Many classified ads contain job advertisements promising that telemarketers who work from home make as much or more money as those who work in a call center. There are even some that claim earning potentials of thousands in the first week. It's only smart to be skeptical of such claims, but are there really work from home telemarketing jobs?

Actually there are such jobs. For many people a work from home telemarketing job is a great way to make money, if coupled with quality products and support. However, these jobs are not in great abundance. The quality work from home jobs are not easy to find and must be sorted out of the vast majority of undesirable clones. Those who want to find this line of work may have to spend significant time and effort searching for the few legitimate opportunities. The bad examples are hard to discern from the good ones and may be anything from simply a poor parent company pushing bad products with little support to outright scams.

Another important consideration is that the skills needed to work from home in a telemarketing job are very similar to those that are needed for doing the same job from a call center. Both the knowledge about the products and services that the company offers as well as the communication skills to do the job will be required. Despite the relaxed environment available when working from home, it is necessary to possess and maintain discipline as well as all the skills needed for the job. Those skills include cold calling, communications, order taking, prospecting, customer service, lead generation, sales, office and customer relationship management software, and of course an endearing phone personality.

Aside from possessing all those qualities and skills, flexibility must be considered when pursuing a work from home job. Many long-term veterans of the field agree that flexibility plays a significant role in successfully working from home. Before considering any work from home position it is imperative to take the time to search for as many positions as possible and thoroughly investigate those jobs that sound viable.

Finding a genuine work from home job in telemarketing can be difficult. As with any job search it is wise to treat it as though it is full-time employment. The amount of time and effort spent looking for the job should represent the time and effort that would be spent on that job once found. The more important the job the more seriously the task of choosing it should be taken; a part-time job can be chosen less carefully than a full-time job, as picking the wrong part-time job carries lighter consequences.

In order to maximize the odds for success every resource available should be used. Friends, family, previous employers or co-workers as well as other people looking for work from home telemarketing jobs should be contacted to check for leads. Online forums and other resources will prove invaluable in the search and can even give advice on which jobs might be more legitimate than others. If the dream is to work from home, no stone should be left unturned.