FU Gatekeepers!

Gee S

15 years ago

Haha I love it!

You should have been playing "Hit em up" featuring Outlawz!

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Matt Bard

15 years ago

[DELETED]

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gxd5

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Matt M

When you called the offices to verify the information you were going to speak about, why didn't you just tell them that?

Surely you can understand why they would hang up if you were trying to sell them something. But if you had a legitimate business call that is what they (the "gatekeepers") are there to answer the phone for.

I guess I'm missing something here.

Matt

I tried to tell them that. I didn't get that far. I think you are missing how quickly they hung up. As soon as I said, "Hi, I'm Rob with..." the line would go dead.

I agree with what you are saying in theory. Why would they hang up if you were just confirming info? It didn't make sense to me either. But, that's what happened. And after it happened a bunch of times, I stopped wondering why and decided to fix it.

This only happened to me with lawyers, tho. Other niches that I've contacted have been downright friendly.

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Silas Hart

15 years ago

Thats hilarious, I actually used to make a LOT of money with that sort of tactic when I worked for a cold calling company in Buffalo Grove, IL called IPA. This probably got me interested in marketing, now that I think about it. Then they started scamming my paychecks, I'd make $2,000 one week, then make $120 the next, it wasn't worth dealing with the company itself. I used your ssame technique myself, but mine was made of out of the mindset of "I don't even care anymore" instead of "hmm, I wonder if I..."

IPA was a business consultant business.

I had a lot of fun while I was there though, but I could have done 99% of my job at my own house.

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gxd5

15 years ago

Originally Posted by FaJeeb

Thats hilarious, I actually used to make a LOT of money with that sort of tactic when I worked for a cold calling company in Buffalo Grove, IL called IPA. This probably got me interested in marketing, now that I think about it. Then they started scamming my paychecks, I'd make $2,000 one week, then make $120 the next, it wasn't worth dealing with the company itself.

IPA was a business consultant business.

I had a lot of fun while I was there though, but I could have done 99% of my job at my own house.

What would you do?

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Silas Hart 15 years ago

Originally Posted by gxd5

What would you do?

Sorry, had to change my original post. I used the same technique you did. The first month I was down on myself because I probably only made 1 contact a day, which isn't much. Then I started using the same technique you did, but I started because I stopped caring about being professional and all that crap they taught you in the class, and just thought "oh screw it" - one of the only things that worked well from me coming from negativity.
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matts5150

15 years ago

lmao, I've done IT consulting for several law firms and it is so true. I remember one occasion I was referred from one law firm to another to fix a problem supposedly no one else could fix. I went there fixed the problem and out of routine checked their backup to make sure it was working, it had stopped about 9 months earlier. I informed the secretary I was working with and she immediately replied we're not interested. I hadn't even told her what the problem was or what it was going to cost and she already shot it down so I took my check and left. Some people have to learn the hard way...

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gxd5

15 years ago

Originally Posted by matts5150

lmao, I've done IT consulting for several law firms and it is so true. I remember one occasion I was referred from one law firm to another to fix a problem supposedly no one else could fix. I went there fixed the problem and out of routine checked their backup to make sure it was working, it had stopped about 9 months earlier. I informed the secretary I was working with and she immediately replied we're not interested. I hadn't even told her what the problem was or what it was going to cost and she already shot it down so I took my check and left. Some people have to learn the hard way...

Oh man! That was in person?!

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RobinSkeen

15 years ago

Okay, I gotta jump in - you're giving all legal secretaries a bad rap here! LOL. I was a legal secretary for 25 years until earlier this year. I was never so rude to anyone who called for information or verification.

However, I DID do as my employer instructed and told all sales calls that we were not interested. It was perfectly okay to verify our information as it was readily available via the yellow pages or the web site.

Most of the sales calls to law offices are from stock brokers. I could always tell because they always asked for the boss by his first name.

I'm not sure how I would have responded to your tactic. Glad it helped you get through it!

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James Campbell

15 years ago

It is hard to make me laugh, but that was a badass off the top of your head script

Nice work.

James

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GuerrillaIM

15 years ago

Reminds me of a tactic I used to use when the gatekeeper hit me to voicemail.

I would say in a fairly urgent sounding tone "Hi this is mike, can you please call me as soon as you get this message on 012343567 asap as its to do with gubgllee... *click*"

The trick was hanging up mid sentance. It was amazing how many decision makers called me back to find out what it was about, and better yet I got to sell to them on their phone bill.

