Outsource Sales Calls: Tips for Agents

If you are a salesperson or a business owner, you are probably familiar with calling strangers and introducing your business to them. You might have even done this before and found it exhausting. There are plenty of other channels anyway; why do you still need to do this? The answer is easy — outsource sales calls (cold calling) is still a profitable business tool.

You will no longer need to make the calls when outsourcing cold calling services. It can even boost your growth and eliminate wasted time for your business.

In this cold-calling guide, you will learn about the following topics:

• • What is cold-calling outsourcing?
  • Is cold calling dead?
  • The types of cold calling services that you can outsource
  • Effective cold-calling tips
  • The rules of outbound cold calling
  • The advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing a cold calling service
  • Choosing the best hard-calling service provider
  • The cost of cold calling outsourcing

Why outsource sales calls?

Cold calling outsourcing is an outbound call center service where a third-party company takes over all or part of your company’s cold calling tasks. The service provider then sets up a dedicated team of sales professionals who will call prospects on your business’s behalf.

Your outsourced team can use any of your existing cold-call scripts or create a new one, depending on your preference. They can also cover various services, from lead generation to appointment setting.

Most businesses outsource this service to improve the efficiency of their sales calls.

Is outsourcing sales calls dead?

Nowadays, a lot of people claim that cold calling is dead. Consumers are using many other channels and fewer people like phone calls. Despite these claims, however, cold calling is NOT dead. It might even give you an edge over competitors.

The misconception that cold calling is outdated leads some business owners to scrap this process entirely. However, cold calling remains an effective business tool, especially for B2B businesses. So, do not be afraid to pick up the phone or outsource this service to support the performance of your sales team.

The types of cold calling services you can outsource

Depending on the purpose of the call:

• Appointment Setting: this cold calling service focuses on asking prospects about their availability to discuss the product or service with your sales rep. Here, the call center is responsible for scheduling an appointment based on the availability of both parties.
• Lead Generation: service providers commonly offer this specifically to B2B companies. Its main goal is to gather leads among your prospects. The leads generated from this service include those with varied interests, such as “call me in 6 months” or “send me some information,” etc. It helps create opportunities for potential businesses with a prospect at many levels.

Depending on your business model:

• B2B: cold calling for business-to-business companies. Here, your representatives will interact with business owners and key decision-makers. Aside from introducing your business and closing a sale, the goal of B2B cold calling may also include gathering leads.

• B2C: business-to-customer cold calling targets direct consumers who need a specific product or service. These are people who have shown interest in what you offer. The main goal is to introduce your business and sell your products and services.

Depending on the industry:

Businesses of any industry will benefit from cold-calling outsourcing. Some service providers also offer hard calling services that are specially tailored for specific industries, including:

• Real estate: real estate cold calling is an efficient method of reaching out and scheduling property viewings with prospective customers. It may not facilitate immediate sales, but cold calling shortens the sales process and saves effort for both parties.
• IT: cold calling helps identify which IT products and services a prospect is ready to buy. You can immediately sell a product or service and even gain referrals.
• Telecommunications: telco companies often call prospects to introduce new plans and subscription options. Cold calling also helps you convert prospects into clients immediately.
• Finance: this cold calling service focuses on introducing and selling financial opportunities to prospects. Finance cold callers may offer credit cards, insurance, and banking services.
• Travel and hospitality: travel, transportation, and hospitality companies can use cold calling to inform prospects about promos and new offers and have them immediately book trips, accommodations, or tickets over the phone.

Effective cold-calling tips

• Research your prospect: research your prospects thoroughly before the call. It will help you get their attention by giving them a personalized experience. When you show that you took the time to get to know your prospects, they will feel that you are sincerely invested in them.

• Keep it short: give a quick introductory spiel. Only take 3 minutes of your prospect’s time as much as possible. After the brief introduction, tell them the call will only take a few minutes. This would make it more likely for candidates to listen to you.

• Use promos and limited-time offers: this cold calling technique effectively converts prospects. The offer can be any discount, deal, unique gift, or reward a buyer can get upon purchase. It draws them in, creates a sense of urgency, and makes customers feel they are getting the most value for their money.

• Be presumptive: presuming that the prospect wants what you are selling can also be effective. It offsets potential objections by limiting no’s from the customer. So the more yeses you get, the higher the chances of sealing the sales deal.

• Listen to what they need: listen to your prospect to identify their needs. Use attentive listening and proper questions for this—balance questions with insights to keep the conversation forward. Once you have the information, discuss how your solution helped others with similar needs.

• Focus on building rapport, not closing a sale: do not be too intent on closing a deal on your first cold call. Instead, focus on gathering information and building rapport with your prospect. Use this to determine their pain points to plan your following calls effectively.

