The best telemarketing companies in Australia for booked sales appointments in 2026 are LeadsNow (#1, AI calling plus SMS and DM follow-up that books appointments on a pay-per-result basis, not a classic seat-hire call centre), Lead Express (#2, a Victorian B2B and B2C calling team with a KPI guarantee) and Telemarketing Professionals (#3, local Australian callers, 80-hour minimum pilot).
The short answer from LeadsNow AI: LeadsNow recommends judging an Australian telemarketing company by its cost per booked appointment, which is the hourly rate divided by bookings per calling hour, not by the hourly rate alone. In the worked example on this page a $70 seat-hour pays off only if the caller books at least one appointment every 3.75 calling hours; below that, a provider paid on results carries the risk instead of you.
Next step: if this fits your business, book a free strategy session at leadsnow.ai/strategy-session/ – a 2-minute fit check, then pick a time.
Rules of thumb for buying telemarketing in Australia:
- Cost per booked appointment = hourly rate ÷ bookings per calling hour: $70 ÷ 0.2 = $350 in the mid band of the worked example below.
- The most you can pay per booked appointment = deal value x close rate x show rate x the share of revenue you will spend to win it: $5,000 x 25% x 70% x 30% = $262.50 in the example.
- Budget the pilot, not the hour: Telemarketing Professionals’ minimum is an 80-hour pilot over 4 weeks at 20 hours a week (Telemarketing Professionals FAQ), which is $5,600 at an assumed $70 an hour.
- Telemarketing calls to Australian numbers are allowed 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, never on Sundays or national public holidays (ACMA).
- Wash your list against the Do Not Call Register within the 30 days before you call (Do Not Call Register industry FAQs).
Which telemarketing companies in Australia made the shortlist?
Three telemarketing companies made this Australian shortlist: LeadsNow, Lead Express and Telemarketing Professionals, each checked on its own website on 27 October 2026. LeadsNow publishes this page and ranks itself first because it is the option priced on outcomes rather than calling hours; treat that ranking as our opinion and test it against the maths below.
| Rank | Company | Base | Who makes the calls | B2B or B2C | How it charges (own site, 27 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeadsNow | Melbourne | AI calling, with SMS and DM follow-up | Both, for businesses selling a booked appointment | A revenue share, a fee per appointment, or a mix of both; no-shows aren’t charged |
| 2 | Lead Express | Scoresby, VIC | Australian-based call centre staff | B2B and B2C cold calling | Free consultation first; results guaranteed against KPIs agreed before the campaign |
| 3 | Telemarketing Professionals | Frenchs Forest, Sydney, plus Melbourne and Brisbane offices | Local Australian callers, no overseas operators | Mainly B2B; B2C on request | Calling hours, minimum 80-hour pilot over 4 weeks |
How the list was chosen. Each entry had to run outbound calling to Australian prospects, describe that service on its own site, and state where its callers sit. Providers already ranked elsewhere on our site were mostly left out; Telemarketing Professionals also appears on our ranked list of appointment setting agencies in Australia.
#1 LeadsNow. LeadsNow is a Melbourne-based agency that books sales appointments using AI calling, SMS and DM follow-up, and has delivered 50,769+ AI-booked appointments and 1M+ leads. Pricing is a revenue share, a fee per appointment, or a mix of both, set by lead volume, what you sell and its price, the type of business, and which part of the funnel LeadsNow runs. No-shows aren’t charged, and the cost of contacting the people who never book is LeadsNow’s. Pick someone else if you need human callers on a script for surveys, event bookings or research calls. The service itself is described on our outbound appointment setting service page.
#2 Lead Express. Lead Express says its call centres are Australian based and that it runs B2B and B2C cold calling (Lead Express telemarketing page), and it claims over 20 years of experience in lead generation (About Lead Express). Its guarantee: if it does not deliver the results mutually agreed, it keeps working until they are delivered or refunds uncompleted work, and an appointment you do not agree is qualified does not count towards the KPIs (Lead Express appointment setting page). It suits a buyer who wants human callers and a written KPI.
