A joke that arrived in my email made me realise that I am not alone in being less than fond of telemarketers. (In fact, they are on my list right up with lawyers and estate agents.) I’ll be sharing a few tips from this joke with you throughout this article but, if you want to read all 20 of them, you can see them at my website on the same page as this article.

I can usually identify telemarketers immediately because they will almost inevitably open with “Good morning, madam. How are you today?” Nobody but a telemarketer would dream of ringing a person and addressing her as “madam”. Presumably that is a marketing technique which is supposed to give the illusion that you are the customer and the telemarketer is there to serve you but it just gives me the idea that I should have let the answering machine pick up this call. The tip for circumventing the whole thing is:- As soon as you realize it is a Telemarketer, scream “Oh my God!” and then hang up.

It took me quite a while to get to grips with the constant annoyance of telemarketing calls. I was brought up to be polite but I eventually discovered it is impossible to get rid of telemarketers without resorting to rudeness. I don’t ask these people to ring me up and try to sell me things I don’t want: everything from jigsaw puzzles and books, through lingerie and cinema tickets to health insurance and mobility aids. As I (thankfully) am and always have been fully mobile, I don’t understand the reason for the last one.

Actually, the telemarketer who was offering mobility aids was a great example of a bad telemarketer. His opening gambit was “Good morning, madam. I’m from XYZ Company, I expect you’ve heard of us?” When I replied “No.” his response was a grumpy-sounding “I can’t think why not”. So, did he ring just to point out that I’m ignorant? When he hurried on with his script and asked me if I have any difficulty getting in or out of the house, I was tempted to reply “Only when I’m drunk” but I managed to bite my lip on that one: “no” is definitely the only safe word to use when dealing with telemarketers.

A better way of dealing with this type of call is the following tip:- If they say they’re John Doe from XYZ Company, ask them to spell their name. Then ask them to spell the company name. Then ask them where it is located, how long it has been in business, how many people work there, how they got into this line of work if they are married, how many kids they have, etc. Continue asking them personal questions or questions about their company for as long as necessary.

Alternatively try this tip:- Tell them you are hard of hearing and that they need to speak up . . . louder . . . louder . . .

The telemarketers for mobile phone companies are the thickest skinned and most persistent variety of the species I have encountered so far. They also tend to have the strongest accents and I feel mean giving them a hard time when they are at a disadvantage to begin with. I always used to answer their questions in the hope that they would realise that I was not a good prospect for mobile phone upgrades. When I asked the last mobile phone telemarketer why he thought I might want to give up my virtually free phone deal and pay for line rental, he just started over with his script listing the number of free minutes of air time they would “give” me. The fact that I would not use the air time seemed to make no difference, there was nothing about that in his script and I had to resort to abrupt termination of the call.

Next time I’ll try this tip:- Tell the Telemarketer you are busy at the moment and ask him/her if he/she will give you his/her home phone number so you can call him/her back. When the Telemarketer explains that telemarketers cannot give out their home numbers say, “I guess you don’t want anyone bothering you at home, right?” The Telemarketer will agree and you say, “Me either!” Hang up.

The telemarketer who wanted me to switch to a new power supplier taught me a lot about the telemarketing profession. The power supply marketers who turn up on my doorstep, accost me in the supermarket or telephone me, usually baffle me with figures, blind me with science and leave me feeling I should sign up with them immediately. The last one to phone me happened to ring while I was in my office at home and I had my power bills to hand. The telemarketer asked me how much I paid each month to my power supplier and then assured me that he could save me 30% on my bills. I was impressed and asked how he calculated that figure. He informed me that he had a “chart”. In an effort to finally understand the mysteries of calculating these savings, I asked the telemarketer to give me an exact breakdown of the amount his company would charge for my most recent electricity bill. He said he couldn’t because he was not good at maths. As he had given me the price per unit, I found it pretty easy to calculate for myself but I couldn’t understand why the cost came out higher when he had said his company charged 30% less. I’d barely managed to ask for an explanation when he hung up. This particular telemarketer taught me that telemarketers will tell you anything their script requires even if they don’t understand it or know it is a complete lie.

