Telemarketers
Marketing, Sales and ServiceO*NET 41-9041.00United States
Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.
- Median annual earnings
- $35,362
- Projected change
- −16.2%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 61.56K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
59.2% of the workforce
Growing to 51.61K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What telemarketers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes.
- Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.
- Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.
- Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.
- Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders.
- Deliver prepared sales talks, reading from scripts that describe products or services, to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service or to make a donation.
- Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements.
- Telephone or write letters to respond to correspondence from customers or to follow up initial sales contacts.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $26,880
- 25th percentile
- $29,505
- 50th percentile
- $35,362
- 75th percentile
- $40,360
- 90th percentile
- $51,957
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $35,362 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
−16.2%projected to decline
202561,563 jobs
2035 projected51,612 jobs
9,951 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 59.2%
- Some college
- 37.3%
- Associate degree
- 3.5%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Sales Representatives758 postings
- 02Telemarketers581 postings
- 03Call Center Representatives261 postings
- 04Telephone Sales Representatives177 postings
- 05Call Center Sales Agents128 postings
- 06Telemarketing Representatives128 postings
- 07Appointment Setters96 postings
- 08Outbound Sales Representatives93 postings
- 09Representatives91 postings
- 10Telemarketers/Appointment Setters90 postings
- 11Inbound Sales Representatives88 postings
- 12Door to Door Sales Representatives87 postings
- 13Bilingual Spanish Customer Service Representatives85 postings
- 14Healthcare Licensed Insurance Agents80 postings
- 15Outbound Sales Specialists74 postings
- 16Phone Representatives74 postings
- 17Commercial Advisors71 postings
- 18Market Team Members71 postings
- 19Commissioners70 postings
- 20In Store Sales Representatives66 postings
Top employers
- 01Sleep Number547 postings
- 02Spectrum141 postings
- 03Terraboost Media98 postings
- 04TTEC79 postings
- 05State Farm76 postings
- 06AT&T72 postings
- 07American Home Design71 postings
- 08CLEAResult Consulting69 postings
- 09Mds Communications Corporation65 postings
- 10EchoStar64 postings
- 11West Shore Home60 postings
- 12Fls Connect59 postings
- 13Flyte58 postings
- 14Hilton Grand Vacations58 postings
- 15Ao Life & Style LTD52 postings
- 16Allstate42 postings
- 17Amplifon42 postings
- 18Hss Careers37 postings
- 19ManpowerGroup36 postings
- 20Vending Village LTD35 postings
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