Outbound Marketing Calls: When to Take the Hint

Currently, U.S. Do Not Call regulations do not explicitly limit the amount of telemarketing calls outbound marketers are allowed to make in a given time period. Therefore, there are no specific legal restrictions on the frequency of calls made to a single consumer during a designated period of time.

Not only do the federal regulations fail to dictate restrictions on calls, state laws also do not specify any limitations. However, with no strict numerical limitation on calls permitted, the federal regulations still subject companies to liability if calls are placed repeatedly and continuously. This presents a gray area that can be tough to navigate and poses the question: How many times should a company call so that it’s not overbearing, yet it’s still likely to maximize ROI?

To establish a best practice recommendation, CompliancePoint analyzed approximately 600,000 dials to determine where the ideal sales conversion count was found. Here are the results of that analysis:

A total of 3,500 sales were made with this sample size.

75% of sales occurring in the first three (3) attempts.

20% of sales occurred during attempts four (4) through six (6).

Though sales by attempts will vary depending on numerous factors, companies should evaluate the ROI for attempts to determine when the cost of not attempting another dial is financially beneficial.

So, back to our original question, when should companies take the hint?

CompliancePoint recommends a minimum of three (3) call attempts.

However, based upon the data shown above, there’s obvious value in trying a few more times. If lead flow is low, or phone agents are abundant, then why not go for attempt seven (7) or eight (8)?  As the data shows, potential ROI can be achieved from these additional dials.