interested to hear whether anyone has had success using them.

I hereby humbly petition the members of this forum for any and all advice regarding offshore telemarketing through both firms and individuals, appropriate scripts and processes and any other subjects vaguely related.

Thanks so much.

 

[Josh]

I have done a lot of work with filipino call centers and overall the best results I get is when I hire them directly. I'm branching out and scaling up for a non-insurance campaign now and working on getting 10 telemarketers going.

Realistically I think you're in over your head and I think you realize that. Hiring, training, and managing a telemarketing crew is a full-time job that requires a great deal of expertise to do efficiently. A few weeks ago I did a webinar about how to hire and mange a telemarketer that was fairly well attended, but even with a powerpoint and an hour I couldn't cover anywhere near everything. That said, I'll give you a few points:

1. You absolutely need to have them on a dialer. I realize it may sound like a bias because I offer them (the ones that I use to manage my telemarketers), but it's the truth. You also need to have a dialer that's actually designed for managing telemarketers (mostly the difference is in the reporting).
2. If you want some script advice you can checkout Free Telemarketing Scripts For Everyone!. Most of what's on their is what I've used over the last five years or so and although it can vary a great deal by area, it generally works fairly well.
3. Be realistic. There really aren't companies out there that are good at this. Best case scenario you find one that has the right infrastructure and people to make it work.
4. Off-shore telemarketing isn't going to be that cheap. Generally, especially with filipinos, you're going to get what you pay for. Yes, they're less expensive than american telemarketers, but the real value is that they are more likely to consistently show up for work. A good filipino is worth paying what a good american telemarketer is worth. For $10-$12/hour you can get some pretty good talent. That's probably a bit higher than you'd need to pay (if you were hiring them directly), but if you're getting quoted a cheap hourly rate, odds are listening to the calls is going to be brutal.
5. You absolutely need to have them on a dialer. Yes, it was the first point, but it deserves to be brought up again.

Good luck!

 

[Cory]

I agree with all of Josh's points, but would like to ask why you've not considered hiring a telemarketer to work for you in-house where you work? I've outsourced telemarketing overseas and kept it in-house and perhaps you're talking about a larger group in which case it might be easier to outsource. But if you're looking for leads just for you one person will do and in the long run, I was glad I kept it in house.

-I can shadow, train and hone them into a calling machine.
-Costs can be about the same so you can have someone hundreds of miles away or right there with you.
-Make them more effective with MORE training...your business 101, shadowing you, etc. All things to make them better on the phone which benefits you.
-Plenty of people looking for part-time jobs i.e. college students, retires i.e. unemployment is high right now.
-Yes...may be harder to find but you will have your choice of candidates so interview them effectively or in small groups to maximize your time.
-Be transparent and tell them what the job entails and what is expected and what they get.
-Offer incentive tier-based bonuses for performance... telemarketers can make a great deal of money.

Josh is right...get a dialer. Any dialer will improve your numbers, but make sure it's easy to use (for all computer literacy levels) and that support is readily available when you need it in the evenings or whenever they're calling. All dialers are different just comes to personal taste...the right features at the right price. Maybe this will offer another perspective...maybe not. Take care.

 

[Josh]

Me and a couple friends use . Essentially, they cold call for you and transfer you the lead in real time.

It depends on your average auto policy premium and homeownership rate.

I pay for about 20 calls a day for all my agents and my one call close ratio is about 20%.

My buddy who just started as a captive gets 3 a day with a much smaller close rate but I think hes just not used to phone sales.

Are these telemarketed leads or robo calls?

 

[number9]

I've had 6 telemarketers since I've been in this business and usually they worked well my experience is they usually last 3 to 6 months so by they time you have them trained well they don't last long.

I was recently going to spend the money and hire a proven professional. A friend recommended a telemarketing company to me. What a fiasco I agree with your comment these telemarketing companies get paid for putting "asses in the seats". In 100 hours of time I got 1 appointment. It turned out to be a quality appointment. I also put 30 plus hours of time helping train the telemarketer via listening to tapes of attempted appointments and responding with comments via email and occasionally conference calls. Colossal waste of time and money. I will probably hire a telemarketer for January 1 train them myself pay them well and hopefully they'll stay with it. I am pretty jaded on outsourcing because of my recent experience. Good luck!

 

[budjm]

the thing about telemarketers is that, really, either they can do it or they can't. not many things in life are simple, but this situation would be an exception.

i would never, ever recommend an offshore telemarketing/er/appt setter scenario. i've got to agree with others--find a kickass, RELIABLE caller, and pay him well.

i haven't been here in some time, (BUSY) but my guy is great. i don't want to post his email here directly on the forum, as i can see how that would be against the rules.

let me get my post count up and shoot me a PM, and he's all yours.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
@josh---what is your new project? allowed to say?

 

[Josh]

i would never, ever recommend an offshore telemarketing/er/appt setter scenario.

I've got one that got me a lead on Thursday and it looks like I'll be picking up at commission of around $7k off it with a few more in the works. I'm just sayin'.

i haven't been here in some time, (BUSY) but my guy is great. i don't want to post his email here directly on the forum, as i can see how that would be against the rules.

If you have a good telemarketer looking for work, have them shoot me an email if you'd like. [email protected].

@josh---what is your new project? allowed to say?

It's mine, so I can very much say. It's actually a non-insurance product, calling about mortgages. I've got a partnership with some LOs and although I just started, it's very promising. (Dialer + targeted marketing lists + the right telemarketers) X lots of cals = a marketing machine.

Most of this year I've been focusing on my list business (and adding the dialer), it's nice to be hunting again!

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

I've got one that got me a lead on Thursday and it looks like I'll be picking up at commission of around $7k off it with a few more in the works. I'm just sayin'.

Is that $7k first year commission or is that over 10 years?

 

[Josh]

Is that $7k first year commission or is that over 10 years?

First year

This project hits all my interest points, fyc being one of them.

 

[Mag555]

You have a got experience that would be helpfull for us.Thanx for sharing your experiencee man.