I want to set up a very small call center about 6-10 seats and was just wondering the average cost.

I want it for outbound calls and also want to know how you get billed for the calls?

Any help most appreciated

Afternoon Philip,

We specialise in consulting Contact Centres and I can certainly give you some advice about costs, best practice and technologies.

A small contact centre of about 6-10 seats could be relatively inexpensive to set up - but inevitably costs will be directly effected by the technology deployed (is it scalable, fit for purpose etc).

I am head of operations at a contact centre of 8 seats currently, set up back in summer 2007 and running very effectively. Efficient operation of a dialler is key to this success.

Outbound calling presents two options, manual and automated dialling. Manual dialling has its obvious limitations, if you want to generate leads, sales opportunities etc then a dialler is really the only way to go. over 400% increases in productivity are possible when moving from Manual to Automated systems. There are loads out the to choose from so please ask if you need advice.

A 6-10 seat contact centre running an automated dialler will probably require a SQL server, dialogic cards to facilite 15 agents(minimum) with outbound dialing capability(cheapest option), you'll also require an ISDN 30 for telephony. Licences for agent Computer telephony integration software. This type of set up could cost typically £11k for hardware and software.

You'll need to have an account with a telecommunications provider, and most dialler manufacturers recommend their own pefered partners. These will create and account and advise what is the best type of tariff for typical outbound calls - its pretty bespoke.

I can recommend a number of suppliers and give more advice should you need it especially in respect of compliance regulations and dialling obligations.

Best Regards

Thanks for reply. Would that be 11k with all hardware (computer,phones,headsets etc).?

When you use a predicive dialler are all the numbers already in the dialing software ?

The reason why i ask is because i work for a claims company and they enter the phone numbers of people who have had accidents, where they told us of a questionaire?

I got in touch with BT today and the person informed me all I need is to get 3 broadband lines which will run 6 computer, and he give 3 inbound lines all the it support etc. He said it cost £227.35 for my calls a months which includes to all uk land lines. Mobiles will cost 20p per hour.

And to set up he charge me £99.99 for the first computer then £35.00 for the others.

I thought that sounded to goo!

11k is just for telephony, server and software not for the PCs, headsets etc.

Dialler is a big investment even on small scale but provided you have volume and need ROI is possible within 3-6 months.

You'll need to buy data (or source it) and it can be expensive. Its better to use data that is specific to your target market rather than indscriminately dialling.

It sounds like you may generate your own data sources through questionaires so the question of whether a dialler is suitable comes down to volume and need. How many calls do you estimate you'll make a day? Or want to make?

The BT option sounds like it's just for telephone lines, internet access and call costs, not peripherals but that's just a guess at that price.

When you say 11k for telephony what do you mean, what does that include?

Sorry really new to this.

What are the largest best companies to buy data from?

How do you pay for the dialer is it a one of payment or monthly charge per agent ?

I want to make 300 calls per agent a day.

Thx for help I really appreciate. I use Touchstar where work now is one of the best dialers.?

11k for telephony breaks down into a 30 ISDN bundle, combined SQL server and dialling engine - Alliance I4000, D300 and DISI16 Dialogic cards, addition software and peripherals. You'll need to purchase seperately agent licences to use software, PCs and peripherals (mouse, keyboard), suitable desk telephones dependant on set up etc.

Charges for dialler are bespoke often and will be discussed with vendor, there are solutions available where it is possible to pay monthly, up front or even to have a hosted solution where you rent agent seats and you never actually own or buy outright any hardware. Your individual situation will lend itself more to one option than any other.

Buying data is a mine-field - it's much better to go off recommendation rather than buy from an internet source since you never know the quality until after you've dialled it. Checking against TPS is essential for outbound residential dialling in order to be compliant and you can buy data that is checked or do it yourself - prices are comparable.

With 300 calls per agent per day I think a dialler certainly is the best option. My agents average 300 dials a day on a very productive system so its a great target to have. Best contact rates on decent data could be 50% opportunities to sell and 20% conversion to sale.

Touchstar is a great system but by no means the only option available. Shop around for the best prices and try to get in to see an operation in full flow around the size you're looking at creating who are using your shortlisted best predictive diallers.

Make sure you consider price against scalability, ease of use, support and maintenance, multimedia capability and future proofing.

It is certainly true that generating business by outbound cold calling does not reap the same rewards as it used to. Contact Centres need to be clever now, work smarter not harder with tools such as SMS broadcasting, email and telephone contact options and 24/7 interaction through IVR and also website integration.

thx for reply.

Could you plz give me a breakdown of exactly what all of these do

30 ISDN bundle, combined SQL server and dialling engine - Alliance I4000, D300 and DISI16 Dialogic cards, addition software and peripherals.

Do you need these for both manuel and automated dialing?

