How Much Does Outbound Telemarketing Cost in 2023?

Outbound telemarketing usually costs $40 per hour of service but is sometimes billed on a performance basis as well. Calculate your price, start here:

What is Outbound Telemarketing and How Much Does It Cost?

Outbound Telemarketing Overview:

Definition: Outbound telemarketing involves hiring a call center to initiate phone calls to potential customers, primarily to boost sales.
Types of Services:
- Direct sales over the phone.
- Setting appointments for senior salespeople.
Benefits: An effective service can significantly enhance sales in most organizations.
Costing: Pricing is typically based on:
- Billed per man-hour.
- Average rate: Approximately $34/hour. Rates can vary based on the specialization and location of the call center.

Choosing the Right Outbound Telemarketing Company:

Contract Flexibility: Choose a firm with packages that align with your needs and budget. Beware of larger firms that might impose excessive minimum hour requirements.
Commission-Based Rates: Some firms offer rates inclusive of commission for sales agents, allowing for a sales boost without substantial upfront costs.

What to Look for In Outbound Telemarketing Companies

Selecting an Outbound Telemarketing Firm:

Contract and Packages: Seek firms offering packages tailored to your requirements. Beware of larger firms with high minimum hour commitments that may overshoot your needs or budget.
Flexible Pricing: Some firms provide reduced rates by incorporating commissions for sales agents, allowing for increased sales without large upfront costs.

Services Offered:

Comprehensive Services: A beneficial telemarketing firm should offer a diverse range of services for a sustainable business partnership. This includes:
- Lead generation.
- Appointment setting.
- Direct sales.
- Market research interviewing.
Importance of Quality: Prioritize quality over cost. Inexpensive solutions often employ inadequately trained agents or those with insufficient language skills. This can lead to:
- Frustrated potential clients.
- Reduced success rates.
Desirable Features: The best telemarketing firm will:
- Utilize advanced technology for efficient calls.
- Offer robust training programs.
- Maintain strict quality control.
- Employ agents with impeccable language skills, especially if targeting a specific linguistic group.

Solutions -Services

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Outbound Telemarketing Services Example Pricing

Estimated prices paid for outbound telemarketing services by businesses nationwide are listed below:

$40 per hour by a North Carolina shipping container company needed appointments set
$39 per hour by a California company needing direct sales
$69 per lead set by a Texas mortgage lender
$55 per hour by a New York firm needing cold calling
$5,800 per month by a credit card company seeking new cardholders
$45/hour for an insurance agency needing cold calls in Illinois

Find Outbound Telemarketing Companies Near You and Compare Up To Five Money Saving Quotes

What Do I Need To Get Started With Outbound Telemarketing?

Hiring a telemarketing company is a significant decision that can have a direct impact on your sales and brand reputation. Here are some critical factors to consider and things you need to know before choosing a telemarketing partner:

Understand Your Needs: Clearly outline the objectives of your campaign. Are you aiming for B2B or B2C? Is the primary goal lead generation, appointment setting, customer feedback, or direct sales? Knowing your goals will help you choose a company with expertise in your specific area.
Research Their Reputation: Look for reviews and testimonials about the telemarketing company. If possible, ask for case studies or references to gauge the effectiveness and professionalism of their services.
Compliance with Regulations: Ensure that the company adheres to all relevant regulations, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the U.S. or other local telemarketing laws. Non-compliance can result in heavy fines and damage to your brand’s reputation.
Data Quality: Investigate where they source their calling lists. Quality data is crucial for the success of any telemarketing campaign. It’s beneficial if they can provide segmented and targeted lists tailored to your needs.
Training and Experience: Understand the training process of their agents. Are they well-equipped to handle your target audience? Experienced and well-trained agents will be more effective in representing your brand and achieving your objectives.
Pricing and Contracts: Review the pricing structure. Some companies may offer a fixed price, while others might charge on a per-call or per-sale basis. Understand any long-term contracts or commitments and ensure there are clear terms for termination if things don’t work out.
Reporting and Analytics: Effective telemarketing campaigns rely on continuous optimization. The company should provide regular reports on call outcomes, conversion rates, and other essential metrics. This transparency allows you to measure ROI and adjust strategies as needed.
Technological Capabilities: Ask about their technology stack. Features like auto-dialers, CRM integrations, call recording, and analytics tools can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of campaigns.
Flexibility: Determine how flexible they are in adapting to feedback and changing campaign requirements. An ideal partner should be willing to iterate and refine the approach based on ongoing results and your feedback.
Cultural Fit: The telemarketers will be representing your brand. It’s crucial that they understand and can replicate your company’s tone, values, and approach to customer interactions.
Trial Period: If possible, negotiate a trial period or a pilot campaign. This allows you to gauge their capabilities and effectiveness before committing to a long-term partnership.
Transparency: A trustworthy telemarketing partner will maintain open communication with you, update you about challenges, and be honest about what’s working and what’s not.

