Outsourcing Cold Calling, Does It Work?

Why would a proven telemarketer need you when they could do it themselves? These ideas are lazy, dishonest and for those reasons don't work in the real world. You need to provide tangible value to the relationship, instead of attempting to take advantage of someone's naivety about their worth. It's disrespectful to salespeople. You expect to make the most out of a relationship while contributing the least. Anyone competent is going to see you for what you are.. and you will vanish from these forums, probably to jump to the next shady scheme to make money quickly without having to work for it.

Good luck.

In my experience, cold calling is not easily outsourced. In fact, it is usually a trainwreck.

Though, it seems what you are looking for is not a cold caller, but someone to follow up on warm leads.

These are two very different jobs requiring different skill sets and, frankly, what you need is the one that is easier to do.

I would not JV on this, I would hire an employee that you can directly supervise (even if you are not in the same location, you can use a service that records all calls "for training purposes")

Make sure they understand they are working for you, in the way that you expect the job to be done. Pay them a base hourly rate plus commission.

It is scary taking on an employee for the first time, but that is the right approach here.

Good luck.

How sold are they when you call? Do they know the prices? Are they ready to buy, or do they want more information? How far down the "I want to buy" path are they?

These leads sound a lot more like "I'm pretty sure I want to buy this", leads than cold call leads.

Personally, If I were going to go to all the work to create all the mock ups, I'd have them call...and I'd answer the calls myself. That's where all the money is.

i wouldn't pay hourly, because of all the work you are doing. An hourly person will likely kill all but the most insistent of buyers. If you want someone to call them, or answer the phone, why not someone in house, I mean literally in the same room as you? That way, you could tell what they are saying, and fire the bad ones right away.

But if you are building mock ups I think you are dramatically overestimating the number of calls/inquiries you are going to get. You aren't going to get 50% to respond. You may get 1%...maybe a tad more or less. And then you have to close them.


I would have them call you, instead of you calling them, after they give you their number. It's a whole different ball game, if they are calling you. Far easier to sell. Plus, there is no phone tag.....no receptionist, no buffer zone.

Why not try the system, with you answering the phone, to see how many calls you actually get? Then you'll get real information on how hard they are to close, how many call, and how many buy. if you still want to cal them, wait until you get some calls. Call the fist several yourself, to work out the bugs, and see how busy a person will be.


I would never have them give me a number, for me to call back. I would always answer the phone. You want them interrupting you, not the other way around.


You said you were "In the system for 3 years". Does that mean you have been selling, with this method for 3 years?

My presumption in answering was that the OP has a problem with being on the phone (accent, anxiety, whatever) that was keeping him from moving the business forward.

If that is not the case, then Claude's answer is much better than what I suggested. It is your business, and you should be your best salesman.

If, however, you are in a situation where being on the phone is just not going to happen, it is better to find someone you can control to do it for you. In the same room is best, recording (and reviewing) calls is an adequate runner up.

The important thing is that this person represents you. They are not in it for themselves. They, for all intents and purposes, are you on the phone. So you have to make sure they can communicate the way you demand it is done. And that requires that you actively manage them.

In my opinion, working through sales anxiety is preferable to managing people, but that is just me.

If you want to run a business, you wear many hats. There is no getting around the fact that you have to be whatever it is you are, and a salesperson or a sales manager.

I like the idea of having them call you directly like Claude mentioned, but then again if you can get them to give you their number it puts you a bit more in control. It might be easier to get them to give you a number than to call though. All things you could test.

It sounded like you just needed someone to call due to time constraints while you were working on the web design end of things and the marketing. Maybe you could do the calling yourself and just go a bit slower. Or, maybe you want to grow quicker and have something residual on the back end that you're wanting to sell faster so it makes sense to hire a phone person. Then again, I don't have to know all of the ins and outs of your business and scrutinize every detail to answer questions.

