Outbound salespeople undergo a variety of training methods.
Outbound sales is a job that entails calling potential customers to inform them of products and deals. Outbound salespersons normally work in call centers and contact customers from a preselected list of numbers. They are often referred to as customer service representatives (CSRs) or telemarketers. Training these types of workers is vital, as how well they are trained often results in how well they perform.
Basics
Training for outbound salespersons can last anywhere from four or five days to five or six weeks. Much of it depends on the call center and its mission, as well as whether the salespeople are full- or part-time employees. Training usually is done on a group basis and headed by a human resources specialist--or former outbound salesperson who displayed a passion for the job and had a successful sales record. It often also includes a training manual, which includes pages of information on the product or service being offered by the call center, as well as sales "pitches" and various company rules and regulations.
Lessons
During training, outbound salespersons are not only taught sales pitches, but conduct themselves in certain situations, such as when a customer is angry or a credit card payment doesn’t go through. They are also taught use the phone system and navigate the computers on which important customer information is often recorded. That includes the potential customer’s name, phone number, address and notes related to the sale.
Skills
By the time an outbound salesperson is finished training, she should have a firm grasp of the importance of customer service. She should be professional, courteous and capable of solving a variety of issues that could arise with each call. Some need to memorize and recite sales pitches verbatim, while other outbound call centers only require employees to understand the basics. Outbound salespersons will also need to have developed the technical skills needed for the position, familiarizing themselves with phone headsets and computer keyboards. They also will need to be capable typists with a basic understanding of math and proper grammar.
Prospects
Those who enter the outbound sales, or the telemarketing field, are entering an industry that is declining "rapidly," according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That said, the BLS also reported that jobs for customer service representatives is expected to grow by 18 percent through 2018, which is faster than the growth rate for all professions. So much depends on the success of the call center.
Earnings
The majority of outbound salespersons receive a base salary, along with a commission and bonuses once they complete training. (During training, they receive a regular hourly wage.) According to PayScale.com, telemarketers earned anywhere from $18,000 to nearly $30,000 per year in May 2010.
