Telemarketing and Telemarketers

[Feathers in Hair]

While I completely understand the people that are rude or angry to telemarketers, my wish is that more people would understand that the person can not actually do anything to put you on the do not call list unless you say 'do not call list'. I would actually come out and tell the person, even though it was a flagrant violation of our company rules.

Person: "I want you *interesting word* to stop calling me."
Me: "And I certainly understand why you feel that way. Have you heard of the "DNC'" registry?"

Maybe because I was actually empathetic (instead of pretending to be) or maybe just because what I had to offer was usually cheaper than what they'd been paying, I actually did kind of well. We didn't work on the commision system, but there were little get-togethers to cheer people on when they convinced other people to choose our product. I was incredibly surprised to get TSR (telephone sales representative) of the month. I wouldn't have thought non-confrontational personalities would ever succeed in that field, but I was pleased to have been proven wrong!

I'm glad I'm in another field now, though. You can only be told "Shut the *bad word* up, *bad word*!" so many times in a day before it starts to get to you.

 

[robtex]

Anyways how telemarketing works, at least with my company is as follows -

1. I get a stack of "leads" with certain specifications that are already pre-checked and complys with the "DO-NOT-CALL" list.
2. I go through them, calling them one at a time and explaining to them their interest rates and how I can help lower them with our loan program.
3. If I can peak their interest, I tell them i'd like to take 2 minutes of their time to go ahead and fill out a free no-obligation pre-apprasal form and afterwards, we can get back to them within 30 minutes with the rates that they would pay on a monthly basis with our new loan program compared to what they are already paying now.
4. Hand to my supervisor.
5. My supervisor runs their credit report, calls them with calculated rates.
6. If all goes well, an appointment is made.
7. My supervisor drives out to that appointment on the set date. If all goes well and the client likes the figures, we get the papers signed.
8. Within 3 - 5 weeks, we get the brokers check and I get my chunk of commission.

I think that is the point that people miss about telemarketers. To them the person on the other end of the line is a lead and as such they are looking to be expedient as they can be in dealing with the call as it is a numbers game. I get amazed at how people will argue with them or try to for extended periods of time completely missing the reality that the time it takes to make whatever arguement they have is going to be two or three times as long as the call itself.

I am not a telemarketer but I don't mind take the 2 minutes to field the call if I am home which, if I am not a good prospected or not interested takes me off their list and is not only courteous but the path of least resistance.

I have to confess that one time though I was feeling goofy and I told one he was live on the air at some radio station I made-up and another time, maybe a few other times I told them I sold xyz (which i did not) and tried to trade pitches with them..much to their frusteration.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

I interupt their spiel (though often they just go on talking) and say I never buy on the phone or the door. then put down the phone.

Terry
____________________________________
Blessed are those who bring peace, they shall be children of God

 

[The Black Whirlwind]

if i'm in a good mood, i'll say i'm not interested. If i'm in a bad mood, i'll either hang up immediateley or yell at the person to never call again.

 

[Neo-Logic]

It's sad that the mad people makes the job more interesting. So many funny stories. I'll share them with you guys sometimes.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

It's sad that the mad people makes the job more interesting. So many funny stories. I'll share them with you guys sometimes.

My stories usually wound up being from when the other person was on not-really-legal drugs and wanted to 'play around' with me. Luckily, I love language, and so some days were rather entertaining.

 

[Neo-Logic]

Hehe ... I know what you mean.

I'll share a quick story.

So one day, I'm calling and I get this one lady and I ask for her husband.

Lady: so and so isn't here right now.
Me: do you know when so and so will be back?
Lady: Probably never
Me: *scoff* why is that
Lady: because he died 3 days ago, driving off a bridge in the middle of the night.
Me: *chokes on the water I was sipping* Oh my god, i'm so sorry.
Lady: yea, it was horrible.
Me: Well i'm sorry to hear that, I hope everything goes well.
Lady: yea thank you, it's been a hard couple of days.
Me: I'm sorry mame, take care.
Lady: Hah!!! I'm just kidding ya. *starts laughing*
Me: what ..
Lady: Here, after that, you deserve to talk to my husband
Me: *silence*
Husband: Haha ... please take my name off of your list. Thanks and have a niec day. *hangs up*
Me: ... ***.

.. I didn't know how to react to that situation, but looking back, I laugh everytime. I love how creative people get when it comes to answering phone calls from telemarketers.

 

[Ryan2065]

1. What is your typical response towards a telemarketing call?

Oh I have some fun with them...
Me: Hello?
Them: Hi, I want you to buy <etc.>
Me: Oh, umm, well right now I am at work and I cannot talk to you, but if you would like to call later that would be great, I can give you my home phone number if you like.
Them: Oh sure, what is it?
Me: Well, it is <insert friends number here> (better if they live alone or not with parents)... Oh, and one more thing... if <insert friends name here> answers the phone, that is my son/daughter and make sure you ask to speak with Ryan. They are quite stubborn so be sure you don't take no for an answer.

 

[michel]

having said what I have already said, if the person on the phone sounds 'Nice' (How do I know ? - I don't know) I am much more patient; I usually let them get as far as finding out what they are trying to sell, and just say "I think I had better stop you, because I am honestly not interested".

Strangely enough, I had one such call today - from an American (Would you believe it - those blasted Americans!!!) - a Stockbroker trying to get me to invest through him. That's the trouble with those guys, they are so friendly and courtious, I can't help but go along with them!!

