Outbound calls are the ones that are made from within an office to somewhere else for a variety of purposes. These purposes can be as diverse as making sales pitches, gaining user feedback, providing information or simply marketing. If calls are being made from a company for the sole purpose of marketing, it is called outbound telemarketing. We all know that telemarketing is the process of making customers aware of the products or services being provided by a specific company. It is the oldest form of marketing and is still relevant in this digital era where online media has caught on like wildfire. There was time when many companies would have their own outbound telemarketing departments. Outbound telemarketing is an important aspect of the business as company’s brand value and revenues depend on it. So while hiring telemarketing employees, care must be taken as these people will be representing your company on your behalf to your clients and customers. But companies that cannot afford to spare resources to have a dedicated in-house telemarketing department, usually avail the option of outsourcing. There are a lot of countries in Asia that are known for their affordable call centre outsourcing facilities. Outsourcing outbound telemarketing is a very cheap option as someone else will be doing it on your behalf. They will be connecting with your prospect customers in order to educate them about your company and the services/products that your company offer.

There are two types of outbound telemarketing:

• Business to customer (B2C): When calls are being made to the individual customers as a part of marketing, it is called b2c outbound telemarketing.
• Business to business (B2B): When calls are being made to the other businesses for the purpose of conducting trades or generating contacts, it is called b2b outbound telemarketing.

Employees are hired to conduct both b2b and b2c work on commission basis. That is, in addition to the basic salary, they are paid according to how much sales they bring in for the company. This is a very good motivator as companies are able to achieve their business goals on time. Both the categories include the same type of processes. They are:

• Creating a list of prospects: It is important to create list of potential clients beforehand as they are innumerable businesses/clients out there and it is not possible to contact them all. So according to the criteria set up the company, those prospects are selected that best suit the requirement of the company and are more potent. Once the contact list has been created, telemarketing can commence.
• Telescripting: Next comes the creation of tele script, that is, the information that the agents narrate to the caller on the other side of the phone. Again, tele scripts vary from company to company. They contain details of the products/services to be launched (b2c) or information regarding the business to be conducted (b2b).
• Telemarketing: This includes the actual process of making calls. The agent making outbound calls is thoroughly trained and prepared for all the scenarios. A good agent is one who is able to bag the deal within a matter of minutes. It all depends on the dexterity of the agent, as in, how good he is at indulging the caller and keeping him engaged.
• Appointments setting: This is the part of B2B telemarketing. The main aim of the b2b agents is to facilitate the conduct of business between two firms by making them sit together. So appointment setting is must and it concludes the procedure of b2b outbound telemarketing.

Some people think that only sales people can create their careers in the outbound telemarketing companies. Well, this is true to some extent but it has been observed that with little formal training people from non-sales background were able to conduct efficient telemarketing. New recruits are trained vigorously and they are provided all technical support to help them understand the world of telemarketing in a better way. With the arrival of social media platform, various advanced tools have been made available to connect with client.

Outbound telemarketing companies allow people to work form as well. In fact it is one of the very few fields where productivity of an onsite agent matches the productivity of an agent working from home. But to be able to work from home for outbound telemarketing companies you are expected to meet a few requirements. That person is supposed to have seamless internet connection. Companies provide a customized software to their employees using which they make calls. This software also allows the companies to keep a track of the employee activity. Such employees are paid for per hour of work done.

Outbound telemarketing is a great option to make your presence felt in the market and connect with your clients at the same time. If done properly, telemarketing alone can benefit the company in terms of revenues and sales.