Telemarketers
On the Job
Telemarketers sell goods or services over the phone. They usually read from scripts to persuade customers to buy a product or service. Sometimes they are asking for donations, rather than selling.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Contact current or potential customers to promote products or services.
- Deliver promotional presentations to current or prospective customers.
- Maintain records of customer accounts.
- Identify potential customers.
- Explain technical product or service information to customers.
- Develop content for sales presentations or other materials.
- Answer customer questions about goods or services.
- Monitor market conditions or trends.
- Schedule appointments with prospective customers.
Typical Working Conditions
- Having telephone conversations.
- Sitting.
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people.
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Dealing with external customers.
- High levels of competition.

This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.