• Do not be deterred by rejection: remember that even if your solutions are great, some customers will still reject them. However, these rejections should not prevent you from cold calling. Remember that every ‘no’ brings you closer to a ‘yes.’’ Cold calling is a numbers game. The higher the calls, the more ‘yes’ you can get.

• Outsource: cold calling outsourcing gives you access to a highly trained sales team that knows all the best sales and customer service practices. Your outsourced team can boost your sales development and connect rate.

Need to know before you outsource sales calls

In cold calling, there are specific rules that you need to follow. Depending on the country, some are rules-of-thumb, while others may be legislation with hefty fines.

• National Do Not Call List: the Do Not Call List or Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers that are off-limits to cold callers. Some countries have a national registry, and telemarketers and cold callers are legally required never to contact the registered numbers.
• Private Do Not Call List: private companies may also have their own Do Not Call lists. If someone tells you never to call them again or asks to be listed in your Do Not Call list, you must legally follow through and respect their request.

• Cold calling time frame: in some countries, cold callers and telemarketers are only allowed to call within a specific period in a day, usually between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM. Any cold call made beyond the designated time frame would be considered illegal.

• Establishing purpose and identity: at the beginning of the call, cold callers have to introduce themselves and explain the reason for the call briefly.

• Written approval: before taking money directly from the prospects’ bank accounts, cold callers must ask for written permission. Cold callers should also never ask for bank account numbers over the phone.

• Honesty and transparency: some governing bodies require all cold callers to be truthful and transparent during a cold call.

Outsource Sales Calls: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:

• Focus on core activities: cold calling is crucial but cumbersome. However, outsourcing takes the load off your in-house sales reps, allowing you to focus more on core activities.

• Affordable workforce expansion: outsourcing costs less than hiring in-house cold callers. You do not need to spend on recruitment, onboarding, training, and mandatory employee premiums. It also lets you expand your workforce without paying for additional equipment and workspace.

• Staff expertise: outsourcing companies train their staff to represent clients effectively. In Magellan Solutions, for example, employees are thoroughly trained to be influential brand representatives and customer service experts.
• Access to the best technology: given their expertise, service providers also use the most efficient technology. You will no longer need to invest in updating your tools and equipment and keeping up with trends.
• Reduce business risks: outsourcing professional cold callers reduce the risk of a poorly handled interaction.
• Disaster preparedness: you are more likely to maximize this advantage with offshore outsourcing. If a disaster strikes your area, your offshore partner will continue making cold calls. This is extremely helpful during a challenging economy.
• Long-term profitability: outsourcing, in general, supports your growth in the long run. It helps optimize your business processes, so you can consistently expand profitably.

Disadvantages:

• You have less control: when you outsource cold calling, you will lose some control over how the process is being monitored and performed. However, this will not be a big issue if you trust the service provider.

• Data security risks: sensitive or confidential data may go through your service provider, so you should choose a partner that can guarantee data security.
• Things will likely get lost in translation: your remote outsourced callers may misunderstand your messages or instructions, making it harder to clear things up without face-to-face interaction.

It is worth noting that the disadvantages of cold calling outsourcing all depend on your choice of service providers. As a decision-maker, you must choose an outsourcing partner that is a good fit for your business and can guarantee service quality and security.

Choosing the best cold calling service provider

There are a lot of outbound call centers that offer cold calling services. However, not all of them are a good fit for your business. It would be best if you considered several factors when choosing a service provider, such as:

• Length of experience: choose a call center that has been in the industry for many years. Experienced service providers have better knowledge of how to interact with prospects effectively.

• Quality of staff: outsourcing means staffing your business through a service provider. So, you have to ensure they have well-trained cold callers who can represent your business skillfully.

• Quality control and monitoring: learn how the service provider ensures the quality of their output and services. You will be giving up some control over this aspect of operations, so you should choose a partner that does it well.

• Safety guarantee: sensitive data about you or your prospects would go through your outsourced team. Choose a partner who has robust measures in place to protect your information. One way of doing this is to check if they follow industry standards, such as ISO data privacy.

• Value for money: aside from being within your budget, your chosen service provider should also provide high-quality services. Find an outsourcing company that offers flexible rates without compromising the quality of their service.

The cost to outsource sales calls

There are no industry standards for the cost of cold-calling outsourcing. Most service providers calculate the cost according to the needs and preferences of your business. The pricing can also be affected by the following factors:

• Language(s)
• Number of staff needed
• Level of staff expertise
• Length of the outsourcing contract
• Laws and regulations in your area

Offshore outsourcing is an ideal option for competitive prices. Countries with bustling BPO industries, like China, India, and the Philippines, are the go-to areas if you are looking for cost-effective deals.

Magellan Solutions is a Filipino outbound call center that offers high-quality cold calling services. We have been in the call center industry for over 15 years, with hundreds of satisfied clients. Our company is ISO and HIPAA certified, so we can guarantee that your data is safe in our hands.