This tip might help:- Tell them to talk very slowly, because you want to write every word down. Alternatively this might work:- Insist that the caller is really your buddy Leon, playing a joke. “Come on, Leon, cut it out! Seriously, Leon, how’s your momma?”

Telemarketers should be treated like children at bedtime: use a firm tone when saying “no” and do not be drawn into conversation. I have tried ignoring the “How are you today” but that just means they launch straight into the script. Next time I am going to try “I’m so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems. My arthritis is acting up, my eyelashes are sore, my dog just died . . . ”

I’ve tried asking pointedly: “What do you actually want?” but the reply was “I want to try to save you money” (how kind considering we are perfect strangers). If only I’d received the telemarketer joke before this I would have said “I just filed for bankruptcy and I could sure use some money”.

I’ve also tried “Are you selling something?” but they never fall into the trap of answering that one. For days when I’m not busy and fancy a little fun, I’m keeping a crossword puzzle on my desk. I’ll ask every telemarketer who calls to help me solve some clues. I’ve made out a score card for me -v- telemarketers and I give myself double points each time I can force a telemarketer to hang up.

Elaine Currie has a Work From Home Directory and Survey Review at her Plug In Profit Site: http://www.huntingvenus.com

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]]> http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/235/work-from-home-fun-with-telemarketers/feed/ 0 http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/217/is-this-enough-to-get-me-removed-from-a-mailing-list/ http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/217/is-this-enough-to-get-me-removed-from-a-mailing-list/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:20:24 +0000 Larry http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/217/is-this-enough-to-get-me-removed-from-a-mailing-list/ By writing on the marketing mails return to sender remove me from mailing list.

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]]> http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/217/is-this-enough-to-get-me-removed-from-a-mailing-list/feed/ 6 http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/216/work-from-home-telemarketing-start-with-a-qualified-list/ http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/216/work-from-home-telemarketing-start-with-a-qualified-list/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:32:03 +0000 Larry http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/216/work-from-home-telemarketing-start-with-a-qualified-list/ If you’ve decided to embark on a career of home telemarketing, you should know even before you begin that there are a few important things that you can’t do without. You need to have a pleasant disposition, a winning sales script, and a considerable amount of business acumen and marketing know-how in order to win over those prospects and turn them into sales. But the one thing that you absolutely must have in order to get ahead in the telemarketing industry is a qualified list of leads. Without this list, your foray into the work from home telemarketing career will be dead in the water even before you get started.
So what should you consider a qualified list? To begin with, a qualified list must have potential prospects that should be considered perfect in terms of conversion into sales. These prospects must be ready to buy when you call them, or even if they’re not, they must at least have a decent amount of interest to listen to your sales pitch. Using a list that does not contain interested prospects would be as good as shooting yourself in the foot, because you would have wasted your resources – time and money (phone bills) – without generating any productivity.
You need to understand your primary target audience. Who are you trying to sell to? How should you pitch to this particular demographic? What would appeal to these people? Your leads list should have given you a major clue in answering all these questions in order for it to be considered a highly qualified list. If it doesn’t help you answer all these questions, then you might find yourself facing a difficult task when you do start calling the people who are on the list.
Another consideration the list should address is the question of whether the people listed are the real decision makers in terms of purchasing whatever you’re selling. If the majority of the people listed happen to have little to no say in the final decision of purchasing your product or service, then again your efforts would have proved fruitless. Having a list that puts you into contact with someone who’s ready to buy, who happens to be the decision maker of a household, would put you on the path of a successful sale straightaway, rather than having to go through gatekeepers who might hinder your efforts of trying to get through to your potential sale.
These are just some of the considerations you will have to take note of before you even embark on your work from home telemarketing endeavors. Simply having the right business acumen, the perfect sales pitch, a chirpy temperament, and a pleasant voice isn’t going to cut it if you’re looking to succeed in this line. The list of prospects you have on hand can make or break your telemarketing career, so always ensure that you have a highly qualified, targeted list at your disposal. You can easily obtain such lists online; there are many companies out there that compile lists tailored to every possible marketing niche you can get into. Don’t be afraid to invest in a qualified list, but be sure that it comes from a reputable company that has a good track record behind it.

