Q: I was just offered a job doing telemarketing and they mentioned that their sales goal is 4-5 sales per day (per telemarketer). They said that you must reach an average of that goal each month or you will be terminated. That sounds like a lot to me. I worked in retail sales and they wanted us to sell the charge card and generally only REALLY good sales people or really FORTUNATE sales people could reach 4-5 charge cards per day. Average was more like 1-2 and even that was good. I could usually get about 2-3 depending on the day - and this was at a very high volume store in downtown Chicago. The job is selling insurance over the phone and the shifts are 7 hours. Does 4-5 sales per day seem like a realistic goal for that amount of time each day? When I went for the interview someone asked if people often get terminated for not making the goals and the interviewer said yes....sounds like a bad sign to me......
A: Telemarketing, the key to the company is turnover. There is a great program in my area - everyone doing well - giving out three hundred dollars in gas vouchers to join a discount catalogue club. Now insurance is tough, when they say sales, do they mean appointments for sales people, or sales, you have to be licensed to sell insurance. In telemarketing, there is usually a lot of favortisim - like who the boss likes, who has been working there a long time, gets the best leads. Much to investigate here, though rough job market out there. If the turnover is high, it is usually not a good "room", as they are referred to. Also those shorter shifts are usually rough, no breaks, stay on the phone, short lunch if any at all. Tough business, but one thing, you won't lose anything if you try. You'll know what kind of place it is by the end of the week, take their money in the meantime. If it jeopardises unemployment, stay away, they are notorious for ruining your unemployment, then again maybe not if you stay a short time cause it will be charged to original employer you got unemployment with. Now that is if they let you go for "non-production", your unemploment ok, charged to the original co. paying it. If the let you go for "violation of policy", you could lose your unemployment. Bad sign turnover. If collecting u. e. keep looking. Else nothing to lose,,,,,,might learn a lesson on how these boiler rooms work. Some good, most bad.