Imagine planning a visit to a part of the world where diseases are rampant, but a vaccine is available, and you arent going to take it.

This is what it is like to go into telemarketing without a thorough understanding of its challenges and dangers.

I can tell you from vast experience, having built and improved countless units, that its a jungle in there, and to the unwary, you can easily get lost, or worse.

Specifically, heres what you need:

(1) Dedicated Management.

A tele-sales unit wont run on its own. You cant imagine how callers will get caught up in each others business and distractions without someone there to get them back to work. Management by committee probably wont work. You need to appoint a main supervisor or manager.

(2) Training.

Ive written at length about how most callers are ignorant of the Three Ts: Text, Tone & Timing, and how to use them. Its not intuitively obvious. They need training to know what to do and not to do.

(3) Complete Scripted Materials.

A main presentation, answers to objections and common questions, along with clutch closes, need to be supplied. And it should be really GOOD!

(4) A Rational & Motivational Compensation Plan

Want the worst people available on the market, today? Theyre easy to find, and theyre all youll find if you pay the lowest wages. An attractive salary, commission or bonus structure, and typical benefits will get the best people to look you over. Your benchmark isnt clerical or customer service work: its field sales compensation.

Lets say your minimum outside seller earns $60,000. Then, a part-time job should pay telemarketers $30,000. Thats about $28 per hour, factoring in salary, commissions, and minimal benefits. In major urban areas, youre looking at the salary portion being at least $14-16 per hour, to get people in the door.

(5) Expect Turnover

You wont develop a nucleus of people until you have moved through several people turns. Youll have to recruit, train, supervise, critique, and terminate several people just to get a few that will stick with you for several months.

Youve heard the expression that the ABCs of selling translates into Always be selling. To build your tele-sales unit, you always have to be recruiting, training, and turning over, to get what you need, a profitable and semi-stable unit.

These are significant challenges, and they wont be solved though cleverness or short cuts.

But once you have a productive unit, it is something of which you can be proud, because it didn't just fall into place.

You made it happen!