Telemarketing Los Angeles 1983 Sales Quotas Pressure Clients Money Assertive Agressive
Having worked in call centers on and off since 1983, I have focused too much on the negative side of telemarketing. I've had to deal with people hanging up on me, cursing me out, screaming and yelling at me, having my calls screened out by a family member, or in the case of a business, an office manager, a receptionist, a secretary, and an administrative assistant. I was also told numerous times to simply send something in writing and if the person was interested they would call us. At the same time, I was always under pressure to produce and get instant results. They also wanted me to answer objections, to follow the script to a T, to "keep smiling and dialing", and to make the company money and their clients happy. There's also the fear of being disciplined, as well as, losing your job if you're not getting the results. I even quit a few of these jobs because I couldn't take the constant pressure
That's the negative side. Now here's the positive side. It's a sit down job. You don't have to worry about doing anything physical. When I was a dietary aide in the nursing homes, I had to stand a lot, work in hot sweaty kitchens, especially during the summer. And I always came home with filthy dirty uniforms.
I am also putting my office and computer training skills to use. When I went out to Los Angeles back in 1983, I tried to get a regular office job. However, nobody would hire me because I didn't have any clerical experience. I had to get started in business somewhere, and that when I turned to telemarketing. Even after I came back here to Philly, I continued to work on and off as a telemarketer. In most of these jobs, I was hired right there on the spot. Whereas with a lot of these other jobs, they had to interview and candidates and then decide who they're going to hire.
I get to talk to all kinds of people. Doctors, laywers, business executives, as well as ordinary residential consumers. I am also putting my good communication skills to use as well. I've even been complimented so many times on how I have such a great telephone voice. After all, I was very good in English and spelling in school, so I guess communications is my calling.
I also don't have to worry about handling money. In some clerical jobs, you have to do bookkeeping and accounting. If you mess up an account, you're in big trouble.
Telemarketing, isn't for everybody. You have to be very pushy, assertive, aggressive, and you can't take "No" for an answer the first time. You also have to be very thick-skinned. You're going to deal with a lot of angry people and theyre going to refuse you; no matter how assertive you are. You also have to meet sales quotas. If you are thin-skinned, very sensitive, and worried about losing your job, then this is not the job for you.
