There are a number of comments that are acurate, but there are some unrealistic quotes that are so low that you would be reasonable to consider the service and skill being offered. A proffesional UK based telemarketing consultant will cost between £150 - £300 per day. This does not mean that those that charge the most are uncompetative. Oftern that are the very best with a long proven track record of making very large returns on investment for their clients.
It is critical to look at the return on investment when looking at the cost of telemarketing for your business. I have a shot artical about
how to choose a telemarketing company that discusses ROI and other factors in sourcing a
telemarketing company or telemarketing consultant
I think that sums it up nicely. I agree that you get what you pay for. I think that whilst outsourcing offshore may look appealing at 5$ per hour there will be a hidden cost your business that is slightly less tangible.
I am not afraid to tell people what we charge because I believe it is what we are worth. We charge £250- £275 a day per telemarketer and a setup fee of around £250 per telemarketer.
We charge a setup fee because whilst from the outside looking in telemarketing may look like a straight forward business but in reality it is a lot of hard work. We need our telemarketers to buy into and understand your brand, products and services. We need to practise calling, role plays, create call guides etc. We need to setup a reporting process to offer the client insight and transparency that really allows the client to help the campaign progress by evaluating the responses and offering constructive advice.
I agree with telemax that the average profit margin needs to be at certain level and the length of the campaign must give the project a real chance for traction. I have found that shorter campaigns 'can' feel like a straw poll. leads needs to be nurtured and more times than not we will end up using telemarketing as part of a more integrated strategy. We may send an email to pre-empt our call or to follow up on our call for example. Even creating a strategy to keep in touch with 'not interested's' over the longer term because products and services can morph and change to suit the market based on our feedback from our original and follow up calls.
Our daily rate rate is what it is because we have taken the time to carefully select the best telemarketers and pay them a good salary (if you have ever hired a freelancer or setup your own department you will know how expensive this has the potential to be, we are still counting the cost of bad hiring mistakes!). They are not rewarded on appointments set either, they are rewarded on client retention. This means they are focussed on the clients ROI not their own. Besides staff there are all the obvious overheads of running a company plus large phone bills, additional training, telemarketing software and so on..
Basically what I am saying is that telemarketing can be an awesome way to keep your sales team selling but you need to be prepared to pay for a quality team who will really become an extension of your sales force and work with you long term. So it is huge importance to also make sure you all get along as human beings as well.
When I buy marketing for us I seldom go for the cheapest option. I go with the one that suits me best and has the best chance of getting me the return I want.