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Jason_V

15 years ago

Originally Posted by GuerrillaIM

Reminds me of a tactic I used to use when the gatekeeper hit me to voicemail.

I would say in a fairly urgent sounding tone "Hi this is mike, can you please call me as soon as you get this message on 012343567 asap as its to do with gubgllee... *click*"

The trick was hanging up mid sentance. It was amazing how many decision makers called me back to find out what it was about, and better yet I got to sell to them on their phone bill.

This tactic works well, especially if you use a cell phone. Because then when they call you back and mention something about the call being cut off, you can just say, "Oh, yeah, I was on my cell phone, I must have hit a dead zone."

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smisen

15 years ago

That's awesome!

A while back, I worked as a secretary for a company who's confidentiality policy was so strict that even giving out someone's name was considered confidential information. So yeah, it was frustrating when people were calling to verify information that they could just as easily get from the phone book, but there wasn't much I could do. I don't know if it's the same way with law firms or not, but nice job finding a way around it

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thmgoodw

15 years ago

Sounds about right. As a laywer I will hang up on you (and so will my assistant) at even a hint of a sales call. Why should I even waste my breath saying yes or no or any such stuff. cold callers don't deserve a peep from me.

Originally Posted by gxd5

Cold calling isn't the worst thing in the world. I've cold called the entire phone book on a few different occassions. The first time I did it was in 1995 trying to sell web sites in Norman, Oklahoma. Other than the fact that no one at the time knew what the internet was, it wasn't so bad.

But one thing that was horrible was talking to the legal secretaries that answered the phones for the law offices.

"Law Office"
"Hi, My Name is..."
*CLICK*

Of all the different industries I've talked to, lawyers are the toughest. At least their gatekeepers are. As soon as they detect salesman, they will hang up. If you call back, they will threaten you.

I see a lot of supposed 'cold call' scripts, and I have to laugh. Just try that sh*t with some lawyers and see how far it gets you. They aren't going to say "Yes" and "No" like your little script says they will. They are just going to hang up and yell at you if you call back.

Anyway, I guess I had forgotten all this, because I had just started out a new niche site targeting... lawyers. I had received word that the local bar association was open to me doing a talk about the subject matter. And so, I was contacting local lawyers to verify their listings on the site before I went and spoke.

How quickly it all came back.

After getting hung up on about eight times in a row, I started getting frustrated. STOP HANGING UP ON ME! I am not even trying to sell something! I just want to verify a g-d FREE listing!

I decided to go stealth.

I threw away my script, and put on some Tupac. Surely no salesperson would be playing Tupac, right? California Love blasting in the background, I clicked "Next" on my custom CRM software, and my skype out auto-dialed the next number.

"Law Office"
"Yo, what's your web site?"
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah, your web site, what is it?"
"Ummm... hold please. Yes, our web site is blah-dot-com. Are you looking for an attorney?"
"Yeah, are you guys down at _address_?"
"Yes, we are. I'm sorry, are you looking for representation?"
"Uh huh. Where can I fax my stuff to?"
"Yes sir, our fax number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. What kind of..."
"Oh snap, actually, I gotta go. I'll hit you back. PEACE!"
...

It felt a lot better to be the one doing the hanging up.

After I got done laughing, I kept calling. I was able to verify the rest of my listings without another single hangup. Not only that, I was able to generate a ton of leads from places that indicated they did not have web sites. All while listening to Tupac.

I guess it goes to show that there are many ways to skin a cat. If I had stuck with my initial approach, I would have failed miserably. But by switching it up, I ended up completing all my tasks and having a great time doing it.

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GuerrillaIM

15 years ago

Originally Posted by thmgoodw

Sounds about right. As a laywer I will hang up on you (and so will my assistant) at even a hint of a sales call. Why should I even waste my breath saying yes or no or any such stuff. cold callers don't deserve a peep from me.

Why? Common decency... oh wait... they surgically remove that in lawyer school I think.

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sbucciarel

Banned 15 years ago

Originally Posted by GuerrillaIM

Why? Common decency... oh wait... they surgically remove that in lawyer school I think.

Common decency does not dictate that you should have to endure sales calls from every Tom, Dick and Harry who has something to sell. Gatekeepers are paid to keep annoyance calls from the people who run the business, and YES ... they are paid to do that, contrary to what one poster said. I was a secretary for a number of years and I was told not to transfer sales calls and not to deliver junk mail.

Telemarketers will call all hours of the day and night to people at home, even if they are on the DO NOT CALL list. Is that common decency? I have no obligation to be polite to people trying to pitch their crap to me.

