# Are the people who work for me "telemarketers" as you mean the term? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 14, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709 "2012-10-14T18:26:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/61 "2012-10-15T19:32:59Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > How do your reps find people who are currently doing $0 of business with your company? I’m not sure what you’re asking. We don’t call businesses who don’t have accounts; we rarely open new accounts (except when a business has opened a new location and asks us to.) Businesses with inactive accounts might get a call once a year just to make sure the business still exists; if a rep has an account in her territory affiliated with a defunct business, she comes to me, says, “Hey, can you get rid of me? Also, can I have some of those cookies you baked?” and is told “Yes” and “no.” ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/62 "2012-10-15T19:40:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Sales over the phone = telemarketing. Quoted for truth. You admit a portion of their income is based on sales. And they use their phones. I think it should be self evident. “close new business”, you keep using this phrase, while denying you do cold calls. Still not adding up to me. (I do understand however, that nothing will convince you.) ---
**Author:** ![Nazarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nazarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nazarene)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/63 "2012-10-15T19:55:28Z")
If you call anybody first to try to sell them something, you’re a telemarketer. “They already have an account” does not stop it from being marketing over the telephone. If I didn’t call you first, then don’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/64 "2012-10-16T00:22:24Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Quoted for truth. You admit a portion of their income is based on sales. And they use their phones. I think it should be self evident. > > “close new business”, you keep using this phrase, while denying you do cold calls. Still not adding up to me. > > (I do understand however, that nothing will convince you.) **Skald** can tell us if I’m wrong, but “close new business” many times would also be introducing new product based upon past sales, eg _You know, we’ve begun handling the mounting hardware to go with the widgets that you regularly order. Would you like five cases?_ or letting them know that a regularly ordered item is slated to be discontinued, giving them an opportunity to order up while they can and time to find another source and/or find a work around. I’ve been on the ordering end of these calls too. The outfit that used to sell the wire belting to us when I managed a large industrial maintenance parts room took the initiative to give me a quote on some of the hardware that went with it. The brand was a better one and the price was just under what we had been paying. They got orders for the hardware after that. A good account rep can be a time/money saver for the businesses that they serve. And yes, the bad ones can be a genuine pain, but they still aren’t cold calling me, hence aren’t telemarketers. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/65 "2012-10-16T00:29:59Z")
Okay, I think I have found a definite criterion for determining if Skald’s minions are telemarketers: Do they block their numbers? This occurred to me, because I realized that I\*\* never\*\* get annoying calls at work. If I don’t recognize the number, I don’t answer the call. If I don’t have time to talk, I don’t answer the call. If I don’t have the answer to the question the person asked on the last call, I pick up the phone and apologize profusely. (No, I don’t; I don’t answer the call. Then I pump the task up on my to do list.) So, if your minions name and number show up on the phone display, they are definitely not telemarketers; they are account managers. And they should get bonuses on the profits in their territories. Small businesses do not have time for poor service. I find the references to “technically telemarketing” a bit annoying. What is technical about telemarketing? Okay, what I mean is, who, really, gets to define what telemarketing is? Obviously, not the people who seem to conflate sales and marketing. They are very different things; one is annoying and the other is evil. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/66 "2012-10-16T01:19:35Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Okay, what I mean is, who, really, gets to define what telemarketing is? > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Here’s a description of the job. It’s for a position on a **team of inside sales people like the one I manage** ; [QUOTE=Wikipedia/Telemarketing] Telemarketing ( **sometimes known as inside sales** ,[1] or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call. [/quote] > **[Telemarketing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemarketing)** > > This is an accepted version of this page > Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products, subscriptions or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call. Telemarketing can also include recorded sales pitches programmed to be played over the phone via automatic dialing. > Telemarke... [![](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/biggrin.gif) ](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/biggrin.gif) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/67 "2012-10-16T02:27:35Z")
Forget it, **Skald**. It’s The Dope, where anybody who uses a phone to try to sell stuff to existing customers is Rachael from Credit Card Services’ more-evil brother. 😉 Really, though, some people in this thread sound like they cannot imagine how, as someone else said, a good rep is worth his weight in gold (or free T-shirts), or how happy one can be to hear from him out of the blue. (ie: Not very, but you don’t say anything because he saved your life last week and may do it again tomorrow.) Spend some time in Purchasing and you learn. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/68 "2012-10-16T03:49:31Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > [Telemarketing - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemarketing) > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/biggrin.gif](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/biggrin.gif) I know; I don’t think “technically” applies. And I think my criterion is a good one, and very useful. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/69 "2012-10-16T04:55:41Z")
I voted “not a telemarketer as I understand the term.” Telemarketers, in my mind, are doing cold calls. As defined by wiki upthread, they are calling PROSPECTIVE customers. Skald’s people are called ESTABLISHED customers. If someone who was my account rep called me to discuss how the service/product was going, I wouldn’t hang up and snarl about telemarketers. I may be annoyed if I felt the rep was trying to sell me stuff I didn’t need, but checking in with me usually won’t annoy me. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/70 "2012-10-16T09:14:26Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Your sample spiel, in addition to getting me irritated because I didn’t want a telemarket call in the first place, also has many of the hallmarks of social engineering/phishing. It’s how a lot of scammers get businesses to buy toner **(does anyone use toner any more?)**. Again, it will make me reconsider the wisdom of doing business with this particular company. Of course not! I’m pretty sure the printer in my office is fueled by unicorn tears and yeti blood. Now that that’s out of the way, this is telemarketing. Full stop. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/71 "2012-10-16T10:22:52Z")
