I tried it for two weeks, hated it, and quit. I wasn't a full blown telemarketer though. I wasn't calling people out of the total blue. I was representing non profit organizations such as archdioces, public television stations, museums, and colleges looking for contributions or renewal memberships.
After about my third day I pretty much caught on to the scripts and could run through a call without needing to read off of a computer screen. You'll also get a feel for people by then on whether or not they'll give.
I left because I didn't quite get along with "management". I use the term management loosely. We had varying philosophies on how to go about the calls. I had the philosophy that some money was better than no money, managment didn't quite agree.
For example, most of the calls that I was making were to new parishioners to the catholic archdioces in ST. Paul and Minneaopolis. These were people that had never given any money to the archdioces in the past. My first ask was to get $150 out of them. If they rejected I was supposed to go for $90. If they rejected that one, I was supposed to go for $50. And finally if they rejected that, I could go for an open ask for around $20.
Well, after you do about 200 calls, you pretty much know as soon as you go through your opening spiel if the person is going to give or not. I'd make the opening offer of $150, judge the reaction, and then depening on how things go, I'd either drop on down to $50 or all the way down to $20. I would constantly walk away with the highest number of donations/calls in my group. I figured out that most people will give you one or two shots to get to them, if they reject you 3 times, they aren't going to go for the fourth. They want me off that phone as soon as possible, so if I cater to that desire I can get *some* donation and get done with the deal.
Managment didn't like it because I was dropping too soon. Fsck 'em. I had more gifts and better participation percentage than just about anyone else in my group. Sure a lot of it is just luck of the draw on who you call, but a lot of it is just judging peoples reactions.
I was good at it, and I got pretty high marks for my on the phone presentation, but it just wasn't the job for me. Some calls I was making, I was asking people for $2,000 or more dollars. I couldn't do it. For some reason, call it conscience, I just couldn't call up a person and ask them for that much money. It just didn't feel right. That and the fact that the sups were incompetent
Oh well. If you are good at it, it's a damn easy way to make money.
For those that hate telemarketers...please go easy on them. They have no power over who they call. A computer dials the phone for them and they are just trying to make a buck. Courteously tell them no thanks and ask to be removed from their phone lists. I know from experience that if you politely ask to be removed, you in fact will be. If you're a prick about it, I can almost garantee that you'll be called again
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