Work at Home: Telemarketing/Appointment Setting

If you are not shy when it comes to cold calling businesses, there are work from home opportunities available with companies such as Grindstone.com and BlueZebra.com!

General requirements for this type of work includes a pleasant phone voice, a home office or area that provides a very quiet environment free of interruptions ( so if you have small children at home, you might not be a fit for this, unless you can have a babysitter or childcare available for your little ones) and sometimes companies will want to see previous experience in this area (but not always!)

There will also be computer/Internet and other technical requirements. You will likely be an Independent Contractor as opposed to an employee, but you will want to verify your employment status when you apply or offered a job. Some telemarketing jobs will be commission-based only, but many will also offer a base pay as well. Again, always check the fine print and terms carefully with any job you apply for, especially with work at home jobs.

Websites to check out:

www.grindstone.com
www.bluezebraappointmentsetting.com

Good Luck!

Virtuserve....... Looking For Work At Home Agents

Hmm...now this company is a virtual call center and when you go to the website, it says that they are looking for quality work-at-home agents in Canada and in the United States, but when you click on the link for qualifications to work at home for Virtuserve, it states "...if you live in Canada, and meet our qualifications, Virtuserve would like to hear from you." So I suppose that this opportunity is indeed for Canadian residents only at this time. If you are in the States, I suggest bookmarking the site and checking back!

The requirements for the Canada-based Work At Home Program are:

* Broadband data connection to the Internet with a minimum upload speed of 128kps. This speed is typically offered via high speed cable.

* Dedicated work computer.

* A noise-canceling headset.

* Dedicated sound proof or quiet office or workspace.

* Must meet requirements set by Canadian and or Provincial government to work as an Independent contractor.

* Good phone skills and friendly attitude.

* Ability to define work schedule and be available during those stated work hours.

Again, the company is called Virtuserve, and here is their website for you to check out more!

Telemarketing

If you are interested in working from home as a telemarketer, there are a few questions you should ask yourself

Are you:
Self motivated and goal-oriented?

Energetic, flexible and have a positive attitude?

Able to Communicate effectively with customers, other agents and staff?

Do you have the ability to build relationships quickly, and troubleshoot issues?


Telemarketing will usually involve at least one of the following, depending on what type of company/business you are working with:


Appointment Setting and Customer Service

· Lead Generation/Qualification

· Phone Sales

· Seminar Registration

· List Cleaning/Database Update

· Surveys

· Market Research

· Direct Mail Follow-up

· Trade Show Follow-up

· Fundraising

· Announcing a Sale, Grand Opening, Or Special Event

· Recruiting

· Prospecting

· Product/Service Selling


You need to make sure you have a completely quiet area to make your phone calls from, with absolutely no interruptions from kids, barking dogs, doorbells, etc. You will also most likely need a computer with high speed Internet access.

Some of the benefits of course would be no commuting, working from home (although not all telecommuting opportunities are working from home--some will involve working from a call center, so research carefully), and the potential to set your own hours, or at least have some flexibility with arranging work hours

But if you think you can meet the requirements needed to be a successful telemarketer, there are usually plenty of opportunities to be found. I have listed a few companies on the left side column of my blog that you may want to check out. And if you live in the UK, here is a Telemarketing link for you to check out.