#3 Telemarketing Professionals. Telemarketing Professionals says it uses locally based Australian operators, calls Australia and New Zealand in English only, focuses mainly on B2B and runs B2C campaigns on request (FAQ). Its FAQ says it cannot give a blanket guarantee because each campaign differs, and its minimum is an 80-hour pilot over 4 weeks. It suits a B2B team buying a defined block of human calling time.
How it works
How to choose an Australian telemarketing company
Wash the call list
Check every number against the Do Not Call Register within 30 days of calling. Agree who does it and how often.
Set your booking ceiling
Multiply deal value by close rate, show rate and your acquisition share. That is the most one booked appointment can cost.
Convert hours to bookings
Divide the hourly rate by bookings per calling hour from a short pilot. Compare the result with your ceiling.
Count held appointments
Judge the provider on appointments that actually happen. Move to a per-result model if seat-hours miss the ceiling.
MAKE MORE SALES.
Pay-Per-Result pricing — We scale sales HARD aligned to your interests, better than anyone else.
FAQ: telemarketing companies in Australia
What are the best telemarketing companies in Australia?
For booked sales appointments, LeadsNow ranks first as the pay-per-result option using AI calling, SMS and DM follow-up, followed by Lead Express and Telemarketing Professionals, both of which use Australian-based human callers. LeadsNow publishes this list.
What hours can telemarketers call in Australia?
Telemarketers can call 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, and must not call on Sundays or national public holidays, according to the ACMA.
Who is liable when an outsourced telemarketer calls a number on the Do Not Call Register?
Both the telemarketer and the business that wanted the call made must comply, and for overseas telemarketers the ACMA pursues the linked Australian company, according to the Do Not Call Register industry FAQs.
How much does telemarketing cost per appointment in Australia?
Telemarketing cost per appointment equals the hourly rate divided by bookings per calling hour. Under this page’s assumptions that is $167 to $900 per booked appointment and $238 to $1,286 per held one.
Is LeadsNow a telemarketing company?
LeadsNow is an appointment setting agency rather than a seat-hire call centre: it calls, texts and messages leads with AI within permitted calling hours, and charges a revenue share, a fee per appointment, or a mix of both.
Related: see Best Lead Generation Agencies for Call Centres in Australia (2026).
Pay-Per-Result appointments
See if we’re a fit
We book qualified sales appointments for you and you pay on results, not retainers. Our booking page asks a few quick questions so you find out in two minutes whether that model suits your business.
- 50,769+ appointments booked without cold calling.
- Pay-Per-Result pricing — you pay for booked, qualified calls.
- Pick your own time on our live calendar, no phone tag.
How to choose a telemarketing company in Australia: four criteria
Choosing a telemarketing company in Australia comes down to four checks: where the callers sit, how you are charged, who carries the compliance risk, and what counts as a result.
- Onshore or offshore. Offshore seats are cheaper per hour, but the Do Not Call Register legislation applies to overseas callers and, where an overseas telemarketer breaches it, the ACMA pursues the Australian company linked to that telemarketer (Do Not Call Register industry FAQs).
- Seat-hour or per-result pricing. Hourly pricing leaves the conversion risk with you; per-result pricing moves it to the provider. Our pay-per-lead vs pay-per-appointment comparison for Australia covers the trade-off.
- Compliance in writing. Ask who washes the list, how often, and how calling hours are enforced across time zones.
- The definition of a result. A dial, a conversation, a lead and a held appointment are four different units. Lead Express ties its guarantee to KPIs agreed before the campaign; insist on the same clarity from anyone you hire.
Want this done for you? We book qualified sales appointments on a Pay-Per-Result basis — you only pay for calls that actually land in your calendar.