 

[Feathers in Hair]

(How do I know ? - I don't know)

In a strange way, I think you do know, though. I (as if anyone would expect otherwise of me) put it up to the two souls involved connecting with one another. Fate, Diety, chance- whatever one calls it, sometimes I'd get a person on the other end who needed someone to talk to. Even if it was simply to scream about what a bad day they were having to a sympathetic ear, I was happy to provide the ear. In less esoteric terms, though, I think humans are very, very good at knowing whether the other person is 'nice' or not, even simply over the phone. There are verbal cues that seem to make all the difference between being a caring person and pretending to be one.

Strangely enough, I had one such call today - from an American (Would you believe it - those blasted Americans!!!) - a Stockbroker trying to get me to invest through him. That's the trouble with those guys, they are so friendly and courtious, I can't help but go along with them!!

Ah, but remember they get told 'no' all day! Sometimes, you'll be doing both yourself and them a favor by simply saying 'Do not call list.' *hoping someone didn't take advantage of Michel's kind nature*

 

[Draka]

I have gotten this type of thing frequently:

The Do Not Call list has winnowed this down a good bit, but what I usually do is tell them I am busy now, and to give me their home number so I can call them back when it's convenient for me. They usually hang up.

My response: I'm quite sorry sir/ma'am, but it would be highly inappropriate for me to take your account information home with me to take your call, however I would be more than happy to call you back at a time more convenient for you.

I have dealt with most everything that can be thrown at TSRs and know how to politely field each and every one. Which may be the reason my sales percentage was one of the highest in my company. I even once dealt with a guy that claimed to have a short term memory loss and that his dog handled his finances and started calling his dog in the background to come to the phone. I have heard EVERYTHING and it is just funny. It is also sad that I have seen people getting financially screwed by the company they are currently with and I could have saved them over half of what they were currently paying, but because they are programmed to hate people on the phone they wouldn't take 2 minutes to just listen and see what I could do for them. And the sad fact is that if you took the 2 minutes out of your time to let them finish their presentation and then said you weren't interested, if you weren't, then you would be put down as a "NO" and they wouldn't call you back with the same offer anyway. If you just cut them off or hang up it is logged down as an incomplete call and your number goes back into the system to be called again. Also, you cannot be taken off the calling list unless you SPECIFICALLY ask to be.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Well said, Draka.

One of my favorites was a young man. He sounded quite sane until he claimed that he couldn't make the decision to switch phone carriers because a demon called 'Azberoth' controlled his finances. (Maybe he was in league with your guy being led by his dog.) I politely asked if Azberoth was available and was 'handed over.' I explained to this demon the same things I'd told the man.

Apparently Azberoth did want to save 10 to 30 percent on his phone service. He made it through Third Party Verification and everything.

 

[Draka]

Well said, Draka.

One of my favorites was a young man. He sounded quite sane until he claimed that he couldn't make the decision to switch phone carriers because a demon called 'Azberoth' controlled his finances. (Maybe he was in league with your guy being led by his dog.) I politely asked if Azberoth was available and was 'handed over.' I explained to this demon the same things I'd told the man.

Apparently Azberoth did want to save 10 to 30 percent on his phone service. He made it through Third Party Verification and everything.

:biglaugh: That is just hilarious Feathers!

You worked for a phone company? I worked for SBC (local and long distance for business accounts). We didn't need third party verification though...we were direct account representatives for them. Though I have worked for insurance companies and they did require agent verification of course.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

You worked for a phone company? I worked for SBC (local and long distance for business accounts). We didn't need third party verification though...we were direct account representatives for them. Though I have worked for insurance companies and they did require agent verification of course.

*falls over laughing* Well, I didn't work for the phone company, that'd be too simple. I was "calling on behalf of AT&T". (Please say you didn't call California primarily? Those poor, poor people were called enough by AT&T.)

I was already thinking about quitting when the company lost that particular account. (The only one they were working on.) I don't think I would have been good at AOL, which was what they were moving on to.

 

[Draka]

*falls over laughing* Well, I didn't work for the phone company, that'd be too simple. I was "calling on behalf of AT&T". (Please say you didn't call California primarily? Those poor, poor people were called enough by AT&T.)

:biglaugh: Actually I did call California! I took your business! Which is probably why you were calling there so much!:biglaugh:

Yeah, I actually worked for SBC and had access to the SBC intranet and all account information. I called primarily existing local customers and converted them to SBC long distance and DSL, away from AT&T and other companies, so they had everything with SBC on one bill. We also had inbound as well and served as account customer service.

I was your competition! Knockout

 

[Feathers in Hair]

*falls over, laughing*

And both of us in Iowa! Californians must hate our state now...

I was doing almost entirely the opposite, calling people who had AT&T for LD and trying to get them to switch them to local. (Also calling people who had SBC for everything... oh, boy could it get confusing!) We had access to their records, and that made me uncomfortable, knowing some of my co-workers.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I know a couple people that are telemarketers, and hearing what they go through makes me be a bit nice to telemarketers. Usually I tell them no thanks. This one who called yesterday really aggervated me. She asked me if I wanted to be signed up for a contest to win 500 dollars worth of free stuff. I said no. She said are you sure, and I said, Yes, Im sure. After awhile, she said, in a tone of voice that got me P.Oed because she sounded like she was talking to someone who was stupid, "So you don't want to win free stuff?!?" This set off an instant T-Bomb rage (I think I need to get off that for awhile, my temper has blown up to easily latly), and I yelled "ARE ****ING DEAF?!?! I SAID NO!" I then slamed the phone back on the holder.
My best advice, Neo-Logic, don't keep persisting if the person says no.