By considering these factors and conducting thorough research, you’ll be better positioned to choose a telemarketing company that aligns with your business needs and objectives.

Who To Call For Telemarketing Services

Here’s a list of five renowned telemarketing companies to consider when outsourcing telemarketing services:

TeleContact Resource Services
- Location: San Jose, California
- Description: With over two decades of experience, TeleContact provides a wide array of telemarketing services, including B2B lead generation, event promotion, and market research. Their focus on tailored campaigns makes them a popular choice for businesses seeking customized telemarketing solutions.
Callbox
- Location: Encino, California
- Description: Callbox specializes in B2B telemarketing services, particularly lead generation and appointment setting. Their multi-channel marketing approach includes email, social media, chat, and web in addition to phone calls, ensuring a comprehensive outreach strategy.
U.S. Infotel Corporation
- Location: Roanoke, Virginia
- Description: U.S. Infotel offers both inbound and outbound telemarketing services. With expertise in sectors like finance, healthcare, and retail, they provide services ranging from lead generation to customer support, ensuring clients’ needs are catered to holistically.
Conversica
- Location: Foster City, California
- Description: Conversica stands out with its AI-driven sales assistant platform, which automates the lead contact and qualification process. Their system uses AI to engage potential leads in human-like conversations, freeing up human agents to focus on closing deals.
Upcall
1. Location: San Francisco, California
2. Description: Upcall is known for its cloud-based outbound call platform, providing lead generation, appointment setting, and market research services. With a vast network of U.S.-based callers, they offer scalability and a tailored approach to campaigns, making them suitable for businesses of all sizes.
AnswerNet

- - Location: Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
  - Description: AnswerNet is a comprehensive contact center service provider, offering both inbound and outbound services. For outbound campaigns, they cater to a variety of needs, such as B2B and B2C telemarketing, lead generation, appointment setting, and market research. With multiple centers across North America, AnswerNet provides a broad range of other related services, including customer support, virtual receptionists, and interactive voice response systems.

While these companies are well-regarded as of my last update, I recommend reaching out to them directly and conducting thorough research to ensure they align with your current business needs and industry standards. Telemarketing needs and best practices can evolve, and companies may adjust their offerings over time.

Using Data Lists Outbound Telemarketing

The beauty of these data companies is you can filter your list by any number of criteria. You can target a specific age group, people with specific interests, or even people living in a certain area of the country.

InfoUSA
- Description: InfoUSA is one of the largest providers of business and consumer data in the U.S. They offer customized lists for telemarketing, direct mail, and email campaigns. Their database includes information on millions of businesses and consumers, allowing businesses to target prospects based on a variety of criteria including location, industry, company size, and more.
Dun & Bradstreet
- Description: Dun & Bradstreet is a renowned name when it comes to business intelligence and commercial data. While they’re best known for their D-U-N-S numbers and business credit reports, they also provide marketing solutions. Businesses can acquire targeted lists based on specific criteria to enhance their B2B telemarketing efforts.
Experian
- Description: Experian is typically recognized for its credit reporting services, but it also offers a suite of marketing services. Their data-driven marketing services include high-quality telemarketing lists, which can be customized based on demographic, geographic, and other specific filters.
ZoomInfo
- Description: ZoomInfo provides B2B contact data, enriched with a range of actionable insights. They offer detailed profiles on business professionals and companies, making it easier for marketers to target their outreach. Their platform is designed for those looking to improve B2B telemarketing, sales prospecting, and lead generation.
Data Axle (formerly known as Data.com)
- Description: Data Axle offers solutions for both B2B and B2C marketers. They provide access to a vast database of business and consumer contacts. Companies can acquire tailored lists for telemarketing campaigns based on an extensive set of criteria, ensuring that the outreach is relevant and targeted.

It’s important to note that when purchasing or using telemarketing lists, businesses must adhere to all relevant regulations and best practices, especially concerning unsolicited communications. Always ensure that the lists you’re using are compliant with laws such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) or other regional regulations.

Managing Your Telemarketing List

Once you have your list of phone numbers, you are almost ready to go. Like most marketing campaigns, however, you’ll want to be able to track your contacts.

Your list will come back to you in some sort of spreadsheet format. It can either be an MS Excel or .csv file.

It may make sense for you to use some sort of CRM to organize your data. This way you can see how often you contact someone, when was the last time you contacted them, and when they should receive their next call from you.

