What does a telemarketer do?
A telemarketer is responsible for marketing its goods and services to existing and potential customers, driving revenues, and increasing the business' profitability. Telemarketers sell products through electronic communications, responding to customers' inquiries, handling special requests, and negotiating pricing offers. They also escalate product concerns and complaints to management for immediate resolution. A telemarketer must have comprehensive knowledge of the sales and marketing industry to deliver sales pitches to attract customers. Telemarketers should also have excellent communication skills to maintain a positive interaction with the customers.
Telemarketer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real telemarketer resumes:
- Manage employee payroll hours and monitor employee performance providing coaching and development.
- Operate profitably through managing productivity, call quality, payroll, and telephone sales representative development.
- Receive calls from medicare beneficiary prospects and give orientation about the health plan, benefits and periods of enrollment.
- Answer questions on medicare, Obama care, and sign the public up for the appropriate ins that fit their needs.
- Call former subscribers to invite them back to the CLO for via a subscription to the upcoming season of Broadway shows.
- Coach and monitor telemarketers to ensure department procedures are being follow.
- Supervise and coach telemarketers, answer potential clients questions, schedule appointments and confirmation calls.
- Conduct renewal calls for magazine subscriptions, expedite product orders for client manufactures, and other telemarketing programs.
- Perform telemarketing duties for online advertisement/marketing
- Consult with customers to recommend and sell a variety of DIRECTV products and services to meet the customer's needs.
- Perform proficient calls during schedule time, gaining sufficient knowledge of RuffaloCody's CampusCALL.
- Call clients and persuade customers of other communications companies to become Comcast customers.
- Perform telemarketing duties for online advertisement/marketing
Telemarketer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Telemarketers are proficient in Telephone Calls, Cold Calls, and Schedule Appointments. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Initiative, and Self-confidence.
We break down the percentage of Telemarketers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Telephone Calls, 25%
Answer telephone calls from potential customers who are responding to advertisements Contact customers to follow up on initial interaction.
- Cold Calls, 9%
Performed cold calls to potential clientele marketing basement waterproofing and home inspection services.
- Schedule Appointments, 7%
Called various business owners to schedule appointments with sales representatives for demonstrations of their security systems.
- Inbound Calls, 6%
Answered inbound calls for infomercials processing orders using a computer database and providing excellent customer service.
- Outbound Phone Calls, 6%
Provide excellent customer service, in/outbound phone calls, scheduling, conducted sells, surveys, & polls, OSHA.
- Payment Method, 5%
Provided detailed information and collected financial information from donors, as well as securing payment methods for supporters.
Most telemarketers use their skills in "telephone calls," "cold calls," and "schedule appointments" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential telemarketer responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a telemarketer to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "insurance sales agents must evaluate the needs of each client to determine the appropriate insurance policy." Telemarketers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "track & gather information and draw up proper documentation for outside sales reps. daily account data entry"
Initiative. Another essential skill to perform telemarketer duties is initiative. Telemarketers responsibilities require that "insurance sales agents need to actively seek out new clients in order to increase business." Telemarketers also use initiative in their role according to a real resume snippet: "use telephone etiquette to ensure quality customer service * take initiative letting existing customer know of other services available. "
Self-confidence. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of telemarketers is self-confidence. This skill is critical to many everyday telemarketer duties, as "insurance sales agents should be confident when contacting prospective clients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "expressed confidence by sharing product knowledge and communicated effectively through intense negotiating and rebutting. "
Communication skills. For certain telemarketer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a telemarketer rely on this skill, as "insurance sales agents must listen to clients and be able to clearly explain suitable policies." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what telemarketers do: "called prospective customers by operating telephone equipment, automatic dialing systems, and other telecommunications technologies. "
The three companies that hire the most telemarketers are:
- Localwise
8 telemarketers jobs
- Spectrum4 telemarketers jobs
- A & D Companies3 telemarketers jobs
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Compare different telemarketers
Telemarketer vs. Solicitor
A lead generating specialist has two main responsibilities, which are to call leads to find out if they meet the requirements necessary to conduct a sales call and to research leads that meet these requirements and engage them to qualify for sales. Aside from their main tasks, they also do research for target markets which may include SWOT analysis, creating a list of leads and contacting them to get updates on the new trends, setting appointments for program discussions, and training new lead gen specialists.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a telemarketer are more likely to require skills like "telephone calls," "schedule appointments," "outbound phone calls," and "payment method." On the other hand, a job as a solicitor requires skills like "litigation," "foreclosure," "outbound calls," and "legal research." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, solicitors reach similar levels of education than telemarketers. Solicitors are 3.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 12.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Telemarketer vs. Outbound associate
An inbound sales specialist is a sales representative that sells company products and services from a very specific location, usually its headquarters. Their duties may include answering phone calls, aiding customers, providing solutions to customer complaints, scheduling appointments, accepting and placing orders, and following up on outgoing calls. Good communication and customer service skills will come in handy for this role.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, telemarketer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "telephone calls," "cold calls," "schedule appointments," and "outbound phone calls." Meanwhile, an outbound associate has duties that require skills in areas such as "outbound calls," "processing transactions," "benefits verification," and "risk management." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, outbound associates achieve similar levels of education than telemarketers. They're 0.0% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 12.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Telemarketer vs. Lead generating specialist
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, telemarketers are more likely to have skills like "schedule appointments," "outbound phone calls," "payment method," and "alumni." But a lead generating specialist is more likely to have skills like "lead generation," "salesforce," "digital marketing," and "marketing campaigns."
Lead generating specialists earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $50,797. Telemarketers earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $38,153.Most lead generating specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to telemarketers. For example, they're 4.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Telemarketer vs. Inbound sales specialist
Types of telemarketer
Updated January 8, 2025
