High School

The skills and education needed to become a telemarketer depend on the firm. A high school diploma is usually required for any type of position, while some employers hire only people who have earned a college degree.

Telemarketers must be able to speak persuasively and listen to customers carefully, so classes in English, communications, speech, drama, and broadcasting are particularly useful. Business and sales classes, as well as psychology and sociology, are also valuable. In addition, since many telemarketing positions require the use of computers for entering data, familiarity and experience with technology in general and data processing in particular are pluses.

Postsecondary Training

A college degree is not absolutely necessary for many telemarketing positions, but some employers hire only college graduates. Courses in English, speech, drama, and communication are especially useful for those aspiring to the job of telemarketer. In addition, general business classes, such as marketing, advertising, and sales, are valuable. Also, courses in psychology and human behavior can help telemarketers gain insight to the wide variety of people that they often speak to during the course of a typical workday.

Other Education or Training

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) offers seminars, courses, and webinars to help marketing professionals keep their skills up to date. One past course, "Direct Marketing 101," covered when and how to use telemarketing in direct marketing campaigns.

Certification or Licensing

There are no certification or licensing requirements for telemarketers, but some states have guidelines or legislation to regulate the activities of telemarketers. In California, for example, certain types of telemarketing agencies must register each year with the state, although most business-to-business telemarketing is exempt because sales are usually not the main goal of such calls.

Telemarketers covered by the National Do Not Call Registry are required to access the registry every 31 days to obtain updates to the list, and then are required to remove those phone numbers from their call lists.

Previous experience in customer service or sales is recommended for aspiring telemarketers. They must be able to deal well with other people, even in telephone conversations. This work requires the ability to sense how customers are reacting, to keep them interested in the sales pitch, to listen carefully to their responses and complaints, and to react tactfully to impatient and sometimes hostile people. Telemarketers must be able to balance sensitivity to their company's concerns with the needs of the customer.

To succeed in telemarketing, telemarketers must have a warm, pleasant phone voice that conveys sincerity and confidence. They must be detail-oriented as well. They have to take orders while on the phone, get other important information, and fill out complete sales records, all of which requires an accurate and alert mind.

Many federal, state, and local laws have been enacted governing the sort of language and sales tactics that can be used with phone solicitation. Such legislation is intended to protect consumers from unscrupulous telemarketers operating phone scams. Telemarketers must be aware of these laws and conduct their phone sales in an honest and unambiguous manner. To bolster the industry's image in the eyes of the public, several professional organizations exist to further the cause of ethical and effective telemarketing.