Optimal Holding Time in Telemarketing

When a telemarketing staff or a seat calls, whether the customer will answer the phone is under uncertainty. This is a common risk faced by telemarketing companies: holding the telephone too long will bring a big lose to the company, while waiting too short won't be beneficial also. In this paper, we want to solve the problem and propose the definition optimal holding time, and then we conduct data mining in a deeper level based on a mathematical model. By analyzing specific data from an insurance agency company, we give the conclusion that the optimal holding time in telemarketing is around 20 to 40 seconds in general.