At recent sales meetings you’ve been discussing the pros and cons of using a telemarketing firm to generate more appointments and increase commercial lines revenue opportunities. Calls come into the agency from telemarketers pitching deals and promising all kinds of paybacks.
As a manager, you want to make an informed decision about whom you hire. But choosing a telemarketing firm based solely on the deal they offer or the promises they make is a bit like picking a dentist because they’re offering discount tickets, or a law firm just because they have the biggest ad in the phone book.
Rates and anticipated returns are two elements you’ll certainly want to evaluate. But what other considerations should your decision be based on? Here’s a list of key variables that should be useful in guiding your research: Personnel - Who will actually do the calling for your agency? Will there be consistency or will many different people be calling in a boiler-room environment? Is there a high caller turnover? What’s the average caller’s tenure? Is all calling done “on-site” or do they use unsupervised “tele-commuters”?
Training - Do they take the time to understand what may set you apart from other competing agencies? If you're targetting larger companies do they have the experience and skill to communicate with C Level decision-makers? How will the telemarketing firm go about conveying your agency’s competitive advantage?
Timing - When will calls be made so that they’re able to best reach busy decision-makers? Are they able to make early morning and early evening calls? Are they in a favorable time zone? Does their software enable them to set alarms and schedule calls most effectevly?
Experience - Do they understand the insurance sales process? Issues around workers comp; risk management; safety engineering? Do they have a good handle on realistic “hit ratios”, dials, completed contacts and appointments generated?
Who will own the data after the program is ended? - A wealth of details and intelligence can be gathered during the calling process: x-dates, current agents and carriers, decision-makers' names and titles, e-mail addresses, insurance concerns, and buying attitudes. When the program ends, will you get to keep this valuable intelligence or will the telemarketers retain that for possible use with other agencies?
How are leads qualified? Are the appointments that are set for you solid, reliable selling opportunities? How do they avoid situations where someone schedules a meeting just to get the caller off the phone? Are the callers speaking with actual decision-makers? Are x-dates and other data accurate?
How are you billed? Are you required to pay for a whole year up-front? Can payments be broken-up into installments? Can you pay by credit card?
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