Telemarketing Service

Telemarketing is a specialized and very focused form of marketing. No business can survive without effective marketing. Your challenge will be to reach the organizations that need to develop their customer base and to show them how your service can help them grow. Telemarketing can be informational, a way of doing market research, but the major proportion will be focused on sales. As a small business, you may choose to offer a specific type of telemarketing: pharmaceuticals, commercial photography, wedding services, and so on. Specializing will help you focus on your own marketing.


You’ll need excellent telephone equipment and reasonably sophisticated computer equipment to track results and produce reports (about $6,000 to start). Once you get the hang of it, you can make $40,000 annually.


People skills are even more important to success as a telemarketer than they are in other types of small businesses. Listening well, being persuasive, and fine-tuning the message for the receivers of your calls are all essential. You’ll need experience writing effective scripts, and you’ll need patience and persistence. It will probably take some time to develop the client base for your business. You can distinguish yourself from the run-of-the-mill telemarketers as someone who has experience, a proven track record, and an unquenchable enthusiasm for your clients’ projects.


“While there are many marketing and advertising agencies, public relations firms, and telemarketing organizations, my company is a one-stop agency that has the capability of coordinating any and all aspects of a marketing plan,” says Cheryl


D. Cira, owner of Marketing Dimensions in Columbus, Ohio. “I cannot stress how important it is to be honest and up-front with your customers. Marketing Dimensions looks at each project and account as a long-term relationship.”


“Essentials include telephone equipment and office furniture. It also helps to have computers in order to enter large lists, track calls, pull up records, and run reports. Computers are also used for simple design work, database management, and mail merges,” says Cira.


“Telemarketing projects depend on the work and devotion of employees. And, because people are people, there are some aspects that cannot be controlled, such as employees quitting without notice, coming in late, and calling in sick time after time. My office manager is very good at juggling schedules and maintaining a strong pool of telemarketers, but it can get crazy at times.”


“I don’t think there is any one thing of great importance that I would change or do differently. In general, however, I wish that I had had more hands-on experience in managing a large staff and more working knowledge related to personnel issues.”


Approx. cost of start-up:$6,000 to $10,000


Approx. potential earnings: $40,000 or more


Typical fees: $30 an hour


Where to promote: Yellow Pages, direct mail, business publications, membership in local business and civic groups, Web site with links to related resources, banner ads on sales-related Web sites


Qualifications: Experience, persistence, ability to market your own service, writing skills for preparing script and reports


Things needed: Telephone with headset, ergonomic office furniture, computer with Internet access, suite software, printer, fax, business cards, letterhead, envelopes


Required staff:No


Hidden costs:Utility bills, marketing time and materials