Telemarketers Always Tend To Tick People Off
Posted: Saturday, September 12, 2009
by Gerry Charbonneau
http://nibblednews.typepad.com
Imagine this daunting scenario. It's a weeknight. Since it is also a school night the kids are safely tucked away in their beds and sleeping soundly. The wall clock on the dining room wall indicates that it's just about nine p.m.
You and your significant other are resting comfortably in the living room getting ready to watch your favorite reality-based television program. There is a familiar confidence and stillness about the room. All is right with the world.
You subscribe to Caller ID so you can immediately read the familiar LED readout of not only the number calling but also the name of this late night intruder. Oh no, you say to yourself, I think this is another telemarketer calling. You hesitatingly pick up the receiver and you hear that familiar and tell tale electronic pause on the other end of the line. Yes, it is a telemarketer calling to disrupt your evening and solicit personal information.
In theory at least a telemarketer is someone who sells goods or services over the telephone or by fax and may include someone who solicits donations for charities. They are at times a company's first line of contact and introduction to the purchasing public. They represent the goods, services, and other inducements a company offers the consumer.
Generally they try to promote good will and accord to the people they are calling. They use proprietary software that automatically dials the telephone numbers of potential customers. The phone call is the initial point of contact of sale or resistance for the caller of this type.
Today, this type of marketer is considered by many folks to be a bottom feeder of society, a modern-day blight on society and on the evolutionary scale someone hovering just bellow the dung beetle and dog-faced slug.
This is a person closely tied to a computer terminal that automatically harvests phone numbers out of electronic databases and always seems to call you when you are either having supper, getting ready to take a hot shower shower or engaged in other related activities. The software they use will automatically hang up the phone should a marketer not be available.This action irks many people who rush to answer the phone only to hear a click on the other end of the line.
These folks are often asked tasked to set appointments which means that they must develop a strong relationship with the account managers or sales forces which hired them to prioritize targeted appointment settings. This strong , bonding influence is often lost on the people imposed upon by the marketers intrusion.
Normally all one has to do in order to avoid a telemarketer is to hang up the phone or install some form of Caller ID which is this type of caller's natural predator. Other creative scenarios involve deceiving the caller, inventing your own language and talking nonsense to confuse the caller or else getting angry and slamming down the receiver.
The most you can realistically and reasonably expect from a telemarketer is to make calls with the purpose of identifying the right person withing an organization, verify or obtain contact information, and deliver a message or invitation to do business. Often time this is an effective way to make cold calls that pay off.
Does anyone really choose to be a telemarketer and work for a ridiculous company paying less than minimal wages? Surprisingly, the number of folks employed in this type of marketing activity is growing daily due mostly to our uncertain employment situation.
I know that a telemarketer is definitely on the other end of the line whenever I hear the gross mispronunciation of my name. My name is never, ever enunciated properly and so I merely hang up the phone to end the call.
These persistent agents always seem to want to sell you life insurance, home insurance, medical insurance at a discount or offer you a percentage off your next purchase at their parent company's retail outlet. If I needed the extra coverage, I tell the caller, I would have ordered it already and not wait to be reminded by this phone call.
My message to telemarketers is simply this: Please don't call me. I'll call you if I really need the extra services. If you really, really must call me then please be familiar with the English language and make an effort to be courteous and not pushy.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Great article. Well done.What I always wonder is how does this sell? Do people really go out and buy the product because some computer told them they had to get it?Thank you Connor for your comment and thought provoking question.
I do not think that consumers today really need a computerized system to notify them via telemarketer that they need to purchase more personal insurance, subscribe to a certain product or even buy a commodity at an allegedly enticing discount.
The warehouse setting I work in has computerized replenishment systems in place to automatically and electronically update on hand merchandise. This "just in time" warehouse system is riddled with flaws, over budgeting and non cost cutting elements that only complicates receiving personnel to no end.
If I want or need something I'll trust myself to order it without any prompting from the peanut gallery or its faceless minions.
Very good article Gerry. People do work for telemarketing companies and some do quite well because they have a "Barnum and Bailey"mentality. Like the town hall meetings and uproars on health care. Barnum and Bailey says: "A f... is born every... You got it. Someone is going to say yes. You continue to call until you get that one particular, "FOOL." If they make 100 calls, you will definitely get at least 1 or 2. Look how many 1 and 2(s) you get compared to all the people in this nation alone. Yes, I use to be a telemarketer. You will be shocked how many people say, "YES." Remember Barnum and Bailey. Remember Gerry, you have trained voices that are marketing experts that can sway a weak mind. (Remember the Jim Jones)Thank you Dr Rucker for your comments
When I was going through difficult financial times many years ago I reluctantly signed up to be a telephone marketer (telemarketer). I knew at that time that I did not possess the necessary telephone manner nor the marketing savvy to effectively deliver my canned speech to the public.
I was hired to sell a type of real estate ( burial plots) and the accompanying fixtures one purchases to safely and considerately lay a loved one to their final rest. It was not the job for me.
We were instructed to memorize a canned delivery speech and then were given the telephone book and a section of the book to cold call potential clients. There was no electronic dialing system at that time.
I noticed that people would answer their telephones enthusiastically but then become either disappointed or fearful when we announced we were calling about planning funeral arrangements and would they care to book an appointment with us to visit their homes and discuss the matter further with them.
The manager of the office was a smooth talker and a persuasive salesman. Unfortunately he was selling undeveloped funeral properties and had no qualms of conscience about duping the public. I quit that job when I discovered his outright duplicity. My short term career as a telemarketer came to a screeching halt.
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