Telemarketers make telephone calls to promote a company’s products or services. They also use the telephone to gather customer information, solicit orders or confirm sales. They may work for a local or national company or for an independent telemarketing firm.
Depending on the type of business, telemarketers may call only b2b (business to business) customers or b2c (business to consumer) consumers. They may be salaried or receive a commission for achieving specific sales goals.
Most telemarketers work in offices, call centers or home offices. They often work in teams. The job is sedentary and may involve long hours.
There are three primary types of telemarketing: outbound, inbound and lead generation. In outbound telemarketing, companies purchase lists of telephone numbers from data collection services and then call prospective customers to sell their products or services. They may also contact customers who have submitted an interest form online or have otherwise indicated their intent to be contacted by the company.
Outbound telemarketing is an important part of many businesses’ marketing efforts and can be effective, especially when done well. However, the practice is criticized by consumers for being invasive and annoying. In response, some businesses have banned telemarketing altogether or only allowed it to occur on occasion.
Inbound telemarketing is the opposite of outbound telemarketing and involves collecting personal, professional and demographic information about prospective customers. This can be done through advertisements, business expos, social events or the Internet.
A telemarketer’s success depends on how well they communicate with their customers. They must be familiar with the product or service they are selling and be able to explain it to their customers in a clear and persuasive way. They also need to be resourceful and able to answer their customers’ questions and address their concerns.
Good telemarketers are patient and persistent in their efforts to get results. They handle rejection well and are willing to try again.
Telemarketers must adhere to federal and state regulations when calling people. These include the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), which was amended in 2003 and prohibits cold calls, robocalls or ringless voicemails; the Do Not Call Registry, which lets individuals register their names with the FTC to prevent telemarketers from calling them; and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which limits unsolicited solicitations.
Most telemarketers are employed by large companies that use their own databases of potential customers or purchase lists from data collection services. These companies are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces anti-fraud laws that protect consumers from false advertising.
While telemarketing is an effective marketing tool, it has earned a bad reputation among the public. This is largely due to the increasing number of telemarketers who use unethical practices, such as ‘robocalls’ and ‘ringless voicemails’.
The growing use of these techniques has caused a public perception that telemarketing is a deceptive and untrustworthy industry. It has also led to a rise in the number of complaints against telemarketing firms.
Some telemarketers have been convicted of fraud or other crimes and are required to pay fines or serve time in prison for their activities. The practice of using inmate labor to make telemarketing calls is particularly controversial, and many unions have called for a boycott of telemarketing firms that employ inmates to make calls.