The truth about telemarketing prices

Telemarketing is as old as the introduction of the first phones.  Started up in the USA around 1950 based around advertising in magazines and publications it has quickly spread to all areas of business.

The concept of telemarketing is 'to market a product/service over the phone'. 

The image many of us have of a telemarketing person, is a young person (student or senior school person) cold calling houses in the evening or selling double glazing.

Despite this being partly true, it is the tip of the iceberg.

People of all ages do telemarketing, both in making 'cold calls' but also in handling calls.

If you call up your bank for some help, or call up your utilities provider, chances are this would be handled by a telemarketing company.  Telemarketing is a big part of our lives these days, from helplines, banking, retail, mobile phones and really any larger company that has a freephone/0845 number.

The truth is that telemarketing does cost.  Telemarketing companies need to employ staff, need to train then, need to incentivise them, give them holiday, sick leave and promotions.  As such, the cost filters back to the customer.  As with any product or service (hotels, trains, cars) the main cost is the cost of the staff/business which does need to be appreciated.

Different telemarketing companies charge differently, and it is always advised to shop around and compare telemarketing prices in order to get the best deal.

Prices typically are based on a day rate which can fluctuate from around £150 to up to £600.  This would be based on a few factors:

• The seniority of the person doing the calling

Generally the more senior a person is, the more they will cost.  If you want an ex sales manager or highly experienced telemarketeer then this will cost more, as opposed to a young person or newish person doing your calling.  It depends on what you are looking for, if your campaign is quite simple - then a junior caller could do it.  If your campaign is high level or you are targeting senior level people - then having a more experienced telemarketeer is advisable.

• The size of the telemarketing agency

The larger the telemarketing company, the more they will charge (generally) as they have more of an infrastructure, more managers, more directors, more company cars, more holidays to pay for etc. Again, if you are looking for volume calling, then a larger telemarketing company is more suited, if you just want 1 person to do calling 1 day per week, then a smaller telemarketing agency is suited.

It is good to shop around and compare telemarketing prices - they do vary and to avoid getting stung, comparing is a good thing (we do it for car insurance, clothes, food, so why not telemarketing).