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What is a telephone sales representative and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Frederik Beuk,
John Cicala Ph.D.
introduction image

Telephone sales representatives sell services and products via the telephone. They follow a prepared script to reference the important details about what the company offers. They make cold calls, answer phone calls from interested prospects and identify the customer's needs. Similarly, they recommend products and services and submit orders. Besides that, they speak to prospective and existing customers to answer their questions and address their concerns about purchased products. Furthermore, they follow the organization's policies in maintaining quality service and providing customers exceptional service.

Employers require a minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent. Applicants must have prior work experience in a similar role. You must be able to pass a background check and drug screening. You must possess communication, selling, attention to detail, problem-solving, interpersonal, and organization skills. Telephone sales reps earn an average salary of $28,595 yearly. This ranges from $20,000 to $40,000.

What general advice would you give to a telephone sales representative?

Frederik Beuk

Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Akron

The key consideration is whether you really want to maximize your initial salary. For instance, envision two job opportunities: one offering a salary of $50,000 per year, where you'd be the most junior team member, and the other providing $75,000 per year, with the caveat that you would be the sole sales representative for the firm. The optimal choice is to prioritize learning opportunities. In this context, being the lone salesperson for a company that compensates its highest-earning sales professional $75,000 might not be your superior option. Instead, seek a position that offers the greatest potential for learning. Subsequently, demonstrate your negotiating prowess, a critical sales skill, by securing a slightly higher salary. However, it's essential not to fixate on maximizing your starting salary. Your career requires a long-term strategy, and you have several decades ahead of you to maximize income.
ScoreTelephone Sales RepresentativeUS Average
Salary
2.2

Avg. Salary $28,512

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
6.4

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.89%

Asian 3.93%

Black or African American 17.79%

Hispanic or Latino 17.79%

Unknown 3.52%

White 56.07%

Gender

female 58.50%

male 41.50%

Age - 33
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 33
Stress level
6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
6.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance
10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Telephone sales representative career paths

Key steps to become a telephone sales representative

  1. Explore telephone sales representative education requirements

    Most common telephone sales representative degrees

    Bachelor's

    32.0 %

    High School Diploma

    31.9 %

    Associate

    19.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific telephone sales representative skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Outbound Calls18.36%
    Telephone Sales10.78%
    Life Insurance10.76%
    Product Knowledge7.49%
    Customer Service7.09%
  3. Complete relevant telephone sales representative training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New telephone sales representatives learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a telephone sales representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real telephone sales representative resumes.
  4. Research telephone sales representative duties and responsibilities

    • Conduct telephone sales and interviews, compile and enter information into database, manage documents and insure customer satisfaction.
    • Maintain HIPAA regulations and standards.
    • Build, setup, troubleshoot and maintain computer hardware and software needs as necessary.
    • Place out bound sales calls to current DIRECTV customers and try to get them to upgrade their current channel package.
  5. Prepare your telephone sales representative resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your telephone sales representative resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a telephone sales representative resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable telephone sales representative resume templates

    Build a professional telephone sales representative resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your telephone sales representative resume.
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    Telephone Sales Representative Resume
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    Telephone Sales Representative Resume
    Telephone Sales Representative Resume
    Telephone Sales Representative Resume
    Telephone Sales Representative Resume
  6. Apply for telephone sales representative jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a telephone sales representative job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first telephone sales representative job

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Average telephone sales representative salary

The average telephone sales representative salary in the United States is $28,512 per year or $14 per hour. Telephone sales representative salaries range between $17,000 and $47,000 per year.

Average telephone sales representative salary
$28,512 Yearly
$13.71 hourly

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How do telephone sales representatives rate their job?

-/5

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Telephone sales representative reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

Communicating and helping my clients.

Cons

The travel was extensive. Sometimes. It took more than month to close a deaĺ.


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A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020
Pros

i enjoy the interaction with people, listen the customer in order to convert him/her into your friend, detect and help customer with his/her needs.

Cons

People without vision, dreams and selfishness.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020
Pros

Marketing products from a traceable companies to consumers and providing a good service to the clients .

Cons

I don't like to work for a company without good management which results in disappointing consumers


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.