As a job duty descriptor, you may see or hear the term outbound calling. As a homeowner or business executive, you’ve likely experienced the result of outbound calling first hand. Outbound calling refers to phone calls made by a company to a specified list of contacts. In sales, outbound calling encompasses telemarketing, lead generating, and other steps necessary in the sales process.

As opposed to employees who handle inbound calling, employees who perform outbound calling may be required to abide by certain laws that apply to their job or type of work. When a job description requires employees to handle inbound calling, they are usually fulfilling duties that are governed by the company’s policies. Customer service, company or business inquiries, and so forth are handled through incoming calls. However, outbound calling, such as in sales or collections, is partially mandated by state and federal law.

For example, a company who uses outbound calling as a way to build a client base to sell a product or service is required by law to remove names from their contact list if the contact requests them to do so. It can be considered harassment under the statutes of law if a company repeatedly calls upon an individual or business for the purposes of solicitation once they have been asked to stop.

Calling lists for outbound calling are usually purchased from third parties who compile lists based on any number of specific factors, from homeownership status to income bracket to previous purchasing history. In many cases, outbound calling lists are preprogrammed into automatic dialers that constantly move through the lists, dialing the numbers and simultaneously routing all answered calls to an employee. This is one way for a company to increase its productivity in outbound calling and maximize its sales base.

Outbound calling can be the crux of some companies’ operation. However, it is difficult for many companies to find reliable and competent workers to perform outbound calling, especially in telemarketing fields. Most job seekers looking for phone jobs first look for customer service positions and other jobs that handle inbound calls, and job seekers who are specifically looking for outbound calling jobs often prefer business to business calling rather than business to residence calling. However, in some fields, outbound calling and lead generation can actually become a lucrative field, depending on the product and market. Most companies who hire telemarketers offer to train, as opposed to inbound call centers that frequently require some experience in a call center. Similarly, outbound calling for business to business sales often requires some experience as well.