When I want to buy something, I know where to go to get what I want. I don't want sales people in my home uninvited and offices do not want them either.

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GuerrillaIM

15 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

Common decency does not dictate that you should have to endure sales calls from every Tom, Dick and Harry who has something to sell. Gatekeepers are paid to keep annoyance calls from the people who run the business, and YES ... they are paid to do that, contrary to what one poster said. I was a secretary for a number of years and I was told not to transfer sales calls and not to deliver junk mail.

Telemarketers will call all hours of the day and night to people at home, even if they are on the DO NOT CALL list. Is that common decency? I have no obligation to be polite to people trying to pitch their crap to me.

When I want to buy something, I know where to go to get what I want. I don't want sales people in my home uninvited and offices do not want them either.

We are talking about calling businesses here, you are confusing the facts. If you run a business then you will receive marketing, it is part and parcel. Being snotty with a salesman can backfire, I prefer to just tell them I am not interested and usually tell them where they are going wrong with their pitch (if they make it past my gatekeepers lol).

Maybe things were different for me becaue the people screening my calls were salespeople themselves. Perhaps somepeople are not rude but find it difficult to articulate themselves so hang up to avoid embarrasment. Who knows?

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sbucciarel

Banned 15 years ago

Originally Posted by GuerrillaIM

We are talking about calling businesses here, you are confusing the facts. If you run a business then you will receive marketing, it is part and parcel. Being snotty with a salesman can backfire, I prefer to just tell them I am not interested and usually tell them where they are going wrong with their pitch (if they make it past my gatekeepers lol).

Maybe things were different for me becaue the people screening my calls were salespeople themselves. Perhaps some people are not rude but find it difficult to articulate themselves so hang up to avoid embarrasment. Who knows?

In every business I've ever worked in, the secretary were tasked with not allowing sales calls or junk mail through to their bosses. There's a channel in larger corporations and cold calls are not the way to get through. Maybe in some small businesses that don't have such a structure or don't hire a secretary and/or a receptionist to handle calls and don't have a designated office for purchasing, you might be successful with your pitch, but not in the companys that I've worked for.

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GuerrillaIM

15 years ago

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

In every business I've ever worked in, the secretary were tasked with not allowing sales calls or junk mail through to their bosses. There's a channel in larger corporations and cold calls are not the way to get through. Maybe in some small businesses that don't have such a structure or don't hire a secretary and/or a receptionist to handle calls and don't have a designated office for purchasing, you might be successful with your pitch, but not in the companys that I've worked for.

Not sure what you are talking about now, I thought this dialogue started over people hanging up without even saying anything about it, i.e. comon decency/being rude debate.

Anyway, I guess different people just have different ways of handling people, its all cool.

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Lance Johnson

15 years ago

Originally Posted by thmgoodw

Sounds about right. As a laywer I will hang up on you (and so will my assistant) at even a hint of a sales call. Why should I even waste my breath saying yes or no or any such stuff. cold callers don't deserve a peep from me.

That's a pretty interesting view point.

Is that your opinion the appropriate response to marketing efforts for everyone or simply the few that "can't be bothered."

Zig Ziglar brought up an interesting point in one of his sales tapes. He said something along the lines of "No just means, not my big stack of money [or time] for your little stack of value."

Would lawyers be more receptive if they knew there was a legitimate reward in it for them? I mean, lawyers want something right?

-Lance

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eholmlund

15 years ago

Which is worse...

the gatekeepers hanging up on you? (which is what they are paid to do)

or you lying to them about your reason for calling?

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Jason_V

15 years ago

Originally Posted by eholmlund

Which is worse...

the gatekeepers hanging up on you? (which is what they are paid to do)

or you lying to them about your reason for calling?

No, gatekeepers are not paid to "hang up on people" please show me that specific job duty in any job description for a personal assistant/receptionist position.

Fact is, most gatekeepers get off on their "god like" powers. Whether employers realize it or not sometimes this is to the true detriment of the business. There are people who can offer them services or products that would save them hundreds to millions of dollars. Or even generate thousands to millions of dollars for their business.

Yet, that gatekeeper will be the first one bawling her eyes out if she gets laid off or loses the position because the company goes under. Gee, maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss some of the people who were there or called who could've helped the company save/make money and thrive/grow.

Sometimes it takes all you have to keep a sincere smile and stay professional and nice when dealing with some of the gatekeepers.