Hi Philip,

They breakdown as follows and are only for automated dialling not manual dials - it would be very hard to achieve 300 dials a day manually:

30 ISDN Line Bundle are the digital lines necessary to make the calls on.
SQL Server and dialling engine is the heart of the solution, its the bit that makes automatic dialling possible, also call queuing, routing and distributing to agents. the SQL server stores all of the customers data and history of call records etc. An Alliance I4000 is a typical option.
D300 and DISI16 are the dialogic cards used inside the engine - they basically make the calls possible (inbound and outbound)

These are by no means the only options available, but its the set up I have here for a similar size centre.

What else would I need then pcs,headsets,desks,phones.

What additional cost would you say for these ?

When you say 11k is that set up or just materials?

Can you give me some data sources off the net as I dont have anyone to reccomend them to me yet and just want to read up on averages prices etc

I could get the 30 ISDN lone bundle for £1795.00

http://global-telecom.co.uk/isdn30-installation.htm


And the SQL server for £250.00

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Microsoft-SQL-Server-2005-Standard-Edition-5-C-L_W0QQitemZ230226177342QQihZ013QQcategoryZ3773QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Is that two of the things I need what are on the links?

I am not by all means trying to do it cheap and nasty just trying to learn.

Buying software off of E-Bay.

You have no way of initially checking it's genuine.

Let's face it, if Hewlett Packard can install hookey
software by 'accident' what chance does the small business stand.

I am by no means a lover of Microshaft. I thnik
most of thier products are DRM intensive bloatware.

However, what they'll do to small businesses in the name of
protecting their profits is not nice and if SQLSwerver is
what you need check it's the real thing.

As a great proponent of open source how about having a look at
something like MY SQL

And there's also Open source diallers available.

Check This thread


Oh and at least look at the Penguin!

Linux UK

You've a new setup does it need to be M$?
Think of the licence fees you'll save?

DaveA

Thx for that reply is really helped.

Can someone give me a breakdown of the price of the telephony equipment and tell me good places to buy from ?

Many suppliers specialise in residential only or business to business only. In either, the best results come from making data selections to reflect targeting (you can have different approaches from different suppliers which relate to how the data has been compiled) from lists whose accuracy and recency are verifiable / guaranteed. Suppliers' charges vary according to the intended frequency of use and how you would like to have the data enhanced (telephone nos. only won't necessarily be made available). Happy to chat through the principles.

After agent shrinkages you will be expecting your agents to handle c60 calls per hour (300 per daqy from your post)which is achievable if your product is not very good (customers will just cut you dead) but if you have something worth selling then I would suggest you will achieve c 10 to 15 calls per productive hour. On this basis, if your business plan has been based on 8 seats then you will need to revisit this as it is likely you will need closer to 30.

Hi Steve,

Not sure if that was intended for me since I have been offering advice to Philip not seeking it through my posts. 300 dials a day is not the same as 300 connects per day when one considers answer machines and DMNAs. Your estimate of 60 calls per hour is based on a short working day, my agents work an 8 hour day so that averages them at 40 calls per hour which are blended in/outbound combined figures. With a lead time of at the most 6 mins the conversions are greater than industry averages for our vertical market.

The quality of the product is not the issue, and we haven't discussed product, is it possible to run an outbound operation with an agent target of 10 to 15 calls per hour (productive)? that insinuates a lead time of 4 mins with no wait time between calls or any time for administration error or wrap?

Sorry my reply was for Phillip.
He did say he wants each agent to make 300 calls per day, I have taken this literally.

Your calculations are flawed if your are expecting a productive hour return of 40 calls per hour. You may pay them for eight but I doubt if they work 8. when allowing for all the usual shrinkages it will be more like 5.5 to 6 hours per day worked.
If you are equating attempts per agent hour then this is also flawed as it is the dialler doing the work and bears no relation to the actaul calls being dealt with.
My expectation of 15 calls per hour is from personal experience of working with a very efficient and cost effective outbound dialling operation for a large home shopping organisation of 500 seats split over 4 different locations making c12 million calls pa..

No problem Steve,

It would appear that your levels of achievable productive calls per hour are not the norm for a average outbound telemarketing business.

I cannot see how it is possible to achieve 10-15 productive calls per hour, this would mean you have an unusually high conversion rate (if indeed your definition of preoductive is a call that has resulted in an successful outcome)

HOWEVER this obviously will depend on the industry you are in, your data sources, your customers profile (subscribers or cold customers)and your product offering so it's impossible to say whether one contact centres estimate for calls per hour is better than anothers, more realistic or certainly flawed!

40 Connects per dialling hour will not present 40 opportunities to sell, maybe 50%, and from this what is a realsitic conversion rate? Some industries would expect 10%. That equates to only 2 sales per hour from 20 opportunities (you might refer to these as productive calls). My agents currently achieve these conversion rates and better.

Can anyone give me a breakdown in costs of what materials I need so I know how much on average each piece of equipment is. Then I can do my own research and compare.

Thanks