I’m a Telemarketer—Here’s How To Get Rid of Me

Even successful telemarketers have an estimated 96 percent chance of being turned down, says one company

With odds so low, out of sheer desperation, we will be relentless in trying to keep you on the phone. You can’t just screen my calls using caller ID. If you don’t pick up, I mark your lead (our lingo for file) as “no answer,” and the system programs another call for a few days later. If my company does not have a large lead pool, you may get called as soon as 12 hours later. If you’re dealing with this kind of aggressive campaign, it’s actually better to answer than to let the phone keep ringing.

When you answer, I’ll try to sell the product to you using the Three Noes rule: Don’t let the customer go until she has said no three times during the phone call. After the first two noes, the client becomes more likely to spend money. If you don’t purchase the item, I will log everything you’ve said and suggest calling you back another time. These are logged as “callbacks”—tiny gold nuggets for telemarketers to follow up on. And thus, the cycle continues. Now that you know how I work, here’s how to make me go away for good. Plus, learn some more ways to opt out of unpleasant things that seem inevitable.

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