At no point did the OP ever LIE to the gate keeper. She asked him "Are you looking for an attorney?" and he said "Yeah." Well, technically, he was looking for an attorney, just not for the reasons she presumed him to be looking for an attorney. This is the same type of logic most lawyers use every day. They don't deal in truth, they deal in intent and technicalities.

To deal with lawyers you have to think like lawyers. Just as he did with the above tactic.

It took me a while to come up with ways to get past gatekeepers. However, I did it thanks to being in the field and testing what worked and what didn't work and I also some great tips from other successful sales people.

This post makes it obvious you've never been out the door selling anything in your life.

Edit:

I almost forgot, I worked at the yellow pages for a while. These are the same types of morons who when the office was calling to confirm or clarify something about their upcoming listing THAT THEY PAID FOR couldn't get through because they kept being hung up on. Yet, guess who was the first one to complain because their yellow page listing was incorrect? How much lost business do you think they had because of a wrong number? All because some moron gatekeeper wouldn't confirm a few facts.

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eholmlund

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Jason_V

At no point did the OP ever LIE to the gate keeper. She asked him "Are you looking for an attorney?" and he said "Yeah." Well, technically, he was looking for an attorney, just not for the reasons she presumed him to be looking for an attorney. This is the same type of logic most lawyers use every day. They don't deal in truth, they deal in intent and technicalities.

To deal with lawyers you have to think like lawyers. Just as he did with the above tactic.

It took me a while to come up with ways to get past gatekeepers. However, I did it thanks to being in the field and testing what worked and what didn't worked and I also some great tips from other successful sales people.

This post makes it obvious you've never been out the door selling anything in your life.

Actually YOUR post makes it obvious that you're OK with stretching the truth.

And for the record I've been out the door selling a lot in my life. Ranging from in-home sales, to high ticket retail and real estate. I was even once a telemarketing manager, and have studied B2B phone sales quite a bit. In fact I've been a subscriber to this excellent newsletter from Art Sobczak for the past 10 years: BusinessByPhone.Inc
So I do know a thing or two about cold calling.

Trust me... I know it's *just* a tactic... I've used those kinds of tactics myself in the past, and I've also used some sales tactics that I'm not proud of. But I've also learned that it IS possible to do business with integrity... without having to stretch the truth.

I also know that there are lawyers out there who have integrity. But maybe you're right... "To deal with lawyers you have to think like lawyers." And if that means using deceit to sell to them then I guess it's just not my kind of niche.

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Jason_V

15 years ago

Originally Posted by eholmlund

Actually YOUR post makes it obvious that you're OK with stretching the truth.

And for the record I've been out the door selling a lot in my life. Ranging from in-home sales, to high ticket retail and real estate. I was even once a telemarketing manager, and have studied B2B phone sales quite a bit. In fact I've been a subscriber to this excellent newsletter from Art Sobczak for the past 10 years: BusinessByPhone.Inc
So I do know a thing or two about cold calling.

Trust me... I know it's *just* a tactic... I've used those kinds of tactics myself in the past, and I've also used some sales tactics that I'm not proud of. But I've also learned that it IS possible to do business with integrity... without having to stretch the truth.

I also know that there are lawyers out there who have integrity. But maybe you're right... "To deal with lawyers you have to think like lawyers." And if that means using deceit to sell to them then I guess it's just not my kind of niche.

I apologize then for thinking you never sold anything. I just wouldn't expect a post like that from someone who ever actually sold anything.

As far as selling, no I don't believe in stretching the truth or making exaggerated claims. When I was selling I saw far too many other sales people doing this. I saw many of them get the axe for doing exactly that.

As far as what I said about dealing with lawyers, I'd say that about any professional I was working with. If you're dealing with dentists you have to think like a dentist, etc...

When you're pitching to a lawyer if you pretend you're in front of a jury instead of making a sales pitch, will work a lot better. That's all I was trying to say.

I still stand by what I said. Lawyers are trained to deal with intent and technicalities. That's what the majority of law is. If you can outwit a lawyer during a sales pitch you'll have one hell of an impressed and loyal customer.

In the OP's case as I said, he didn't technically lie to the receptionist and he wasn't selling anything anyway, so all that's a moot point.

By the way I can't help but see you said "have studied B2B phone sales" Sorry, but studying and doing are a world apart.

From the sales experience you listed (just going by what you posted there) it appears you've never had to deal with gatekeepers.

Of course the above depends upon whether the telemarketing company you worked for pitched to consumers or professionals.

