Telemarketing - Is It For You?

Our image of the telemarketer is a person between jobs, working part time with a telephone book in hand.Nothing could be further from the image of today's professional telemarketer.

Using a sophisticated call center technology (like a predictive dialer and crews of intelligent representatives), many are handling financial institution's mass telephone-based marketing campaigns. The skills of these individuals, many of whom are college students making much better than minimum wage, have come to the attention of financial institutions looking to outsource some specialized jobs. Some have determined the telemarketers to be better able to address their needs.

For instance, you may have noticed an increase in credit card offer calls you've been getting at home. These calls make up the single largest number of telemarketed products at 40% of all calls. The highly trained individual on the other end of the telephone knows just when to ask the right question during your conversation to get the desired response. Their persistence has been paying off with a record number of new accounts.

Telemarketing is not for every financial institution, but it might be worth investigating for some.

Copyright © 1998 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 8, No. 6 5/98