Five Reasons Why Telemarketing Churn Is So Rampant Right Now

One of the big disappointments conventional business owners and managers face when they first use telemarketers is the staggering amount of employee turnover.

By comparison, if you want to hire someone to handle customer service, especially if they have experience, you can expect them to be stable. They’ll probably last six months or a year or two, at the very least.

Hire someone Monday for telemarketing, and if they’re still on board by Friday, throw a party! You might have someone last a month, or wow, even two!

I’m exaggerating?

Unfortunately, I am not.

Why is there so much turnover?

(1) The economy is strong, unemployment is low, and telemarketing jobs are plentiful. This is a “perfect storm” for recruiters. There aren’t many people available who aren’t already in the workforce. Those who are available may be returning after a long absence, or are marginal workers at best, without drive or discipline and with few skills.

(2) Telemarketing is routine. To be productive, you need to keep your nose to the grindstone, and for this reason, I suggest keeping shifts under eight hours. Four to five hours can even be exhausting.

(3) Telemarketing is more difficult than most people think. Think about the people you know. How many of them would make it to the top in sales, over the phone or offline? Scarily few, I can tell you.

(4) Telemarketing requires more investment than management ever expected. Like a war gone wrong, where men and material are being consumed at an unimaginable rate, telemarketing units are also rapidly consuming resources. Especially daunting are the ongoing costs of recruiting and training. Newspaper and online ads cost a lot, and you have to constantly rewrite them to make your work sound fresh and engaging.

(5) Telemarketing, unless done for a television or radio station or for a glamorous company or industry, is not a high-end job. People aren’t going to confess that they’ve done it unless it can be packaged attractively; that is, “I do market research for CSB News Radio, in Los Angeles.”

Consider these factors before launching into telemarketing or investing in this area.

And get professional help, from a telemarketing consultant or telesales coach who knows the ropes, right from the start!