Outsourcing services became an important sector in the world today. It has offered numerous solutions especially to big corporations who can not simply maintain in-house manpower. It enables the company to grow at a faster pace as it will be less constrained by large capital expenditures for people or equipment that may take years to amortize, and may become outdated or turn out to be a poor match for the company over time. Most importantly, outsourcing helps reduce your company's expenses. Outsourcing companies operate at a very low cost especially offshore companies.

Considering the progress of BPO Companies, venturing into this type of industry would be a wise decision. These companies have risen so fast and have opened avenues for all. Delivering high quality of service is their topmost priority to maintain good relationship with their clients.

It has been predicted by the international investment consultancy firm, McKinsey & Co., that the demand for outsourcing services will hit $180 billion by 2010, wherein customer contact services, finance and accounting, and human resource sub-sectors being the bulk of that.

The business process outsourcing or BPO industry continues to develop in the Philippines. As a matter of fact, with many companies committing to expand faster than expected, the growth of BPO sector is believed to be irrepressible as it is assumed to accelerate this year. In 2006, the Philippines raked in offshore services and generated revenues by as much as $2.1 billion. There was a large increase from the beginning of this decade when this industry outsourced in Manila and it has employed 2,400 people and generated revenues of merely $24 million.

It was estimated in 2006 that there were about 200,000 people in the Philippines who were employed in 120 BPO companies, and most of these are call center companies that comprises 80% of the BPO industry. In general, outsourcing in the Philippines, or the BPO services are projected to earn by as much as US $11 billion and employing 1 million people this year.

Call center jobs rank as one of the most in-demand jobs and careers these days. This is especially true in the Philippines. There is a constant urgency for hiring by emerging call center companies. One does not need to have a Bachelor's degree as a requirement for employment. All it takes is for one to speak fluently and to sound exactly like an American, British, or Australian national. This is because most of these companies cater to English speaking countries such as the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

Today's young generation aspire to land jobs as call center agents in these companies because they pay more than double some of the common jobs or professions such as teachers, nurses, clerks, bank tellers, and many others. Apart from the good pay, working in this type of industry helps one his or her speaking and language skills since most call center companies offer free language training courses before one formally starts as a call center agent. It also helps boost one's self-confidence because one gets to speak with foreign people from all walks of life in those aforementioned countries. It is like working abroad without actually leaving the Philippines.

For companies who urgently need hundreds of agents they would temporarily hire people usually from 18 to 25 years of age, even if their speech level is not satisfactory. They would offer one week to one month training, depending on how fast one learns and adapts to the English language. These companies also offer a significant amount for daily allowance. Once the trainee surpassed the training he or she can formally start as an agent and will receive above minimum wage with further allowances including transportation, clothing, medical, and perfect attendance bonus. An additional night differential pay of 10 to 30 percent from the basic pay if you are scheduled to work from 10 in the evening until 6 in the morning, because most of these companies operate during night time in the Philippines while it is day time in the US, UK, or Canada. The extraordinary work hours contribute to changes in the sleeping patterns of call center agents. They are asleep at daytime but alive and in full work mode at nighttime. This drastic change in one's natural biological clock can result health problems for some.

Philippine call centers are mostly located in highly urbanized areas where conveniences of modern living and technology are very accessible. But that as it may, this set-up can make one's young life complicated. Why? Because there are lots of peer pressure. With the more than adequate amount of income they are receiving, the amount of peer pressure existing in this industry is enough to make a fresh soul into an established smoker and an avid night-life goer, and of course the lure of the liquor bar is never far behind. In addition to that, one has to live a fast paced and costly city life which include all the different monthly bills that come with urban living such as rentals or monthly amortizations for an apartment or condo unit, water, electricity, internet, phones, car loans, insurances, and a lot more.

Another thing is that call center agents are heavy coffee drinkers and smokers. The caffeine and the nicotine help them stay awake at night especially if they do not have sufficient sleep during daytime. Others who do not drink coffee or smoke quickly acquired the habit because they believe this will help their stamina last for 8 hours for this nocturnal job.

As the BPO industry expands, there will be lots of posts to be filled up. This would definitely help a lot in decreasing the country's unemployment rate, and providing people with a good life. Most people who have been in the industry for a long time are successful and satisfied despite of the pressure that surrounds the job and the life-changing habits that come with the job.

Telemarketing is the most popular and cost-effective marketing and communication technique available. It helps your business conserve more time, money, and workforce. It is a method of direct marketing in which an agent proposes to the prospective customer to buy products or services over the phone. It is a great way to promote your products or services, that is why outbound call centers emerged and are widely used by businesses.

Outbound telemarketing is a huge business but it can be annoying to those who receive these calls multiple times a day. It has been reported that households particularly in western countries received billions of calls in a year from faceless telemarketers. They sometimes call your households at the most inopportune time, either early in the morning when you are still fast asleep, at dinner time when everybody is set at the table, or before bedtime when a mother is reading a story to his or her child. Is it not annoying when you rush out from the bathroom halfway done taking a bath, or get out from under the car covered with grease, just to pick up the phone and only to find out an unknown caller is trying to sell you something you do not need?

