Of the three main far-shore outsourcing options, Ireland-India-Philippines, I get asked most about services in the Philippines since they offer the best combination of low rates and intelligible English.
I’ve heard both good things and bad things about outsourcing to the Philippines. My personal experience, so far, has been good. But then, the projects I outsourced were very simple and required a minimum of agent/prospect interaction.
My recommendation for business-to-business telemarketing is to stick with very simple scripts and objectives. In general, this is good advice, but even more so when outsourcing to low-cost call centers (domestic or international).
From both mine and experiences by others in the industry, a lot of hand-holding is required. Do not expect the agency to take initiative or make error corrections.
Be very, very, very clear in your instructions. And even then, keep close watch over processes and outcomes- ensuring you are getting what you expected.
Despite their mild accent and easy adoption of American pronunciations, there is still a language barrier. Any work requiring free-flowing conversation, in-depth explanation of services or products, or “off the script” dialog is best reserved for native English speaking agents.
Another item to be aware of is their cultural approach to the importance of work versus quality time for themselves and family. Expect downtime during holidays, birthdays, family events, personal needs, sick days, and etceteras.
So, yes, you can save money by outsourcing to the Philippines. For some, the cost savings can mean the difference between doing telemarketing or not doing it at all. Just keep the trade-offs in mind and compensate accordingly.
[UPDATE] Since I wrote this post, I’ve worked with more Philippines call centers and found that with active participation by a U.S.-based manager, fairly advanced B2B campaigns are possible.
Hi, Gene
The article is good. You’re calling the attention of b2b telemarketing companies to set its eye on the Philippine telemarketers. Most outsource companies prefer the Philippines because most Filipino’s are fluent in English while some know even other foreign languages like French, Latin and Spanish but that goes only for those who acquired it in their college education. In Costa Rica, people there are all bilingual having the knowledge in both English and Spanish which is helpful for a business with a market in the Spanish-English speaking area.
But since a native Filipino speaker can’t really acquire the perfect American accent, scripts written in simple and clear terms are a good advice to fully utilize a workforce that just needs to be tapped. Really good place to do outsourcing and cost-effective measure. I agree with you.
i agree… there are a lot of Philipine Telemarketing agencies that offer excellent training of employees