Chris Burns is an authority on mailing list services providing valuable advice at http://www.MailingListsUSA.com where you can learn more about Business Mailing Lists. Click Here to learn more about the services that he provides.

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]]> http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/216/work-from-home-telemarketing-start-with-a-qualified-list/feed/ 0 http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/211/telemarketing-%e2%80%93-generate-big-revenue-from-simple-creative-ideas-small-budgets/ http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/211/telemarketing-%e2%80%93-generate-big-revenue-from-simple-creative-ideas-small-budgets/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:34:19 +0000 Larry http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/211/telemarketing-%e2%80%93-generate-big-revenue-from-simple-creative-ideas-small-budgets/ Hello, This is XX calling from XX (company), may I have a moment of your time please….?

Statistics shows that Telemarketing responses fetches 4 times more than mail-generated leads. And you would think that the cost could be exorbitant, since large corporations have spent millions of dollars prepping up their telemarketing centers. Well, it’s Yes and No. If you are running a large corporation and looking to expand sales exponentially at a faster pace, yes.

But if you run a small business, you too can have a piece of the telemarketing pie. There are approaches which from my past experience have proven workable and more importantly profitable to say the least.

The one of the critical issues is to examine suitability of your business for the telemarketing channel of distribution. There are industries which telemarketing has become the norm in generating escalating revenues & profits but there are those which do not leverage upon telemarketing, not due to budget constraints but that there are more appropriate distribution channels. Take for instance, the very familiar credit card call industry. You will see rows and rows of telemarketers calling round the clock to solicit card applications. Conversely, if you are in the fruits wholesale distribution business, it is highly unlikely that you would resort to telemarketing as a distribution channel.

You will also need to analyze the function of telemarketing as marketing tool in your business. You can activate telemarketing activities for expanding revenue, as a sales support tool as well as build rapport. Call supporting activities for the credit card businesses, the cell phone businesses for instance, would center around after-sales services. Calling clients on service evaluation after sales would be building rapport and generate feedback for product and service enhancements. These are very diverging objectives which separately achieve different purposes altogether. The pitch and script would be highly diverging as well.

The “recency” of your call list is critical as well. Lists from events and campaigns must be called within the month to ensure higher recall rate. The sooner you call your prospects, the higher the recall rate and the better the chances of closing the sale. The catch is of course the National Do Not Call List. So ensure that the potential clients you call are on this list.

Finally, your success largely depends on The Reward, essentially the effectiveness of your incentive scheme.

I shall share below an example of my past execution of telemarketing as a sales generating tool. In this instance, our discussion is centered on the small business, with tight operations and marketing budgets.

For effective telemarketing, you could consider training one or two existing staff to spend 30% to 50% of their time conducting telemarketing out of a potential client listing generated from your many events and campaigns as well as existing client lists. And Viola!! Leveraging on existing manpower resources, you have created a new channel of distribution!

Handpick staff who have tact and are able to take rejection, and practice, they will start converting the leads to sales, and start earning! Remember, Telemarketing is a prolong activity channel which yields results over time. Persistence and positivism is essence.

In terms of rewards, on top of their usual salary, you should incentivize your telemarketers with a generous percentage of telesales revenue generated by them. This is especially viable for business costs which run on incremental variable revenue model. For instance, if your business is leveraged upon total fixed cost, and any revenue above your fixed cost is variable revenue or profits. Hence, any amount generated by your telemarketers is essentially variable revenue on top and above your normal fixed costs and fixed revenue.

Yoshiko Choy is an entrepreneur and a management consultant in business & marketing with 17 years of experience in Locals & MNCs as well as an avid online marketer. She holds an Executive MBA from the California State University. Read about business & marketing management trends at http://www.businessfast4ward.com. Get the latest reviews and updates on niche marketing, visit http://www.onlinenichemarketing.org.

