What can graduates learn from telemarketing?

A career in telemarketing and contact centres may not be the first choice for many graduates, but are they missing out on learning some valuable skills?

Business knowledge
Education about the world of business is a life skill that can prove invaluable. Telemarketing environments sensitise graduates to what buyers need or want. For the right agents, this can build an enduring hunger for business, and the daily exposure to business decision makers or consumers gives them a window on the world of commerce.

Rapport building
The ability to walk into any work or social setting and build rapport is as important in making friends as it is in driving sales or customer service. Graduates are taught how to interpret needs, gain trust, listen carefully as well as reflect tone, pace and style of conversation.

Some people have a natural disposition for ‘connecting’, others can be taught these valuable skills.

Good listening is definitely a life skill; especially the act of listening intuitively where the information communicated may be discrete or subtle, expressed in changes of tone or mood. These are things we generally become attuned to later in life, but telemarketing can help create that wisdom earlier.

Conversing without visual cues heightens other senses of awareness and reminds us not to focus only on what we can see.

Decision influencing
Telemarketers can only influence behaviour once trust, rapport and engagement have been established. This comes from great product knowledge acquired through preparation, preparation, preparation – again an essential life skill.

Creating influence requires dexterity of language, nuance in communication and authority… again vital life skills.

Conflict resolution
Many business challenges occur through miscommunication, so clarity and the ability to diffuse, manage and resolve issues is another valuable skill. Also being able to keep calm and ignore the ‘noise’ to identify and listen to the core issues is priceless.

Commercial tenacity
For anyone thinking of going into business (where the objective is to acquire customers, get them to purchase, spend more and stay longer) working in telemarketing helps build the tenacity or resilience required at the coal-face of a brand. Working toward targets and maintaining focus are critical in achieving both life and work goals.

So, what can graduates learn from telemarketing? Quite a lot.