Telemarketers
Sales and Related
Places and takes phone calls to sell goods or services or to ask for donations, often reading from a script that covers the offer and the price. When someone is willing to buy or give, name, address, and payment details are taken and entered as an order. Names, reactions, and outcomes of each contact are logged so accounts stay organized. Some calls are follow-ups or replies to letters; others come in from people who saw an ad. Suits people who can stay clear and polite through many short calls, follow a script, and keep contact records accurate.
Typical education: High School Diploma or GED
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$35'450
Median Wage Market Position
$35'450
What you might do
- Call people to sell goods or raise donations
- Read a scripted pitch over the phone
- Explain prices and answer customer questions
- Take orders and payment details by phone
- Log contacts, purchases, and how people responded
- Call back or write after the first contact
Skills that matter
- Scripted pitches delivered over the phone
- A firm ask for an order or donation
- Close attention to questions and objections
- Scripts and letters read before calling
- Names, addresses, and payments entered
- Impatient callers calmed without a fight
AI & the future of this role
Much of this work follows scripts and high-volume phone outreach that voice systems and chatbots can already approximate. Human callers may still handle tricky objections, but routine solicitation looks highly vulnerable as automated outreach spreads.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details