Communication is the art of exchanging information and ideas in everything we do. It is a two-way process that needs good listening and presenting skills. It could be spoken through telephones, computers, face-to-face conversations, small or large meetings or discussions. It could be written through cellphones, internet, letters or cards. It could also be viewed through videos, DVDs, or filmed presentations. There are different types of communications, but the most important thing that you need to consider is how to communicate effectively. Even when we are not talking, our gestures and facial expressions exhibit non-verbal communication and sometimes it can be more powerful and real than actual words spoken. You can tell a person's emotion by the look in his eyes, his hand movements and general body posture. You can determine as well the person's emotion on the other line when talking over the telephone.

Establishing an effective conversation over the phone is very important and it plays a crucial role in business particularly in appointment setting. Good communication skills are important in appointment setting, yet, it does not matter how eloquent or good-looking you are if you never get the chance to compose yourself in front of a prospect, either in person or over the phone. An enthusiastic condition of a warm and friendly conversation by the tonal quality of your voice should be initiated when making cold calls. While it is easy to just pick up the phone and make cold calls, but making calls without preparation or strategy will yield poor results.

The emergence of BPO industries in the Philippines have helped a lot not just in the country's employment rate, but it also helped a lot in generating new businesses for every company that outsources their services or products. Many companies invest more than 90% of their marketing budget in outsourcing services particularly in Appointment Setting because it is an extremely effective marketing tool.

Appointment Setting service has been the cornerstone of generating new businesses because there is nothing more effective than a face-to-face meeting. It dramatically increases the likelihood of closing a sale when you meet the prospect client face-to-face rather than selling over the phone. It is beneficial to smaller businesses as well, for they might have no resources to find new prospects such as doctors, mortgage brokers, financial planners, contractors, insurance agents, and other service oriented businesses.

A survey is a systematic method of collecting data from a population of interest. The purpose of a survey is to collect quantitative information, usually through the use of a structured and standardized questionnaire. A good-structured questionnaire is the foundation of a quality market research survey. It is the basic tool to gather data that are specific and crucial to the success of your business. A carefully designed questionnaire can generate vast amount of revenue or it can dramatically change strategies.

Through market research survey, you can determine the likely performance of a product or service, the buying behavior of consumers, consumers' awareness of a product or service, and the consumers' attitude toward existing or proposed products and services. The effectiveness of the questions would depend on the way they are structured such that your results will be relevant, accurate, and even conclusive.

Not long ago, the Philippine employment rate was heightened with the help of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries that were brought by foreign investors to the country. Business process outsourcing is the fastest growing industry in the world today. In the Philippines, BPO has grown 46% annually since 2006 and there were about 160,000 people employed in a US$2 billion business way back then. A forecast was made that the Philippines will be earning between US$11 to US$13 billion and employing 900,000 more people by 2010.

Philippines is the emerging global leader of BPO industry according to Business Processing Association of the Philippines or BPAP. It is the number one choice of location for foreign investors for outsourcing business services because of its less operational and labor costs. Aside from that, the quality of the language skills for most Filipinos is excellent in addition to having an English-speaking workforce and having English as the country’s second official language.

Television is a common feature in every domestic scene. Even with the advancement of technology on home entertainment, standard television viewing remains the popular pastime activity for millions of people, and most of them are children. Most children plug into the world of television long before they enter school. On average, children watch TV for two hours a day.

Television is a powerful tool for entertainment and education for children if given the right programming. However, according to studies, television and media in general can also have a very negative influence. The great impact of TV on the children's diet and physical activity should be understood by parents to prevent obesity and sedentary lifestyle. Television is also very crucial to the brain development of the children at a very early age if exposure is not monitored and not limited.

Television and internet, has a major influence on children as well as on adults' behavior. Direct response and infomercial lines aired on television daily have a great impact, either positive or negative on the viewers, specially the children. We see drugs, sex, nudity, and vulgar languages portrayed on almost every show or program on TV, and children should not be exposed to this kind of entertainment, particularly at a very young age in which they do not have the ability to distinguish what is reality and fantasy.

Children seem to believe whatever they see on TV is true and imitate them. Young boys choose to wear what their favorite singer is wearing such as Justin Bieber. Young girls like to wear clothing worn by their favorite TV personalities like Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana. At school, if they wear anything that is not in the fashion line of their favorite TV personalities, they are considered as an outcast.

The repercussion of television has more negative than positive effects, and children should have restrictions to what they watch or at least they are monitored while watching TV. The same thing is true with the internet. Nowadays, at a very young age, children know how to operate the computer and play their favorite games, watch movies, or surf in the internet. Internet is much worst than television when it comes to influencing the chidren's behavior. On television, programs are shown at a specific time slot, while on the internet, they can search any movies or show and watch it at anytime.

Children may search anything on the internet and browsing may lead them to adult websites if they are not being assisted. They may join live web chat services that may not be suitable for their age. It is best for parents to control the use of TV and internet, and teach the kids that television is for occasional entertainment, and internet is for educational purposes and not for constant escapism.