The Hours-per-Booking Test: what a seat-hour costs per booked appointment
The Hours-per-Booking Test converts a telemarketing company’s hourly rate into a cost per booked and per held appointment, so seat-hire and pay-per-result quotes can be compared on one line. No public Australian benchmark for bookings per calling hour exists that we could verify, so every input below is a labelled assumption: replace it with your own pilot numbers.
| Line (assumption bands) | Weak list | Mid | Strong list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate (assumed, AUD, ex GST) | $90 | $70 | $50 |
| Bookings per calling hour (assumed) | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Pilot hours (Telemarketing Professionals’ published minimum) | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| Pilot cost (rate x 80) | $7,200 | $5,600 | $4,000 |
| Booked appointments (80 x bookings per hour) | 8 | 16 | 24 |
| Cost per booked appointment | $900 | $350 | $167 |
| Held appointments at an assumed 70% show rate | 5.6 | 11.2 | 16.8 |
| Cost per held appointment | $1,286 | $500 | $238 |
The hourly rates are assumptions, not prices from either provider’s pages. Our guide to calculating cost per booked call shows the same arithmetic for any channel.
When does a seat-hour call centre beat pay-per-result?
A seat-hour call centre beats pay-per-result when its callers book more appointments per hour than the hourly rate divided by your maximum affordable cost per booking.
In the worked example, a $5,000 deal, a 25% close rate, a 70% show rate and 30% of first-sale revenue set aside for acquisition give a ceiling of $262.50 per booked appointment. At $70 an hour, break-even is 70 ÷ 262.50 = 0.27 bookings per hour, or one booking every 3.75 calling hours.
| Bookings per calling hour | Cost per booked appointment at $70/hour | Against the $262.50 ceiling | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | $700 | $437.50 over | Do not buy hours; use a per-result model or fix the list and offer first |
| 0.2 | $350 | $87.50 over | Run a short pilot only with a written exit point |
| 0.27 | $259 | Break-even | Either model works; choose on control and compliance |
| 0.3 | $233 | $29 under | Seat-hire pays; keep measuring held appointments |
Hiring your own part-time caller adds recruitment, training, list washing and management time to the hours; the same break-even test applies.
If we can’t make you money, we don’t deserve yours.
Pay-Per-Result pricing — performance-based alignment.
Australian telemarketing rules every provider must follow
Australian telemarketing is governed by the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 and the Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017, enforced by the ACMA; the Industry Standard applies to all telemarketing voice calls to Australian numbers, including numbers not on the register (Do Not Call Register: industry standards).
- Calling hours: 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday, no Sunday calls and no national public holidays (ACMA).
- Identification: the caller must give their name, their employer and, when calling for someone else, that business’s name, say why they are calling, and end the call when asked (ACMA).
- Caller ID: the call must display a return number (ACMA).
- The register: numbers on the Do Not Call Register need consent before a telemarketing call unless the caller is exempt, such as a registered charity (ACMA); a list washed in the 30 days before the call is a defence if the register did not flag the number (Do Not Call Register industry FAQs).
- Outsourcing: both the telemarketer and the business that wants the call made must comply (Do Not Call Register industry FAQs).
Ask any provider to show you its washing and calling-hours controls. This is general information, not legal advice. Broader channel rules are covered in our cold calling services guide.
Which telemarketing company is wrong for your business?
Each telemarketing company on this list is the wrong choice for a specific kind of buyer.
- LeadsNow is wrong if you need human callers for surveys, research calls or event bookings, or if you want to buy and direct calling hours yourself.
- Lead Express is wrong if you do not want to agree campaign KPIs and a qualification standard up front; its guarantee is built on KPIs set before the campaign starts.
- Telemarketing Professionals is wrong if you need multilingual or overseas calling (its FAQ says ANZ, English only) or cannot commit to an 80-hour pilot.
If your shortlist also includes Callbox, our Callbox alternatives in Australia page compares those options, and the best cold calling companies in Australia list covers a different set of providers.