The Changing Role of the Phone: Now a Huge Handicap to Business Productivity
Is Telemarketing A Dying Strategy? For the owner of this business, the phone represents the biggest distraction from my workday, it shakes my nerves with its alarming clamor, stops my productivity and breaks my train of thought at times to never recover after its insolent intrusion into my silent place. of work. .
When the “do not call” lists were first established, I enthusiastically signed up. There’s nothing more annoying than getting a sales pitch over the phone as we sit down to dinner, especially if we’re not invited! Of course, since I also run a business, I still get my share of telemarketing interruptions as the “do not call” record is for personal use only. Still, there are many loopholes that make some telemarketing calls legitimate regardless of whether your personal phone number is on the record or not.
According to the FCC, these types of calls are still allowed:
• Calls from any organization with which you have a pre-established business relationship.
• Calls from anyone who has been given prior written permission.
• Calls that are not commercial.
• Calls on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations.
While I am a bit more forgiving of those interruptions in my business, as I sometimes need to make phone calls myself, with each passing day, month, and year, I find myself less motivated to pick up the phone for fear of inadvertently upsetting someone. in the process. And when I make the call, my first statement is, “Sorry to bother you. Am I interrupting something?” Fortunately, with the sole exception of one person I currently do business with, everyone I deal with is accessible via email.
Email has changed the world, at least me world, and it beats the phone in a very important way. Provides written documentation of what is being communicated, a legal basis for review, in case questions arise in the future about what was said.
Recently, a client with whom I have broken ties since then scolded me because she accused me of shirking my duties by refusing to “take notes” while handing out complicated and conflicting work instructions over the phone. I had suggested that you email me those details, citing the benefits I mentioned earlier. Stating that writing is not his strong suit (or any kind of communication, I might add), he was annoyed by my reminder that we may need a legal document to clarify our plan with email being the ideal solution. The reason I decided to terminate our employment after only one year was based on his inclination to claim that I did not do what he had asked of me and therefore did not owe me any fees for the work performed. However, after I had stood my ground and convinced her to email me, her complicated instructions spread out in a series of obtuse, unrelated, and indefinite messages were enough to stymie even the most lucid among us. I had really tried working with her, but in the end I just had to give up. She was impossible.
I say this with over 35 years of experience behind me and hundreds of satisfied clients praising me, some of whom are still working after all this time, and all of whom pay me without hesitation.
Since a phone conversation is easy to misinterpret and details easy to forget without something written to refer to, especially after the passage of time, something else has happened that has basically changed the way phones are used in today’s world. .
I saw this coming years ago, when I was young, naive, and inexperienced in sales of any kind. Before the popularity of the Internet and email, he was responsible for the sale of advertisements in an expensive military yearbook called The West Point Howitzer. The ideal advertising candidate was one of the US national defense companies, usually represented by a large advertising agency. My job was to find the right contacts within the company, within the agency, or both. With little to do other than my personal intuition that a particular company might want to communicate with the West Point military leaders of tomorrow, I found myself in regular conversation with switchboard operators who would connect me to someone’s voicemail. My days were spent delivering creative messages, sometimes rambling for several minutes, only to find myself with a total failure to get any kind of response. I used to call it “getting lost in phone limbo.” The phone became the ultimate escape device – just leave a message and don’t hold your breath. In the few cases where some kind soul called me back, it was to tell me that he was calling the wrong person and that it was not his job!
Lately, however, there has also been a change in culture, largely due to texting and social media. The individual who prefers direct contact is rare today. Those who brazenly and stubbornly cling to the traditional use of the phone call are possibly guilty of only seeking personal entertainment, at the expense of everyone else’s convenience. According to a March 18, 2011 New York Times In an article by Pamela Paul that appeared in the Sunday Styles section, Nielsen Media reports that, “Even on cell phones, voice spending has been on a downward trend, and texting spending is expected to exceed it in three years “. Citing further this article, one professional joked: “I remember when I was a kid, the rule was, ‘Don’t call anyone after 10pm.’ Now the rule is, ‘Don’t call anyone. Never.’
I thought I was the only one avoiding phone use – ironic for someone who runs a marketing business and doesn’t even have a cell phone! However, it’s hard to believe that phone use is declining as I hear people making unpleasant conversations while driving, shopping, dining, or waiting in line without realizing or despite anyone within earshot.
I get three types of telemarketing calls to which I now I am the master of evasion: requests to buy a product or service for my own business or for any of my clients’ businesses; Donation requests; Requests to participate in a survey. Some of these calls are made by people live. But lately, these calls are becoming more and more automated. I couldn’t be more pleased with this. No longer must I fall back on my reservations of simple statements that stop the caller in their tracks, unable to follow through on the hurdle I have presented. Automatic calls do not need business decorum, proper etiquette, or courteous protocol at all. The only action required is to hang up. End of interruption.
In those cases where there is a real person at the other end, often from some Asian or remote location, I use the following response: “Sorry. What’s your deadline? Can you fax or email me? Request it so you can present it at our meeting for everyone to review? “For survey requests:” Sorry. I don’t have time to participate right now. Can you test me at another time, please? “
Even though they say they will, no one bothers to call me back. Mission accomplished.
In all the years that I have been orchestrating marketing strategies, telemarketing has not been one that I have recommended. But I do see your role, or the role of making a phone call, in certain situations that include asking permission to send an email; ask for or verify contact information; request a late payment to be sent; and verify the receipt of the material sent by email or by post. When it comes to deadlines, sometimes there is no other option than to call someone for their timely decision, with all calls preceded by the appropriate apologies.
Other than that, for this marketer, telemarketing only serves to interrupt my concentration, demanding that I stop what I’m doing to put an end to his rude aural interference. From that perspective, I am hardly in a cooperative frame of mind to patiently listen to your message, consider its value, and conclude a transaction. Compared to the convenience of email, where I can choose when I want to take the time to review your content, the days of telemarketing (and possibly direct mail, postal service, printed yellow pages, and printed business stationery, among others) , in my opinion, it can be counted.
