A couple of weeks ago a story about a computer programmer who outsourced his own job to China captured headlines worldwide. “Bob” allegedly FedExed his RSA token to a company in China so that a third-party contractor could log-in under his credentials, do all his work and leave him free to watch cat videos on the internet.
While I would be the last person to criticize anyone who enjoys the odd cat video, (take a look at my favourite one), this story illustrates the worst example of outsourcing gone bad I had ever come across.
Outsourcing done well can be a valuable asset to any company. The trick is to know when outsourcing is a good fit. Let’s take a look at some questions every marketing manager should ask before they make the decision to hire or outsource their telemarketing.
What size is your budget and how sustainable is it?
Recruitment is expensive. Training is expensive. And no-one wants to hire only to find out that budgets will sustain the position for x number of months. Think about the associated costs of hiring a team, even just one person. They need a work station, software licences, access to company benefits etc. If you have a predetermined budget for a set time period, consider outsourcing rather than hiring someone you may have to let go in 6 months’ time.
Do you have an urgent timeline you have to hit?
Companies often experience peaks and troughs in activities. You might be approaching year-end and need a burst of activity to make annual targets. Maybe you have just launched a new product that you want to get out there before anyone else gets a foothold in the market. Perhaps you have to take advantage of a regulatory deadline. Building a telemarketing team takes time. Advertising the positions, interviewing candidates, the selection process, training new recruits…all this means your window of opportunity is slipping away.
Do you have the time and focus to recruit, train and manage an internal team?
Your time is valuable. Will hiring a telemarketing team put an additional strain on already-stretched internal resources? Ok, you may have considered the extra work involved in putting the team together and getting them up and running. Then there’s the on-going management of that team. Keeping them motivated; keeping them focused; dealing with everyday employee issues; re-hiring and re-training if someone leaves.
How fast are you growing?
If you are looking at rapid expansion and you need a telemarketing team to help you get there, outsourcing this function can be a great way to de-risk. Outsourcing to a telemarketing agency that understands your requirements, your market, your sales process and how to deliver results, will give instant access to an entire team of inside sales experts. There’s no lag time, no building up momentum and you will start to see results immediately.
How would you describe your ideal telemarketing team?
There are probably many answers to this question but at the heart of it all are you looking for specialists or are you looking for marketing talent that can wear many hats. One of the main reasons that companies outsource any function is because they don’t have the internal expertise to carry it out themselves. If you are looking for specialist telemarketers then outsource. Telemarketing agencies will have done thousands of campaigns and built up a wealth of knowledge and experience that you couldn’t possible hope to achieve by hiring an internal team.
Can you find the right telemarketing agency?
This is probably the most crucial question of all. The points above should lead you to think about what will work best for you. And the answers might change from time to time so the questions are always worth revisiting. But a word of warning, if you can’t answer this question with a hearty YES, my advice is…..Do not outsource!
