Have you ever considered setting up a US-Based call center?
A call center can take your sales and service systems to the next level.
Here are just a few of the benefits of setting up a US-Based call center:
- Gives you the manpower to provide better customer support
- Creates more opportunities to make sales every day
- Adds to the professionalism of your company
We’ve already talked about how to start an outbound call center overseas (and the costs that come with that). Now, we’ll talk about the costs of doing so in the US (hint: it’s a bit more expensive!).
Here are the cost considerations of setting up a US-based call center...
The Call Center Employees
You’ll first need to determine how many employees you’ll need. Each employee comes with the cost of wages/salary, as well as other potential costs like health insurance, paid time off, maternity leave, etc.
To put this into perspective, the average hourly rate for a US-based call center employee is $12.47/hour (with a range of $9.46 to $17.03). You’ll also need to factor in any potential commissions that they can earn (this will vary greatly from company to company).
Training
You can’t just hire the employees and hope the perform well. To help them reach their highest potential, you’ll have to train them properly. Keep in mind that the better trained they are, the better they’ll perform, and the more likely they are to stick around for the long term.
Turnover will influence your costs dramatically, so attracting qualified, dedicated agents and training them well and keeping them happy is paramount.
The typical call center training process lasts 2-6 weeks, and over that time, you’ll have to pay those new employees. So that’s a cost factor in the training as well.
Plus, you’ll need other employees to help in the training process, and you’ll also need to invest in training materials. Keep all of these costs in mind when hiring new employees.
Call Center Software
To help your team perform at a high level, you need to give them the right software. But if you choose quality software, the investment should pay off tenfold over time.
Good software will keep your agents productive, organized, effective and accountable. And it should keep contact records detailed and well organized as well.
What kind of software is critical for a call center? For one, dialer technology such as PhoneBurner is key. This will dramatically increase the number of contacts agents can reach, track and follow-up with to drive sales growth. Another is a CRM (customer relationship management) software such as Salesforce or Hubspot which can perform a variety vital functions such as customer management, lead generation, client satisfaction, and more.
The Office
Unless your agents can work remotely, your call center will an office location!
Naturally, this can be one of the biggest investments you’ll have to make to get your call center started. The total cost will vary based on the location, size, and various other factors.
The Equipment
Headsets, desks, notebooks, chairs, office supplies, etc.
These are all needed to ensure your call center agents can be productive and effective. We’ll group high-speed Internet in here as well, as that’s one of the most important things they’ll need.
Wrapping Up the Costs of Setting Up a US-Based Call Center…
A US-based call center can have a lot of positives for your business. It’ll help you provide better customer service, make more sales, and give your business more credibility and growth potential.
Of course, like with any business endeavor, there are some big costs involved. Use the costs here as a barometer to estimate whether a US-based call center is right for you.
Have you ever started a US-based call center? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below!