Hourly plus commissions would probably be how I'd pay. I'd also probably do like Jack said and hire that person myself instead of partnering with someone. Like just about anything, finding someone reliable and dependable can be tough, but it is possible. Hire slow, and fire fast. For some reason when I ran phone rooms it seemed like the least dependable people were often the best on the phone. I am a very reliable and dependable person, and I was good on the phone, but the great ones were some of the biggest flakes I had ever met. Training is a matter of providing scripts, allowing people to use them in combination with their own personality, and finding a way to listen in or record calls to be listened to later and gone over for training purposes.

I have to say this is going to be very hard....in effect you want a "closer">>> you are doing the fronting....and you want someone to close. Only problem - many variables in any sort of design business....questions only the person doing the work could answer

JMO this is not really going to be easy maybe you should have a big questionnaire for prospective clients. Be upfront - tell them your English is not good ....maybe offer a discount (part of what you would pay an American closer?)

You could also find someone in your country who is reasonably "good" at speaking English and I am sure they would be easier to work with you, cheaper...and right "there" so you could comminicate with them

Personally I don't this is "dishonest" per se, just not very workable, way too many variables for this to work. You will have a hard time getting Americans even on Craigslist to do this for commission...hourly will eat away your profits. Most telemarketing needs a very specific sale otherwise it is appointment setting...in this case you are almost doing the "reverse" ....re-inventing the wheel is not that easy

I have a team of experienced Filipino call center agents who can fulfill the tasks you need. Fees start at $8/hour for the experienced telemarketers/agents.

We work with you to define the skills that meet your project’s needs, and then we identify the agents who best fit your criteria. All of our agents have business support service experience, are college-educated, and have been carefully screened for superior verbal and written communication skills. Our favorable work environment and cross-training ensures that your business receives the highest-quality customer support and retains a consistent team of agents.

Email me back to hear sample voice clips and resumes of agents

You could do it another way, contact the company and ask them if they would like a free mockup first - either by email or phone..

So, my question is; " How many of these people have sent you their phone numbers and asked for a call?"

I think it was a company called Panther Marketing that was the first virtual marketing agency
I read a case study about. I did not find that case study, but found a lot by Googling
"first and largest virtual marketing agency". Probably just Googling "virtual marketing agency"
will do a lot of good for you to find models and information for what you are trying to do.

https://www.google.com/search?site=&....0.8mLPwgL-NE8

It seems like you have done this for three years, so you should be able to create a system
that is plug and play with the right people.

Finding the right people will be the hard part:

Do read Iamnameless' blog at incomebully.com. He covers the commissions and has a lot of good information.

Do videos, or at least audios, of yourself doing these deals and use them for training.
Do the "this call will be recorded for training purposes" thing that someone mentioned.

When it comes to hiring, as UMC mentioned, hire slow and fire fast. Do your best to hire
who you think will do the best job representing you properly.

Have a probation period so you can fire fast if they are doing uncorrectable and/or unethical things.

Don't hire someone who "needs" money, or needs anything else. Needy people are always going to be needy and use it to manipulate. Do hire someone who will appreciate the opportunity - like a Mom who has a husband who is providing most of their income and just wants to help with rent or a car payment.

Try to hire someone who is realistic about their personal budgeting. I've had employees who try
to make my part-time job ($300/week) offer into a $5000 per month job. They make it unpleasant for
the other employees and myself. It's very worthwhile to wait for the right fit.

Don't hire liars. People who tell what seem to be little white lies, or exaggerations of previous work
history and job accomplishments, will also lie to you about your work situations. "I did not tell that guy
we would also do his mobile site for free..." when they darn well did to get the deal/commission. Or
they will lie about other I did not say that, or situations where they were rude and unprofessional.

Don't set up your pay plan so it will lead to lies. I've had follow up calls from companies offering a service I declined saying I talked to "jane" and she said I agreed to send copies of my bills for analysis. (Either "jane" lied about what I said to get points in their compensation system, or they are liars.)

Actually check with previous supervisors.

