It’s a weeknight. Since it is also a school night the kids are tucked away safely in their beds and sleeping soundly. The wall clock in the dining room indicates that it’s just about nine p.m. You and your spouse are resting comfortably in the living room getting ready to watch your favorite television program. There is a quiet confidence and stillness about the room
Suddenly the peace and the tranquility of the evening is shattered by the urgent ringing of the telephone. You get up from your comfy La-Z-Boy recliner and walk over to answer the call. You wonder who could possibly be calling you at this later hour. Has there been an accident or an unexpected illness in the family?
You subscribe to caller I.D. so you immediately can read the familiar LED readout of the number if not 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 telephone receiver and you hear that telltale, electronic pause on the other end of the telephone line. Yes, it is a telemarketer calling to disrupt your evening.
In theory at least, they are at times a company’s first line of introduction to a purchasing public and represent the goods, services and other inducements a company offers the consumer.
This person is someone who sells goods or services over the phone or by fax, and may include someone who solicits donations for charities. Generally they try to promote good will and accord to the people they are calling. They use proprietary software that dials the numbers of potential customers. The phone call is the point of sale and/or resistance for many marketers of this type.
Today, this type of individual is considered to be bottom-feeder of society, a person tied into a computer that automatically harvests phone numbers out of electronic databases and always calls you while you are eating or having a shower or other related activities.
These individuals are often tasked to set appointments which means that they must develop a strong relationship with the account managers or sales force to prioritize targeted appointment setting. This strong bonding influence is often lost on people imposed upon by the telemarketers intrusion.
Normally, all one has to do in order to avoid a telemarketer is to hang up the phone, or install caller id, a telemarketer’s natural predator. The software will automatically hang up the phone of a marketer is not available. This action in itself tends to irritate many people.
The most you can realistically and reasonably expect from a telemarketer is to make calls with the purpose of identifying the right person within an organization, verify or obtain contact information, and deliver a message or invitation. Often time this is a an effective way to make cold calls that pay.
Does anyone really choose to be a telemarketer and work for a ridiculous company paying less than minimal wages? The number of folks employed as this type of marketing agent is growing daily due to the current job crisis.
I know when a telemarketer is calling simply due to the audibly gross, mispronunciation of my name. My name is never , ever enunciated properly and I merely hang up the phone to disrupt the call. Many folks create a new language and chat gibberish with the caller. This they hope will confuse and frustrate the marketer.
These companies always seem to want to sell you life insurance, automobile insurance at a discount or offer you a percentage off your next purchase from the parent company. If I needed this coverage I would have ordered it long before this phone call.
My message to telemarketers is this: Please, don’t call me..I’ll call you. If you really must call me then please be at least somewhat familiar with the English language. This would be considered a courtesy by me and many other folks as well.
