Boutique Telemarketing Firm vs Call Center – Which is Right for You?

Boutique Telemarketing Firm or Call Center – Which is Right for You? Right or wrong, call centers have a reputation as a place where thousands of identical calls are made each day and there is little room for personalized customer service.

It’s true that agents at most call centers work from a script that is, for the most part, set in stone. They also speak mainly to lower-level managers who are not usually authorized to make high-level decisions. Most of these managers are interested only in finding the best deal or lowest price.

Thinking a large call center is your only option can be discouraging if you need help with specialized tasks such as:

• Getting past gatekeepers
• Talking directly with decision makers
• Making complicated cold calls to top-level executives
• Setting appointments
• Generating qualified leads
• Nurturing existing leads

Thankfully, there is an option other than a large call center. A boutique telemarketing firm. While large call centers can work well in situations where people simply order products, boutique firms use highly-trained sales professionals that act as an extension of your sales team. But don’t be fooled, despite their high-touch approach, boutiques firms are well able to handle a large numbers of calls.

One of the most important differences between a large call center and a boutique firm is the type of training agents undergo. Since the goals of most call center agents are very specific, and they are discouraged from going “off script,” they need less professional development than their counterparts at a boutique firm.

Agents at boutique firm, on the other hand, are highly-trained professionals who must understand the intricacies of lead generation, lead nurturing, and appointment setting. They also must be able to get past gatekeepers and establish strong relationships with decision makers.

It is important to note that boutique firms and call centers each have a place and one is not better than the other. Instead, which is better depends on your unique needs. In most cases a call center works best when you are selling a pre-existing commodity to mid-level executives or purchasing agents. A boutique firm works best when you have a complex product or service that can be modified for specific customer needs and you need to interact with high-level decision makers or executives.