A career in telesales and telemarketing jobs can be very rewarding and with some guidance, you should be able to get into a good role even without relevant work experience. Telesales jobs will help you build your customer service and sales skills, as well as develop your confidence and communication and many roles are now available as hybrid or remote jobs. Here we provide some tips and advice on how to get into telesales.

Good preparation is the foundation for any interview and telesales is certainly no exception. Before you start applying for telesales jobs you should take some time to determine exactly why you wish to work in this field.

Write down what your expectations are in the short and long-term, how you think the work will be conducted, and why you think that this is the role for you.

This task will help you in the next stages because both recruitment consultants and interviewers will ask you why you want to work as a sales representative.

When you are sure that you want to forge a career in telesales we will help set up interviews with businesses in your area. When you get an interview the next stage of your preparation is needed - research.

Before stepping into an interview you should take a few hours at least to familiarise yourself with the company. Find out what their products and services are, who their main customers and clients are, and learn how the business is structured.

Also, find out what the company values are and see what information you can gather on the type of people they employ. All of this information should be available on the company website and can be used to your advantage in an interview.

Interview tips for telesales jobs.

When interviewing for telesales roles in particular, it is vital to make a good first impression. When selling over the phone, individuals only have a limited amount of time to make a positive impression, and bring about the desired conclusion to the interaction. As a result, interviewers are constantly looking for evidence that the candidates they are interviewing are instantly likeable, and have the ability to generate rapport quickly.

Candidates should allow their personality to shine through during the interview, as employers want to avoid giving jobs to anyone who will struggle to make an impression on potential customers. Do not be afraid to have a conversation with the interviewers and be somewhat informal – but only if you feel the interviewers are encouraging it.

Aim to be positive and enthusiastic, and try to speak clearly and passionately. If you have any experience in sales, do not be afraid to bring it up, especially if you have won any awards, such as salesperson of the month. This will prove that you have a good track record.

Telesales interview questions and answers.

1. Why do you want to work in telesales?

If you are new to this career you can expect this question early on. This is where your preparation comes into play. Provide an answer that provides some personal reasons to explain why you want to work in telesales and give a reason that is relevant to the specific job. If, for example, the job is with an insurance company, say that you are keen to enter the insurance industry because it is an interesting and constantly developing market.

2. What is the difference between telesales and telemarketing?

If you are new to telesales you will probably be asked this; they wish to see that you understand the different roles. The main objective of telesales is to close a deal following every call; it is to sell a product or service. Telemarketing is more concerned with raising brand awareness and carrying out market research.

3. What do you consider the most important telesales skills?

Sales is partly a skill and partly an art. You should answer that you should know the product well enough to be able to answer most questions about it. You should also be a good listener and be able to read a person’s mood and intention. You also need to be patient and not allow rejection to get you down.

4. What don’t you like about sales?

This can be a very difficult question to answer. It is designed to trip people up who are not too keen on sales specifically. In sales, a good answer would be that you sometimes dislike having to abandon a lead even when it starts to become clear that they will not commit. This answer should indicate that you are eager to close deals and pursue harder markets.

5. Do you like making cold calls?

Obviously, the answer has to be yes. Go on to explain that you enjoy the challenge of calling a new person and trying to close a deal. Say that cold calling can teach you sales skills that can be transferred effectively to when you call previous customers. You can quickly learn to become better at sales when cold calling.

6. How do you cope with rejection?

Say that in telesales, especially with cold calling, you should expect a high percentage of rejection. Explain that you never take it personally and simply move on to the next customer. Say that confidence is a vital asset in sales.

7. How will you make our telemarketing more effective?

This very ambitious question is designed to test the candidate. If you have a history in sales you may well have some good ideas, so share these and say that you will be able to see how your experience and knowledge can be used to enhance processes when you start in the role. If you have no experience, say that your enthusiasm and desire to learn from a great team will help the team to become more effective.

Common telesales interview questions.

Why do you want work in sales?
What is it about selling remotely that interests you?
What special skills do you think are required to sell over the phone?
Do you enjoy interacting with other people?
Tell me about a time when you successfully sold a product or an idea to someone?
How do you feel about working to targets?
Do you think competitiveness in the workplace is a good thing or a bad thing?
Are you a team player?
How would you deal with an abusive customer on the phone?
Have you any experience in using new media such live chat/social media?
What do you think the future looks like for telesales?

General interview questions.

What is your greatest achievement?
Why do you want to work for us?
What was it about this role that persuaded you to apply?
What do you know about our company?
Tell me some of your strengths and weaknesses.
Why did you leave your last job?

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