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eholmlund

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Jason_V

I apologize then for thinking you never sold anything. I just wouldn't expect a post like that from someone who ever actually sold anything.

As far as selling, no I don't believe in stretching the truth or making exaggerated claims. When I was selling I saw far too many other sales people doing this. I saw many of them get the axe for doing exactly that.

As far as what I said about dealing with lawyers, I'd say that about any professional I was working with. If you're dealing with dentists you have to think like a dentist, etc...

When you're pitching to a lawyer if you pretend you're in front of a jury instead of making a sales pitch, will work a lot better. That's all I was trying to say.

In the OP's case he didn't technically lie to the receptionist and he wasn't selling anything anyway, so all that's a moot point.

By the way I can't help but see you said "have studied B2B phone sales" Sorry, but studying and doing are a world apart.

Like I said, I'm not taking anything away from your sales experience. B2B is a whole other world.

Apology accepted

The majority of my sales career was B2C, but I've done enough B2B to know what it's all about. I always had a knack for sales, and I've got awards hanging here in my office to prove it. But you're right, B2B a whole different animal.

Cold calling is one of the most challenging things I've ever done in business, and it's one of my least favorite activities! In fact, it's part of what I love about doing business on the Internet... you don't have to use the phone.

My intent was not to condemn gxd5, but to raise an ethical question. While I do think there are truly black and white areas when it comes to selling, there are also some grey areas. And when it comes to those grey areas, people draw their lines in different places.
For me, we entered into a grey area with the very title of this thread, LOL

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Black Hat Cat Banned 15 years ago

Hanging up right as you say "Hi, my name is"? Sorry, not buying it. How dumb would that be? It would pretty much cost them every potential client who is calling to say "Hi, my name is Steve Smith. I need to speak to someone about a speeding ticket/divorce/will/murder, etc.

Yeah....again, not buying it. Props for the creative post though.
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- gxd5 15 years ago
  
  @eholmund
  
  I want to address your "stretch the truth" and "gray area" comments. I guess re-reading the transcript, it might sound like I'm misleading the people by saying "yeah" and "uh huh". But if you heard the way I was doing it, it was actually quite light hearted.
  
  Have you ever seen Office Space? The nearest thing I can find to give you an idea of how it sounded is Bill Lumbergh:
  
  YouTube - Ummmmm...Yeah
  
  Now, when Lumbergh is saying "Yeah", he is not indicating affirmitive consent. Its just how he talks. I was doing it a lot like that, except with more of a street vibe. Think Crip Lumbergh
  
  At any rate, I know that there are a lot of small children and newbie warriors who might read this thread and get the wrong idea. If you are one of those sweet, sweet souls, I want to take this moment to speak directly to YOU.
  
  I want you to know that lying is bad and telling the truth is good. You should always tell the truth if you know what it is. Moreover, you should help others to be truthful as well.
  
  If you have the truth, and someone else doesn't, you should give it to them. Whether they like it or not. Because really, the only people who don't like truth are evildoers. Evildoers. And Black Hat Cat. Because he (she?) doesn't believe that this really happened. Even though it really did.
  
  Thank you for your time.
  
  Good Luck, and Good Fortune!
  
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Instructor

15 years ago

I've been eyeing the Lawyer niche for a long time. I had no idea that they were such a tough bunch. I guess I'll have to really have a well thought out strategy if I ever do decide to pursue it.

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Josiah

15 years ago

Haha I love it!

Wonder if this Tupac business would work door to door?

Josiah

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Jericho

15 years ago

Originally Posted by gxd5

I threw away my script, and put on some Tupac. Surely no salesperson would be playing Tupac, right? California Love blasting in the background, I clicked "Next" on my custom CRM software, and my skype out auto-dialed the next number.

"Law Office"
"Yo, what's your web site?"
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah, your web site, what is it?"
"Ummm... hold please. Yes, our web site is blah-dot-com. Are you looking for an attorney?"
"Yeah, are you guys down at _address_?"
"Yes, we are. I'm sorry, are you looking for representation?"
"Uh huh. Where can I fax my stuff to?"
"Yes sir, our fax number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. What kind of..."
"Oh snap, actually, I gotta go. I'll hit you back. PEACE!"
...

It felt a lot better to be the one doing the hanging up.

After I got done laughing, I kept calling. I was able to verify the rest of my listings without another single hangup. Not only that, I was able to generate a ton of leads from places that indicated they did not have web sites. All while listening to Tupac.