Taking the time to do this in a neat, organized format from the beginning will save you a lot of time, energy, and stress in the long run.

You’ll also want to clean up your list when you get it back from your data company. After they run it through their search software, it can come back to you with some funky columns or columns that you don’t necessarily need.

You’ll want to keep the following information:

Customer Name
Mailing Address
Phone Number

When you deal with a skip tracing company, you may get multiple phone numbers back. In our experience, data accuracy drops off severely after the first 3 phone numbers.

If you haven’t been able to get in contact with someone after trying three different phone numbers, it may be best to reach them through some other form of marketing.

Outbound Telemarketing Cost

The average national expense for telemarketing stands at $43 for every caller hour.

When determining the costs associated with outbound telemarketing campaigns, several factors come into play. First, you need to factor in the expense of obtaining a list of potential leads. Next, there’s the charge associated with your phone service. Additionally, there’s the price tag attached to any telephone equipment necessary for the operation.

For those handling the calling duties personally, the need for extra equipment is usually minimal. However, if you’re delegating this task to a team, it might necessitate buying additional devices like headsets and handheld units.

Even with a VoIP phone service, there are accessories available that offer callers a handheld device for dialing convenience.

For businesses with a dedicated calling team, integrating dialer software can be a game-changer. This software boosts call volume significantly and enhances the efficiency of the callers. Essentially, once your lead list is uploaded onto the dialer, and after making a few initial settings adjustments, the system can automatically dial numbers for you at the click of a button. Features such as automated voicemail drop, callbacks, and direct customer interactions are readily accessible, eliminating the need for manual input of phone numbers or leaving voicemails. The time and money saved through this approach are considerable.

Therefore, for operations intending to make calls at a larger scale, investing in such software can be highly beneficial.

Types of Outbound Telemarketing

Outbound telemarketing is a diverse field with a range of services tailored to different needs. Here’s a list of some common types of outbound telemarketing services along with brief descriptions:

B2B (Business-to-Business) Telemarketing: This type of service focuses on reaching out to other businesses rather than individual consumers. B2B telemarketers might promote products, services, or solutions that cater specifically to the needs of businesses. For instance, they might be selling enterprise software, machinery, or consultancy services.
B2C (Business-to-Consumer) Telemarketing: In B2C telemarketing, the focus shifts from businesses to individual consumers. This could involve selling products like electronics, insurance, or subscriptions. B2C telemarketers need a different set of skills, often requiring a more personal touch and understanding of individual consumer needs.
Lead Generation: This service revolves around identifying and cultivating potential customers. Telemarketers reach out to potential leads to gauge interest and gather information, rather than making an immediate sale. The gathered leads are then passed on to the sales team for further follow-up.
Appointment Setting: Telemarketers in this category aim to set up meetings or appointments between potential clients and a company’s sales or service team. It’s especially popular in industries like real estate or high-ticket item sales, where a face-to-face meeting can be crucial.
Surveys and Market Research: Instead of selling, telemarketers collect data. They reach out to individuals to gather opinions, feedback, and other valuable market insights. This information can be pivotal for businesses looking to refine their products or services.
Customer Retention: Outbound calls aren’t always about getting new customers. Sometimes they’re about keeping the ones you have. In this service, telemarketers reach out to existing customers, ensuring they’re satisfied, addressing concerns, and offering new products or services that might be of interest.
Fundraising: Used by non-profits, charities, and political campaigns, this type of telemarketing involves calling potential donors or supporters to solicit donations or support for a cause.
Product Launches: Whenever a company introduces a new product or service, telemarketers can help spread the word. They inform potential customers about the new offering, its features, benefits, and how it meets their needs.
Debt Collection: This can be a more challenging form of telemarketing. Agents reach out to individuals or businesses with overdue debts, aiming to recover the owed amounts.
Up-selling and Cross-selling: This strategy involves offering existing customers an upgraded version of what they’ve purchased (up-selling) or suggesting complementary products or services (cross-selling).

Each type of outbound telemarketing service requires a specific approach, skill set, and understanding of the target audience. Proper training and strategy are essential to ensure that the calls are both effective and compliant with regulations.

Getting Started

If you weren’t aware of outbound telemarketing, we hope that it’s on your radar after reading this. When you compare it to some of the other marketing strategies, outbound telemarketing cost is on the low end.

It’s a great place for people to start when first getting into the business. You either spend time or money when it comes to marketing.

If you’re willing to make the minimal money investment to purchase a list and phone service, and willing to put in the elbow grease to dial, you are on your way to a pretty amazing marketing strategy!

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