Outsourcing Telemarketing: A High Risk Venture?

Now let's go back to outsourcing telemarketing. It's one of the biggest steps any business can make if it wants to make more profit and spend less on overhead costs. Another is to apply for a telemarketing merchant account. And when I say that, I don't mean locally. Domestic banks and providers are wary of outbound call centers. Most telemarketing companies find help with credit card processing by applying for a high risk merchant account offshore. Benefits on doing this abound. Lenient taxation system, non-interference from the government and other political entities, and flexibility when it comes to choosing your bank are just among a few of them.

Outsourcing Telemarketing: A High Risk Venture?

It's Sunday morning and I'm reading stories about telemarketers' on-the-job experiences. I'm like, "Geez, this is interesting stuff." FYI: I worked in a part time telemarketing job before. FYI: I lasted only one week! I was at college and needed extra money. But then again even during that time I felt I was harassing not only myself but also other people.

"But eventually…it’s the kind of job where you don’t get much satisfaction because nobody really likes you….none of the people you talk to really want to talk to you and you are just keeping on the phone, taking away from their lives….it’s depressing. We were given lists of phone numbers and a regular phone without any sort of headset, just a little handset and we went into a little cubby and uh …and called lists of phone numbers.

More than half of them weren’t even real numbers and you got lots of this phone line has been disconnected and lots of answering machines and when you did get people you were often calling while they were eating dinner or breakfast and people generally…you were generally pissing people off...” (excerpt from Aboutmyjob)

Hey, 'nuff said about telemarketing woes. Some people actually make a good career in this high risk industry. In fact, they told me if you didn't move up the ladder within a few months, you must be doing something wrong. Not only is telemarketing (sometimes also called call center jobs) a high-paced industry, it's also very profitable. That's why the ongoing trend is (North) American businesses outsourcing telemarketing offshore. For a lot of these businesses, the overhead costs simply diminish. Employees overseas don't get paid as much as their American and European counterparts. Hard and soft aspects of running the telemarketing agency become less of a burden. Well yeah, at the expense of American employees. We've heard of complaints near and far from US employees saying they're losing their jobs over the guys in Southeast Asia and China. Uuhh, but if we put ourselves in the position of the big bosses, can we blame them?

Clint and The Outsourcing Dilemma

A year ago, I met a guy named Clint who told me how he lost his job. He now lives in a tropical island somewhere in Asia after having decided he wanted to retire. He was bitter and asked me if his feelings were justified. He was a head engineer whose job was outsourced to a Chinese guy who got paid six times less than he did. I said, "Well, if I'm the boss I guess it's justified on my part since I save a lot of money. But it's only worth it if the Chinese guy performed as good as you did." After that conversation, Clint didn't bother me anymore. He went off reading books in hammocks, taking pictures of his new Asian girlfriend and sending them to me when he gets a chance.

Now let's go back to outsourcing telemarketing. It's one of the biggest steps any business can make if it wants to make more profit and spend less on overhead costs. Another is to apply for a telemarketing merchant account. And when I say that, I don't mean locally. Domestic banks and providers are wary of outbound call centers. Most telemarketing companies find help with credit card processing by applying for a high risk merchant account offshore. Benefits on doing this abound. Lenient taxation system, non-interference from the government and other political entities, and flexibility when it comes to choosing your bank are just among a few of them.

A Checklist for Your Outsourcing Plans

Before applying for a high risk merchant account for your telemarketing business, you need to create a feasibility checklist. Value Creation Group Inc. shared a handful of them. Ask yourself:

• Will outsourcing telemarketing be more effective than doing it in-house?

• What is/are the guarantee that your business is safe from outsourcing liabilities?

• Can the outsourcing agencies perform the same tasks that your company does?

• How many years has the outsourcing telemarketing agency existed and does it have a good track record?

• How is payment of personnel handled?

• Who will provide the hardware, software, telemarketing scripts, and other necessary equipment?

• Who will manage the entire telemarketing infrastructure?

And finally, draft the contract that will benefit both you and your outsourcing agency.

Outsourcing is no joke. We've heard of nightmare stories and wouldn't want to experience any of them. The checklist I provided, coupled with a good high risk merchant account provider, will serve your best interest. This business is rewarding and challenging for those who are willing to give outsourcing a try.