I’d like to respond to all the people out there who give telemarketers a bad rap. I know first hand that there is a lot more to it than absent mindedly ringing person and person for hours at a time.  My wife recently accepted a position at an inside sales outsourcing center and would spend her entire shift making calls to potential customers.  Not only did she get hung up on countless times, she would often endure abusive language from people who couldn’t give her a simple “no thank you.”  Believe me, I’m not being a hypocrite because I have had my fair share of nasty things to say about telesales consultants but only now do I think to give them a fair response first. 

Each night, my wife would come home and as we sat over the dinner table, she would tell me of some of the ways she had been treated that day.  I would often ask her, “What did you say back to them?” And her response was always the same.  No matter how vulgar a response would be, or how rapidly she would hear “click” on the other end of the line, my wife would always keep smiling and thanking the potential customers.  She said it wouldn’t do anything but bring bad energy into the company if she gave the customers attitude so she always maintained a professional demeanor. 

I can’t say that every telemarketer will act with the same grace as my wife, but in the future, if you do get that annoying phone call at the most awkward of times, at least try and treat the telemarketing consultant with some respect and you are bound to get it in return. 

Technorati Tags: inside sales outsourcing, language, telemarketing consultant, telesales consultants