Telemarketing Sales Job Description
Many people are familiar with telemarketers. Often regarded as annoyances that interrupt dinner with incessant calling, few people give a second thought to the people behind the phone calls. A large number of people make a career in the telemarketing industry, though the job is oftentimes not completely understood by others.
Other People Are Reading
-
Description
-
Telemarketing sales representatives, also known as call center agents, telemarketers and telesales representatives, contact people in order to sell them goods and services over the phone. They have one main goal: selling as much of a specific product or service as possible. These workers may sell goods such as magazine subscriptions, insurance or cell phone plans.
Duties
-
Beyond simply pushing sales, telemarketers may also have other responsibilities. They may call people in order to conduct surveys or request monetary donations for a charity or political organization. Telemarketers must keep up-to-date records of sales and accounts and may schedule appointments with potential customers who wish to learn more about a product. They may need to adjust their sales script so they can better sell products. In addition, many telemarketers find sales leads using lists generated from third parties, telephone directories or other sources. Some telemarketers also work the customer service end of the business, answering questions that customers may have about a product.
-
Education and Training
-
Telemarketing sales careers have no set educational path, but some knowledge of sales, marketing and customer service can help. This can be from previous work experience or from college coursework as a marketing or business major. Telemarketing positions often won’t require previous experience in order to be hired. Once hired, many telemarketing companies will train new workers on the job.
Work Environment
-
Telemarketers usually work within an office with other telemarketers nearby. Usually known as call centers, telemarketers typically have their own cubicle areas and work within the same area. Telemarketers can have average working hours or work overtime, depending upon the company. Many telemarketers who work with customer service work overnight shifts to cover question lines that are open 24 hours a day.
Salary Range and Outlook
-
PayScale puts the average salary for telemarketing sales representatives between $18,000 and $30,000 annually. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the outlook for telemarketing careers is somewhat poor. Outsourcing, or sending jobs normally filled by people within the United States to other countries, takes a large number of telemarketing jobs, and therefore the number of jobs available is on the decline.
-
References
- Photo Credit reacting to good news image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
