Sales and Related

Telemarketers

Solicit donations or orders for goods or services over the telephone.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Telemarketers

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Telemarketers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$35,450USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$17.04USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$27,040$13.00
25th$29,640$14.25
50th · Median$35,450$17.04
75th$40,230$19.34
90th$50,350$24.21

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

Call AgentCall Center AgentCall Center OperatorCall Center Representative (Call Center Rep)Call Center Sales AgentCall Center TelemarketerContact Center AgentDirect Sales AgentDonation WorkerInbound Call Center AgentInbound TelemarketerIndependent Sales Representative (Independent Sales Rep)
Expand more title examples (16)
Inside Sales Representative (Inside Sales Rep)Marketing ProcessorOutbound Sales AgentOutbound TelemarketerScheduling AgentSolicitorTelemarketerTelemarketing Representative (Telemarketing Rep)Telemarketing Sales Representative (Telemarketing Sales Rep)Telephone Sales AgentTelephone Sales Representative (TSR)Telephone Service Representative (TSR)Telephone SolicitorTelesales AgentTelesales Representative (Telesales Rep)Telesales Specialist

Typical tasks

  • Contact businesses or private individuals by telephone to solicit sales for goods or services, or to request donations for charitable causes.
  • Obtain customer information such as name, address, and payment method, and enter orders into computers.
  • Explain products or services and prices, and answer questions from customers.
  • Record names, addresses, purchases, and reactions of prospects contacted.
  • Maintain records of contacts, accounts, and orders.
  • Answer telephone calls from potential customers who have been solicited through advertisements.
Expand more tasks (6)
  • Deliver prepared sales talks, reading from scripts that describe products or services, to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service or to make a donation.
  • Telephone or write letters to respond to correspondence from customers or to follow up initial sales contacts.
  • Adjust sales scripts to better target the needs and interests of specific individuals.
  • Obtain names and telephone numbers of potential customers from sources such as telephone directories, magazine reply cards, and lists purchased from other organizations.
  • Schedule appointments for sales representatives to meet with prospective customers or for customers to attend sales presentations.
  • Conduct client or market surveys to obtain information about potential customers.

Skills used in this work

Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Expand more skills (29)
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
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Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Telemarketers career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.