You've left the nitty gritty of the offline world, with its traffic jams, long lunch queues and bosses that breathe down your neck. You've decided that enough is enough, the internet has been giving people substantial profits and you want a slice of the ‘independence' pie. Your road to financial freedom has been paved and all you need is the right sort of vehicle. Snooping around for an easy start, you've chosen telemarketing from home as your engine of success. That's great. Telemarketing from home is a good way to start earning a viable living – and even exceed what you used to earn before in a cubicle drinking stale coffee. Now let's examine essential tools for telemarketing from home.

Firstly, let's examine the required physical infrastructure. You'll definitely need an internet connection and a mid-range desktop computer. The companies you may be working for may not even be in the same country or hemisphere, so Skype and internet messaging services are a must, unless you are rich enough to use the phone to contact all your clients. You will also need internet access for research and critical list building.

Next, you'll need to select the industry you wish to enter. Is it household? Entertainment? Lifestyle products? Consumer Pharmaceuticals? Always choose an industry you are totally comfortable with and have some experience in. And don't worry, the internet and rising costs have forced many companies to ‘virtualise' part or even all of their telemarketing sectors. This means more and more companies are increasing the profit margin by cutting costs – this means that whatever your interests there will probably be a relevant company that will offer you a job selling their products.

Try to avoid email marketing. It is the equivalent of a chain letter and just as effective in getting you an angry reply and a clogged and possibility deleted mail account. It is also frowned upon by telemarketers and companies who wish to maintain a high level of service integrity. So email marketing is a big no-no. Your viable solutions are phone, direct mail or fax. Good telemarketers utilise all three, sometimes for different products.

Practise speaking in a clear voice and more importantly, practise listening to people. If someone is rushing a presentation or having a bad day, pick up on it and call them later. Also, the product literature must literally be at your fingertips, don't flounder about or stall when you are asked about a particular feature – that's bad selling.

Get yourself started telemarketing from home. Good quality lists that are highly targeted are hard to find. The good news is that many companies online are offering extremely well put together lists – for all mediums and a wide range of products. Dissected into different industries, there isn't a list you cannot find online. Be wary of those who offer ‘free' lists – it has always been my maxim that investing a little can gain you a lot. Search the internet and you'll find a number of reputable websites that offer targeted lists, but always do a bit of research first before purchasing or renting one!