Ernie Vickroy, director of telemarketing for Time Inc. points out that a professional set-up, and clean and well-maintained site are just the beginning. Vickroy emphasizes how important it is to observe the calling floor the decide if the TSRs are watched and coached by supervisors stationed on the floor to guarantee the quality of calls and a high level of product knowledge, and to take unplanned questions from representatives. Another key is taking time to speak directly with the supervisors. "It's really important to ask some of those tougher questions, because there are a lot of glossy brochures out there," Vickroy says.

Gail Stone, president of PTM Communications, a New York City-based telemarketing program management firm, agrees with deciding the number of TSRs per supervisor (she prefers about eight to one) and finding out if there's a reputable quality assurance department--and if there isn't, find out how they handle quality control.

Also, Stone and others advise looking at the makeup of the TSR staff and the bureau's payment/commission and benefits practices. Even though knowledgable circulators are very aware that it is getting increasingly hard to keep an efficient, professional TSR force in several parts of the country--without mentioning the fact that labor costs can make or break a TSB's cost-competitiveness for their own purposes--they also are aware that the best telemarketers work hard to keep a balance between short-term costs and all-important quality control. A few are saying that full-time representatives who are getting company benefits are more apt to be committed to the job than part-timers, but good telemarketers often have big proportions of part-timers. If they have a high turnover, it may tell a little more about the company. Whether part-time or full-time, you can't deny that employees are apt to be more careful and stay for longer amounts of time if they are justly compensated. That's why you need to make sure that any TSB's commission or other compensation practices are at the same level with those of local companies fighting for the same workforce. (If a firm that is bigger, and is presenting better compensation, is in the same market with a TSB you may be looking at, the larger firm may be attracting the best TSRs in the area.) Wages for representatives normallly can be anywhere from $6 to $12 per hour, depending on the type of telemarketing, and most get commission and/or bonus schedules, according to Stone.

Furthermore, it is smart to find out if there are more than the minimum number of representatives required for a job will be trained, in the event someone becomes ill or quits. This helps keep your sales from dropping because representatives who still have to go through the learning curve are filling in for trained representatives, notes Stone.

As you would expect, a complete investigation of the types and levels of TSR training made available by a given TSB is crucial. Ordinarily, knowledgable circulators and consultants say that they would like to know that a TSB invests at minimum a week or two in general telemarketing training for representatives new to the firm, and has a program specialized in providing TSRs on a given project detailed training in the product and what the project requires.