Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Things You’ll Need:
- magazines and small books
- an array of silly voices
- your own cubicle
- fellow telemarketers
- computer
Step1
Set the pace. The key to any performance-based job that pays by the hour is not to exceed expectations. Find out the expectations or quota and do not get ahead of yourself.
Step2
Build yourself a team. If you’re going to survive your telemarketing job, everyone else must get on board the mediocrity train. Remember, if they start busting the charts it’s going to make you look bad. Even if you keep up with them, now everyone has to do more work. You’re not getting paid by the call here.
Step3
Be productive. Just because you’re purposefully meeting the required quotas doesn’t mean you can coast, but everyone knows that the strangers calling you are universally reviled by the recipients. Forget the script and speak frankly with your target. Get the company line across, but don’t insult people by reading like a robot.
Step4
Keep it fun. Saying the same few phrases all day every day will drive you crazy. Relieve the tension by occasionally talking to people in a funny voice. Have laughing contests with your fellow cubicle-mates while they make calls. Who knows? It may even inject some humanity into your tone.
Step5
Time for diversions. You’ve shortened the script to get right to the point and have traded speed reading for blunt honesty. Now that you’re able to plow through calls, you’re going to need a magazine or game of computer solitaire to slow your pace back down.
Novice 
