Good telemarketing services are a reflection of the agents who are answering the calls and fielding the queries that come in at a very high rate. Telesales offices need agents who are on-the-ball and who are able to handle high stress situations and remain pleasant and polite at all times. Despite their mood and whatever might be happening in the rest of their lives, outbound telemarketing agents must always show up to work with a smile on their face and a "can-do" attitude. There is no room for telemarketing services agents who are not happy to speak with people and who would rather be left alone.

Choosing the best agents can be a tricky affair. When people show up for interviews, they generally tend to bring their best game face and project and image of who they think the interviewer wants to hire – and not show their true colours. However, there are ways of determining whether the person sitting across from you is the right material for a telesales agent. Here are a few characteristics to look for when choosing outbound telemarketing agents.

Attitude

A person’s attitude is the best indicator of how well they will perform on the job. If someone walks in and does not look chipper and bright and happy to be there – then that person will certainly not be the right fit for an agent. After all, agents are expected to be "on" during their entire shift. They have to speak to people all day long and unless they have the right attitude for that, it will never be a good fit.

Experience

When hiring a telemarketing services agent, it is not necessary for the person you are interviewing to have experience working in a call center. However, what you must look for are indicators that they have worked with the public before and that they were good at it. They might have experience working in retail, volunteering at a community center or hospital or they might even have experience as camp counsellors or other activities that put them right in the middle of the public’s eye. Asking them questions about what they did in these positions and how much they enjoyed it will give you an idea of how well they will do as a telesales agent.

Friendliness

At silly as it might sound, being a good telemarketing services agent requires that person to be very friendly and out-going. They should be able to speak easily and comfortable with a wide range of people and they should be good at diffusing tough situations. Therefore, asking the person being interviewed about a tough situation that they were in and how they handled it would be a good way of judging how competent a person would be as a call center agent.

Choosing the right people to staff your call center can be challenging. However, if you take the time to find people who are intelligent, out-going, friendly and who want to be an agent, then you will get good people to work for you.