Direct Mail: Call center vs Voicemail vs Answering Call Yourself

[Miles Stanley]

Setting up to launch a direct mail campaign ASAP and i am contemplating three ways to handle the incoming leads:

1. Answer every call myself
2. Set up and pay for a call center
3. Let each call go to voicemail and call back later

Answer every call myself

This is not ideal for me bc i work an 8-5 so i cant just step away every time the phone rings just to get rejected 90%+ of the time by tire kickers.  i can see where this could yield a higher conversion rate, but it just isn't feasible.

Set up and pay for a call center

This seems very appealing bc they receive calls and pre-screen leads with a script and send me just the filtered leads with the pertinent info i can use to analyze the property.  Yes its a paid service, but would allow me to focus on work without running out every so often to answer a call.

Let each call go to voicemail and call back later

This seems like the best approach, its free and i can deal with leads on my time.  BUT i still need to filter through and qualify leads and determine true motivation.  My hope is that making them leave a voice mail will help filter out most tire kickers bc i would think a truly motivated person wouldn't mine leaving a message.  Plan is to use google voice so i get a transcript and notification when this happens.

Does anyone used or swear by any of these methods?  I'm not trying to overthink this process, but i want to do it "right" from the beginning and not waste money.

i appreciate any input!

Thank you!