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]]> http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/211/telemarketing-%e2%80%93-generate-big-revenue-from-simple-creative-ideas-small-budgets/feed/ 0 http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/191/using-a-direct-marketing-list-to-start-telemarketing-from-home/ http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/191/using-a-direct-marketing-list-to-start-telemarketing-from-home/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:27:00 +0000 Larry http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/191/using-a-direct-marketing-list-to-start-telemarketing-from-home/ So you’ve heard how lucrative telemarketing from home can be, and after hearing about how so many people have been able to make it work for them, you’ve decided to give it a go. You’ve got your script, you’ve got that chipper attitude down pat, and you’ve rehearsed every verbal pleasantry you’ve ever thought up. You think you’re ready to take on the big bad world of telemarketing. You’re wrong. If you’re ever considering telemarketing from home as a main source of income or even as an additional one, the one most important thing that you need is a list of leads. This article will tell you all the importance of using a direct marketing list as the one make or break tool you will need in your foray into telemarketing from home.
You may have heard the success stories of telemarketing from friends, or a friend’s friend, and it’s understandable that after hearing such stories you may be tempted to believe that telemarketing from home is really a viable alternative to a 9-to-5 job down at the office. But here’s the ugly truth: in order to succeed in the game of telemarketing, half the time your success depends upon the list that you have on hand. A perfectly written script, well-rehearsed vocal pleasantries, and a great amount of hands-on knowledge about the product you’re selling will mean nothing if you don’t have a good list to begin with.
So where do you start? Some may advise you to build your own lists based on your current market know-how, perhaps even start with your own personal contacts and hope to get referrals. While that may not be entirely impossible to do, it would most certainly take up a large amount of your time, and the resources involved in attaining all these leads would no doubt cut into your profit margin – that is, if you have any to start with. Shouldn’t your expenses be less if you were to work from home instead of going to a traditional 9-to-5? What would be the point of working from home if you’re going to spend the same amount or money, or worse, more than you would if you had an office job? Having to call your contacts for referrals to build up a large enough list would most likely cost you a pretty penny, and you might end up spending more than you bargained for just clearing your phone bills.
And that’s even before you can make your first sale.
What you should do is to acquire a highly qualified, direct marketing list. Such lists are targeted at the right consumers who are looking for the kind of products that you’re looking to sell to them. The people listed on such high quality lists are more prepared to buy what you’re selling than those you may have found flipping through the phonebook or even your personal contacts, so the chances of a sale using a direct marketing list would be considerably higher. What’s more, these lists are available online through professional organizations that specialize in compiling such tailored lists based on various marketing factors that determine the eventual consumer purchasing decisions.
But remember, before you invest in such lists, be sure that the company you’re obtaining them from is reputable, and has a good track record for providing such lists. A reputable company should already have a collection of highly targeted lists for telemarketing or even direct sales from home. If you want to succeed in telemarketing from home, remember that investing in a good direct marketing list will be a boon to your future telemarketing endeavors.

Chris Burns is an authority on mailing list services providing valuable advice at http://www.MailingListsUSA.com where you can learn more about Business Mailing Lists. Click Here to learn more about the services that he provides.

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]]> http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/191/using-a-direct-marketing-list-to-start-telemarketing-from-home/feed/ 0 http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/152/lotus-unveils-desktop-software-an-article-from-fund-raising-management/ http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/152/lotus-unveils-desktop-software-an-article-from-fund-raising-management/#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:24:09 +0000 Larry http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/152/lotus-unveils-desktop-software-an-article-from-fund-raising-management/

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Fund Raising Management, published by Hoke Communications, Inc. on June 1, 1990. The length of the article is 419 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lotus unveils desktop software.
Author: Gary W. Wojtas
Publication: Fund Raising Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 1990
Publisher: Hoke Communications, Inc.
Volume:</s… More >>

Lotus unveils desktop software.: An article from: Fund Raising Management

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]]> http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/152/lotus-unveils-desktop-software-an-article-from-fund-raising-management/feed/ 0 http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/149/usps-details-mail-savings-an-article-from-fund-raising-management/ http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/149/usps-details-mail-savings-an-article-from-fund-raising-management/#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:22:16 +0000 Larry http://worldwideemaillists.com/blog/149/usps-details-mail-savings-an-article-from-fund-raising-management/

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Fund Raising Management, published by Hoke Communications, Inc. on March 1, 1989. The length of the article is 713 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: USPS details mail savings. (United States Postal Service Address Information Services)
Author: Terry Williams
Publication: Fund Raising Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 1989
Publisher:… More >>

USPS details mail savings. : An article from: Fund Raising Management

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