Toughlove For Telemarketers?

from the telemarketer-backlash-backlash dept

As we just described part of the PR effort from telemarketers to whine about the "do not call list", it sounds like some from the telemarketing industry are beginning to try to whip the rest of the industry into shape. This opinion piece, by a telemarketing consultant says that telemarketers need to give up their complaining and recognize that they are the problem. Their policies were designed to trick and annoy people - and now those people are saying they had enough. As the writer points out: "Telemarketers believe (A) people can be manipulated into talking and (B) it's good business practice to do so. That's not only incorrect, it reveals the attitude that created the backlash behind the national "do not call" law." Instead, she suggests telemarketers realize that people aren't stupid, and that there are ways to not annoy people, in building cordial consultative relationships with potential customers. Of course, that's too difficult for many telemarketers to grasp, so they're just going to complain about how many jobs are going to be lost instead. Meanwhile, the industry insists that it's method of bullying and annoying people into buying works - when the reality is that it's costly, since the customers are lower quality, and are likely to complain or return any item ordered.