Before you pay for outsourced cold call prospecting, you should understand exactly what you’re paying for. Having worked for two business-to-business (B2B) telemarketing firms, I will share the inside scoop.

Most B2B firms charge for a set block of time.  The time could be anywhere from a few weeks to a year.  Most firms charge for a few months at a time.  For example, one firm I worked for charged about $5000.00 for two months of cold calling, three days a week.  Extra fees included a calling list (between $500.00 and $1000.00).  Up front consultation fees may have also been charged too if clients required marketing research such as interviews with former and current clients.

Though many firms charge you for their time, not many of them can guarantee qualified leads in the laps for your salespeople.  As a former employee, I can tell you the pressure was on to produce results and billable hours.  That usually resulted in making 65 to 100 dials per day and providing a certain amount of qualified leads per week.  I earned commission on the qualified leads I provided and renewed contracts.  

I have personally cold called on behalf of over thirty brands and found that the clients’ return on investment (ROI) varied.  Those who had products that were viewed as commodities to prospects and those who attempted to use their products to penetrate saturated markets had the least ROI.  Valuable and unique product offerings usually resulted in a greater ROI.   Many clients who saw good results (closed business from our qualified leads) renewed their contracts.  Those who saw little or no ROI didn’t.  

My advice to anyone seeking to outsource B2B cold call prospecting is this: Ask for a contract that only requires that you pay for qualified leads.  If that is not possible, start out with a contract with the least amount of time to make sure the firm can get the job done.  They should be doing more than just racking up billable hours.  You can also save money by providing your own call list.  You might want to buy a list from a source like Hoovers or Selectory or you can provide leads from your own lead capture resources such as white paper or demo downloads.  You should also get specific details when it comes to paying for extras such as market research, consulting, and administrative fees.

Once you understand exactly what you’re getting for the money, you should be able to sign a contract for cold call prospecting with confidence and ease.  

Be sure to check out Part III of this series where I encourage readers to ask: What Experience Does the B2B Firm Have?