Unemployment continues to fall in the UK - at 5.5 per cent the unemployment rate in the south east is nearly half of that in the north west and north east. From our standpoint as a recruiter it's become obvious that business is moving forward positively again, and this has created a surge in demand for telemarketers, writes JMA's Clive Jefferys.
However don't hold your breath waiting to recruit perfectly experienced telemarketers - they are all looking for a sales job instead!
Most telemarketing is performed by people at the start of their sales career and when they shine they will be promoted to full sales. Most sales managers reading this will remember their early days in the rabbit hutches Smiling and Dialling, and it's no less true today. You probably want to hire more telemarketers today because you've just promoted the good ones you already had.
True, there are some people who just love cold calling and don't want to do anything more complicated, but they are an absolute minority. Apart from a change of scenery there often isn't much reason to move employer as 150 dial-outs-a-day here, is the same as 150 over there, unless the new company is paying double the commission I suppose.
If you do find that diamond telemarketer he or she will cost you the best part of £30k per annum all in. However bad ones will cost you almost as much before you realise they can't hack it and you have to recruit all over again.
So here's my solution to your telemarketing conundrum:
• Offer Telemarketing jobs with the prospect of promotion into full Sales.
• Let excellent lead gen be rewarded by the opportunity to buddy up with sales mentors.
• Let them aspire to proposing and closing sales orders too.
• Call it your Bootcamp if you want, but whatever you do, if your sales model doesn't fit this then change it!
Of course there is one other solution - what I shall call The Grand Telemarketeers. They are usually 50 years old or more, with a sales career behind them, or aware that prospecting is the limit of their sales interest. These cold calling specialists can bring a good old fashioned hard work ethic and highly practiced lead creation techniques to provide a firm foundation to your sales floor.
In conclusion - look for youngsters and oldies...
Clive Jefferys is 47, still writing new business and proud of it!