I guess it goes to show that there are many ways to skin a cat. If I had stuck with my initial approach, I would have failed miserably. But by switching it up, I ended up completing all my tasks and having a great time doing it.

ICE COLD!! I love it. Way to think outside the square man. Very cool, very clever, there's always another option, you just gotta find it huh?

Thanks man, refreshing to hear this story, I've got a few things that I need a "new" approach on.

Keep it up.

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MarshallWayne

15 years ago

[quote=gxd5;1299937]

"Law Office"
"Yo, what's your web site?"
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah, your web site, what is it?"
"Ummm... hold please. Yes, our web site is blah-dot-com. Are you looking for an attorney?"
"Yeah, are you guys down at _address_?"
"Yes, we are. I'm sorry, are you looking for representation?"
"Uh huh. Where can I fax my stuff to?"
"Yes sir, our fax number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. What kind of..."
"Oh snap, actually, I gotta go. I'll hit you back. PEACE!"
...

I'm literally laughing out loud! Hahaha! You're right on about switching your approach. That's hilarious!

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CliveG

15 years ago

In my offline business I take several unsolicted sales calls a day - the ones that get past my assistant. Many of these people have lied to my assistant to get to me and I know this because I am always told why the call is being put through to me, i.e., Mr Lying Salesman is returning your call of ten minutes ago. If they lie they will NEVER get any of my time let alone my business.

And yes my assistant does have the authority to put the phone down on anyone who is rude to her or will not take no for an answer twice.

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TelegramSam

15 years ago

Hey Dude,

You wouldn't get past my gatekeepers. They are trained to sniff out time wasters.

Before you could finish the first letter of the word "Yo", you would be terminated.

Have a nice day!

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Instructor

15 years ago

If you were an Attorney you would take money from a client who says "yo" and not "hello".

You ever hear some of the after game interviews from NBA or NFL players? Some of them can hardly put a sentence together, but their bank accounts would swallow yours up 1000 times over, so it wouldn't be very smart (or profitable for that matter) to hang up on everyone based on their informal english (slang).

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TelegramSam

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Instructor

If you were an Attorney you would take money from a client who says "yo" and not "hello".

You ever hear some of the after game interviews from NBA or NFL players? Some of them can hardly put a sentence together, but their bank accounts would swallow yours up 1000 times over, so it wouldn't be very smart (or profitable for that matter) to hang up on everyone based on their informal english (slang).

You assume too much.

My comment wasn't to do with language, race or anything else, except knowing a time waster when you hear one.

Also don't assume my or anyone else's wealth either. You don't actually know.

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TheGodfather

15 years ago

in my experience as a telemarketer and the best results would come when I would address myself as a adviser for the private/business sector with with the company I was working for.
They would almost crap their pants when I would say that. The usual reaction would be: "Did we miss a payment?"

Then, after I watched the smile off my face, I would gently ease them and continue to sell them whatever I was selling at the time.

It is amazing how much you gain respect when you address yourself as the adviser for their sector.

In your case, what I would personally do, is that I would address myself as the adviser from their association and the introduction would go something like this:

"Hello, is this XY law firm?-wait for their reply-I am the adviser for the Association of lawyers from XY town/state and I'm calling to confirm XY..."

Since I worked for a telephone company one of the stupidest responses I got was:
"why are you calling me? Why don't you call the people that DO NOT have a telephone... and I got hung up on"

Well, I hope this will serve you in the future...

Sincerely,
TheGodfather

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TheGodfather

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gxd5

15 years ago

Originally Posted by TheGodfather

in my experience as a telemarketer and the best results would come when I would address myself as a adviser for the private/business sector with with the company I was working for.
They would almost crap their pants when I would say that. The usual reaction would be: "Did we miss a payment?"

Then, after I watched the smile off my face, I would gently ease them and continue to sell them whatever I was selling at the time.

It is amazing how much you gain respect when you address yourself as the adviser for their sector.

In your case, what I would personally do, is that I would address myself as the adviser from their association and the introduction would go something like this:

"Hello, is this XY law firm?-wait for their reply-I am the adviser for the Association of lawyers from XY town/state and I'm calling to confirm XY..."

Since I worked for a telephone company one of the stupidest responses I got was:
"why are you calling me? Why don't you call the people that DO NOT have a telephone... and I got hung up on"

Well, I hope this will serve you in the future...

Sincerely,
TheGodfather

Thanks for the tip! The best advice always comes from other people in the trenches. Next time I have to do some calls, I will give this a shot

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