Grow slowly so that you handle all business well. 5 to 10 more deals per day sounds like a lot more work for one person to handle.

^^^^^^^
The 16 hour time zone difference ain't easy.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Newbie Dreams..

I have hired and gone through many phone prospectors. Here are the key things I've noticed:

1. Hire local and have them work where you can see them.

I mean in your office. Even if it's from your dining room table. DO NOT let them work from home.

2. Letting them work from home is an excuse for them to slack off.

No joke. I have had TMs who work just fine in our office environment where they are "isolated" from friends, family and distractions...but put them at home and despite their best intentions, they easily get distracted.

Not only do they fail to make the required hours of dialing from home, they also have poorer quality conversations.

3. (Legally) Check Check Check their home life before you hire.

Tim Castleman recently did a podcast talking about hiring and I found myself shouting "YES!" in agreement. He was talking about hiring people he wanted to 'rescue'. You know, people with personal problems who are begging for a chance...you can tell they have talent but their home lives are screwed up.

Well, you CANNOT FIX THEM. Do not even try.

Every time I have done this--hired a 'rescue'--it has failed. The person may have started off OK, but in a short time their home life began screwing them up: police, kid trouble, drinking etc.

Look for steady individuals who do not have problems. Look for "boring" people. They last longer.

4. Have a TM training program and standard Q&A before you begin.

"Where is the bathroom?"

"When do I get a break?"

These basic, repetitive questions eat up your (and you are THE BOSS now) time...on stupid things. Have a standard Q&A sheet or audio that answers typical questions. This way you can refer new hires to the Q&A instead of having the questions consume your time.

This is more important than you may think. Consider how much time your bosses at past jobs have had employees bust into their offices and ask questions that could easily be answered NOT by a $100K+ guy or gal. Well, YOU are that guy or gal now.

As for the actual work they are going to do on the phone...

You had better have a training program for them.

What is their purpose?

What are the expectations in dials and results?

What is the starting script?

How should a call proceed?

What is being offered?

These things and more should all be discussed...but that discussion should be in a packaged form so that your personal interaction time is minimized. You do not want to blow days and days every week simply educating new hires. Because...

5. Not many will last.

Expect high turnover. Even with strong screening, you won't keep many.

I hired a college girl to set appointments for our TV show. Her final call was setting her first appointment. I thought she had done very well for her first calling experience. Overnight she quit. She just didn't see herself as a TM...she was a prop girl for the film industry.

You are not in control of what these hires think! Even though her final act was a success, she just didn't have the self-concept allowing her to be a phone salesperson.

They WILL disappoint you.

I suppose this is true of any subbed worker: sooner or later, they won't deliver. They won't show up...I have had previously totally dependable people flake out. And as the boss, you are the one who deals with the consequences.

It is a hard business to get working well, but so few do that it's a prize when you have developed it.

I do know of a firm that uses $12 an hour (plus commission) telemarketers as closers... successful closers.

And how do they accomplish that?

They have a 42 slide Powerpoint presentation the telemarketer essentially narrates to the perspective client using one of the online meeting services. The slide presentation does the heavy lifting and the telemarketer doesn't need a great deal of skill or experience in order to close $2,500 a month consulting services.

I agree....you can sell larger items, higher priced items over the phone IF you have a system in place....
the powerpoint is a great idea....
however...the telemarketers surely did NOT think that up themselves haha

what I see too much of around here is techy guys (often in another country) who assume telemarketers will set up a whole marketing system, find potential leads, answer questions and close sales ....all out f the air....with no system in place

like I keep saying....they need a sales process, material, pitch....set things to sell

yes, you can sell "larger" items...even sort of open end...I have done it myself with vacations...

but you are selling a carefuly crafted package with options..."OH no Joe, you don't have to decide when or where you wish to cruise, all we need to decide now is that you and Judy want to cruise within the next 2 years...you can decide which ship, which port etc at any time, our cruise counselors are here for you, now all we have to do is get you set up while this is stil available...did you want to do this on visa or mc?"