If you were starting a telemarketing company today, what would you focus on and why?

It’s all about the quality of the ‘Humanware’ you deploy to begin with.

Hiring the wrong Telemarketing Agent is the Root Cause of most Performance Issues. It’s also a significant drain on your Budget & Bottom Line – on Customer Satisfaction - and on overall Sales Results. Every failed hire represents wasted dollars down the drain. Not to mention the Lowered Productivity, Poor Morale & Higher Absences associated with a Poor Job Fit.

While most everyone can use a telephone - not everyone is cut out to work in a Telemarketing Call Center environment. Someone may have “The Right Stuff” to deliver great Customer Service & Support – it doesn’t necessarily follow that the same individual is also a good fit for the more demanding & sales-oriented requirements of Up-Sell/Cross-Sell/Inside Sales or Outbound TeleSales.

Typically there are 3 grades of Agents found in a Sales Call Center: (Above Average), (Average), and (Below Average).

(Above Average) TeleSales Agents seem to have “The Right Stuff” that pushes them to succeed & a natural compatibility with the duties of the position. They work hard - exceed expectations - do more than asked - achieve high-quality consistent sales results - can always be counted upon - need little direction & work extremely well with everyone.

(Average) TeleSales Agents perform their duties adequately enough “to get by” - but no better. They are the partially competent. Generally they’re strong from a Skills standpoint but missing a key ingredient or two from a Job Fit and Sales Closing standpoint.

(Below Average) TeleSales Agents are the people who just don’t fit somehow. Sometimes they’re good people in the wrong jobs. They need extra coaching & supervision just to achieve average results. Often they cause unnecessary conflict. (Below Average) TeleSales Agents have the Highest Levels of Absenteeism, Lowest Levels of Productivity & Sales, Poorest Performance & Customer Satisfaction Ratings, and generally have a Negative Impact on Team Morale. They represent the real problems in a Telemarketing Call Center workforce. While (Average) & (Below Average) TeleSales Agents may seem fully qualified at the Interview Stage – they’re a Poor Job Fit – the cost of hiring them is enormous – with little value add to an organization.

Top performing Call Centers drive their Revenue & Performance through superior hiring tactics. We help employers gain better insight & more accurate predictions as to which applicants from a pool of Candidates would perform up to, or beyond their established standards. You can find out about a Free Trial of SPAS Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software at http://www.telesoftsystems.ca/64201.html

I agree with both William and David. Understanding what "telemarketing company" means will help keep gathering information and recruiting the right people, then providing proper training, are all important. You also don't want to overlook look the technology you are going to use for maximizing the productivity of your team, streamlining process's and providing reporting.
By maximizing productivity your team is happier, retention is higher and you are more profitable. Streamlining process's or creating efficiencies will help understand the flow of the center and reduce "things" being missed. Now reporting is crucial to ensure you have the information required to make some day to day business decisions and some of your bigger picture decisions.