Telemarketing 101: Dealing with objection no. 6

On The Bright Side

by Kay Hafner

It�s true. I�ll admit it. I was a telemarketer. For almost two weeks in summer 1985, I sold pantyhose over the phone to women at their workplaces.

From the start I doubted that it was really possible to sell anything this way, let alone pantyhose. What were these women doing all day? Sitting idly at their desks, filing nails and chewing gum, waiting for me to call and save them from real work? It took fifteen minutes to a half hour for a customer to listen to my pitch, select the type size and color of hose and rattle off her credit card number, then confirm the order with my supervisor. Who has that kind of extra time at work?

With strong skepticism going into the experience, it�s no wonder I had a more laid-back approach than my boss wanted. It seemed to me more sensible to take the quick no and try the next number rather than persist in vain with the list of "objections" and "responses."

I didn�t see the sense in wearing down the customer. It seemed more logical to quickly move on to find the desperate few women who really cared. These people would, in theory, make up for all the rest who said no.

The supervisors insisted that it was more successful to be persistent and creative. One co-worker, in fact, had no problem being married or divorced, mother or not, to match the potential customer�s status and get closer to a sale.

After several days on the job I was brought in to the boss� office where I heard several taped exchanges between myself and potential customers. "Why didn�t you use the response to objection #4 at that point?" I was quizzed. "You should have stated #3 again."

I was so shocked at being recorded that I didn�t have much to say. Within a week I found another job.

Given this background, it�s not surprising that I�m a bit more understanding than most people in my family when a telemarketing call comes through. Sure, I admit to hanging up when I hear that little pause that preceeds some sales calls. But otherwise, I listen, I give them practice with the script. I won�t be rude, but I won�t give in. I try to be creative--but not deceitful--with my replies.

For instance, if I�m working at home during the day and get a call, I tell them I don�t accept sales calls when I�m on someone else�s time. If they call back again at night, I can then say, "I�m sorry. This is my family time and I can�t accept any phone calls right now."

For credit card offers, I stress the number of credit cards I�ve already turned down in the past few months (a couple dozen). If they persist, I inform them that I already cancelled one card this year and I�d like to get off credit cards altogether (which is, truly, my ultimate goal).

When the occasional cosmetics representative calls, it only takes a minute to convince her that commissions from what I spend on makeup won�t even pay for the gas it would to drive to my house.

Although most callers take rejection well and graciously go on to the next number, I can�t say all my telemarketing encounters end pleasantly.

Recently, I was invited to claim a prize simply by visiting a vacation time-share. I informed the friendly voice on the other end that our weekends were booked and there was just no time to get away. When she emphasized that the sales presentation takes just 20 minutes, I reiterated that we just didn�t have time to spare to get there.

Her reply was to say, "Yeah, right" and hang up on me.

I can only hope that she was called in by her boss and told, "You should have followed objection #6."

Kay Hafner created On the Bright Side to connect with and uplift readers in need of a positive perspective on daily life. Reactions or suggestions can be sent to her email address: [email protected].

copyright � Kay Hafner 1999