What results can you realistically expect?
You can expect three things from outsourced calling: a count of calls made, a count of people reached, and a count of meetings booked. You should not expect closed sales. The caller's job ends when a qualified prospect agrees to a meeting, and your team still has to turn that meeting into business.
Your own first batch of calls is a better guide than any industry average, because your list, your offer and your market are specific to you. Plan on reading the first results as a test of your list before you treat them as a forecast.
What decides how many meetings a list produces?
Five things matter most. The first is the list: correct names, working direct numbers and people who have a reason to care about what you sell. A list of 1,000 current decision-makers in your target segment will behave very differently from 1,000 old contacts.
The second is the reason for the call. A prospect who hears a clear, specific reason in the first few seconds is more likely to listen. The third is the offer itself: a meeting about something the prospect already budgets for is easier to book than one that asks them to consider a new category.
The fourth is the number of attempts and when they are made. Several attempts on different days give you more chances to reach each person than a single call, so ask any provider how many attempts it makes and at what times. The fifth is how quickly your team follows up and how easy your calendar is to book into. A provider controls some of these, and you control the rest.
Which numbers should you track?
Track four: calls made, people reached, meetings booked and meetings held. The last one matters most. A booked meeting that nobody attends is not a result, so ask any provider how no-shows are handled and whether they are chased to rebook.
Beyond those four, track what happens on your side: how many held meetings become proposals, and how many proposals become customers. These numbers belong to your own sales process, and they tell you whether the meetings are the right ones. A provider that reports only calls made is giving you a measure of activity, which says little about outcomes.
Ask to hear the calls too. A recording of an unsuccessful call often shows more than a booked one, for example whether the opening matched what you approved and how the caller handled a polite refusal.
How should you compare outsourced calling with doing it yourself?
There are three common ways to pay: per meeting booked, per hour of calling, or per number called. Each moves risk to a different party. Per-meeting pricing pushes the risk to the provider, which can lead to pressure to book meetings that are poor fits. Per-hour pricing puts the risk on you, because you pay whatever the hours produce. Per-number pricing makes the cost known before calls start, and you carry the risk of how well the list performs.
Calling in-house gives you control, but it takes a person's days and the discipline to keep calling after a run of refusals. Outsourcing makes sense when you have a good list and a sales team that can handle the meetings, but nobody with spare hours to make the calls.
Do Do Not Call rules affect your results?
They affect which numbers you can call, so they affect the size of your list. The Do Not Call Registry portal at dnc.gov.sg says an organisation needs to check the relevant Registers before sending telemarketing messages, and the PDPC publishes Advisory Guidelines on the Do Not Call Provisions that explain how the rules apply. Whether a particular call falls under the rules depends on the facts, so check with a lawyer for a specific case.
Anyone who says they do not want to be called again should be removed from your list, and any provider you use should pass that request on to you.
How does Greetsby fit in?
Greetsby calls the people on your own list and books meetings into your calendar. It does not promise a number of meetings. It prices one flat rate per number called: 1,000 numbers cost S$1,800, 2,000 numbers S$3,600 and 3,000 numbers S$5,400, which is S$1.80 a number for up to 4 attempts each, on different days between 9.30am and 6.00pm.
You pay before calls start, for that batch only. There is no contract and no monthly fee, so when a batch is done you decide whether to order another. The first batch shows what your own list produces. You get a weekly report of calls made, people reached, meetings booked and meetings held, and you can play any call, including the ones that did not book. You can start from the Get started page, or write to hello@greetsby.com.
Questions
Will an outsourced caller close sales for me?
No. Outsourced appointment setting ends at a booked meeting. Turning meetings into customers is your own team's work, and it is worth measuring separately.
How many numbers should I give a provider to see if it works?
Enough that the result means something. With only a few hundred numbers, a handful of meetings more or fewer changes the picture a lot. Greetsby's smallest batch is 1,000 numbers.
Can I check what was said on the calls?
You should be able to. Greetsby records every call, including those that did not book, and you can play any call on your list.
Do I need to check my list against the Do Not Call Registry?
With Greetsby, yes: you check your list before sending it and confirm you have when you upload it. Greetsby does not run the check for you.
Sources
General information for businesses in Singapore, not legal advice.