The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has cemented itself as a reliable go-to solution for business organizations seeking to expand their operations or make their processes more efficient.
While BPOs cater to virtually every industry in the market, many of these companies act as contact centers for other firms that lack their own customer service representatives or other similar agents.
These outsourcing firms augment other companies’ workforces and provide their needed human and material resources.
Among the most common business functions that companies outsource to BPOs are cold calling services, which we discuss below.
What are cold calling services?
Cold calling is a marketing strategy wherein a customer service representative or a sales marketing agent contacts potential customers or people who have previously expressed interest in their products or services.
Telemarketers use cold calls to generate leads or convert existing leads into sales. This marketing method has been in use for as long as telephones – as far back as 1873!
Although the tools and equipment used have changed and evolved along with modern technology, many of the techniques used in cold calling are still the same.
The cold calling process still involves the often unwarranted solicitation of potential clients, the hard-selling of products and services, and convincing people they need to revise or completely overhaul their current business methods.
In contrast, the buying part has undergone drastic changes, which has more to do with the dramatic increase in marketing touchpoints a buyer receives daily.
From newspaper and television ads to those posted on social media platforms, roughly 3,000 marketing touchpoints bombard the average business decision-makers every day.
Aside from the daily barrage of advertisements, these decision-makers also receive about 17 marketing phone calls each day.
The excessive number of marketing touchpoints they receive severely limits the time they can allot for considering whether or not to buy products or services. Consequently, cold callers will have a very short window of opportunity to market their products, services, or ideas.
How do businesses benefit from outsourcing cold calling services?
Business organizations gain numerous benefits when they outsource cold calling services to outsourcing firms, whether onshore, nearshore, or offshore.
Below are just some of these advantages that allow companies to perform better.
Reduces labor and operational costs
Delegating business operations to outsourcing firms in developing countries reduces operational and labor costs by as much as 70 percent.
In addition, the outsourcing firms that provide cold calling talents also handle the recruitment, hiring, and training of cold callers. They also take care of the payroll, compensation, tax filing, and other core human resource aspects associated with employing these agents.
Lastly, offshoring also spares the outsourcers the expenses incurred by renting additional office spaces and operating facilities for these cold callers.
Improves your in-house employees’ productivity
Outsourcing non-core but nonetheless essential business operations to offshore service providers significantly reduces your in-house employees’ workload.
By reducing the amount of non-core job activities your in-house staff does, they can redirect their time and focus on the more crucial aspects of their jobs.
Gives access to experienced cold callers
Tapping outsourcing firms for their services gives outsourcers access to a vast pool of experienced and highly-skilled professionals.
More often than not, these talents already have prior field experience before outsourcing companies hire them.
Even so, outsourcing firms still have these experienced agents undergo various training before assigning them to the BPO’s partner companies to ensure that the agents they provide can hit the ground running.
Gives access to industry-leading technology
As mentioned earlier, offshoring saves outsourcers money as their partner offshore companies often shoulder the overhead costs of purchasing equipment and software their agents need.
In the case of cold callers, the equipment includes computers and headsets with noise-canceling features.
Cold call telemarketers also utilize software that provides features that make cold calling more efficient. These functions include automated dialing, customer relationship management (CRM) platform integration, call recording, call analytics, and calendar integration, among others.
Purchasing these types of software and equipment often comes at a high cost. Fortunately, these costs are covered by the fees that outsourcers pay their offshore partner companies.
Which industries outsource cold calling services?
Many companies in various industries utilize cold calling to promote or try to sell their products and services.
These industries range from insurance and legal services to travel agencies and banking firms.
Companies in these industries often outsource cold calling services so they can simultaneously expand their business’s reach and maintain their focus on the critical aspects of their operations, such as providing legal remedies or arranging travel itineraries and hotel bookings.