I haven’t even bothered read the thread, but to me telemarketers do hard sales on the phone; your team doesn’t do hard sales, so they’re not telemarketers, same as my favorite bookstore’s long-distance service doesn’t make my bookseller a telemarketer (you can order books via webform, email or by phone). I worked in a company where a certain kind of materials were called (renamed to protect the superb) Kaywests. We found out why when we met Kay West, a CSR who had customers that bought those products; they were products which couldn’t be sold for their original purpose, but which were exactly what these customers needed, and what the customers needed was never going to be made on purpose. When a batch came up, she’d check its analytical report against her customers’ requirements and call those who were a match. Again, not a hard sale, but a heads up “hey we have some of the stuff you like, want me to send it your way?” Again, not a telemarketer. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/72 "2012-10-16T11:35:10Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > [Telemarketing - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemarketing) > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/biggrin.gif](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/images/smilies/biggrin.gif) Your definition doesn’t apply, as Skald’s team is not engaged in calling prospective clients. They are calling existing clients. Elbows, they don’t cold call. You clearly don’t know the meaning of the term. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/73 "2012-10-16T14:40:46Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Elbows, they don’t cold call. You clearly don’t know the meaning of the term. She knows what cold calling means. It’s “close new business” that’s tripping people up. I’m guessing that Skald will agree with missred that closing new business is introducing existing customers to new products and services they’re offering, but elbows and others are taking it to mean finding new clients. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/74 "2012-10-16T15:32:26Z")
Asked for clarification, got none. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/75 "2012-10-16T16:11:14Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Okay, I think I have found a definite criterion for determining if Skald’s minions are telemarketers: > > Do they block their numbers? Of course not, Why on Earth would we? We want the people we’re calling to know it’s us. Admittedly, what shows up on caller ID is the general number of our switchboard and the name of the company, not the rep’s specific number, but I think that’s a systems thing. Our reps are **required** – not allowed, not encouraged, **required** – to identify themselves by full name and to frequently give customers their return numbers and company email addresses. The only circumstance in which I can imagine one of my reps blocking a number would be if she were returning a call to a customer on her own time and from her personal phone, to handle an emergency issue. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/76 "2012-10-16T16:17:15Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > She knows what cold calling means. It’s “close new business” that’s tripping people up. I’m guessing that Skald will agree with missred that closing new business is introducing existing customers to new products and services they’re offering, but elbows and others are taking it to mean finding new clients. Cold calling means that the call is placed to someone who does not know you. No introduction, no recommendation, nada. It does not apply to calls made to existing clients. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/77 "2012-10-16T16:20:21Z")
A cold call is when a salesperson calls a prospect who has never shown an interest in the product. It used to be (and maybe still is) a common telemarketer practice to take the white pages of the phone book and start calling each number listed. The company would photocopy the pages, and hand them out to the callers, who would call each number in turn until they reached a live person, then they struck through the name. Another method is robodialing, where a machine will dial phone numbers automatically, and if a live person answers, then the call is transferred to a telemarketer. So, the machine would dial 817-921-0000, for instance, then move on to 817-921-0001, on up to 9999, at which point it would switch to another exchange. Nowadays, theoretically, even the cold-calling telemarketers are supposed to filter out people and numbers which are on the Do Not Call lists, however I suspect that Rachel from Card Services (or rather, her employers) are just robodialing. What \*\*Skald’s \*\*company is doing isn’t cold calling, but it is telemarketing. It’s legal to call someone if you have a prior business relationship with that person or business. However, the company can’t call if the person or business has asked to be put on the business’s own DNC list. What his company is doing is legal, but it’s still telemarketing. This is why I asked if there was a way for the customers to opt out of the first call. Here’s what the feds call a telemarketer: > [@](#): > > **Telemarketer** (“TM”) – includes any person or business who, in connection with telemarketing, initiates or receives telephone calls to or from a customer. > **[National Do Not Call Registry](https://www.donotcall.gov/faq.html)** > > Register your phone number to report stop or block unwanted, annoying,telemarketing, spam calls, robocalls to the FTC Charities and political organizations are exempt from the DNC list. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/78 "2012-10-16T16:21:06Z")
Yes, we’re all aware of that, but to elbows, foxy40 and others “close new business” sounds like doublespeak for calling someone who does not know you, in other words, cold calling. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/79 "2012-10-16T16:25:42Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Your definition doesn’t apply, as Skald’s team is not engaged in calling prospective clients. They are calling existing clients. Correct, with a slight qualification; we may call a prospective client who has called and asked to speak with an account rep. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Yes, we’re all aware of that, but to elbows, foxy40 and others “close new business” sounds like doublespeak for calling someone who does not know you, in other words, cold calling. It isn’t. Closing new business means persuading an existing client who is buying shafts and arrowheads from us to buy bowstrings and quivers as well. And now the tense of the verb I used. My team is after _continuing_ business, not one time purchases. > [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Cold calling means that the call is placed to someone who does not know you. No introduction, no recommendation, nada. It does not apply to calls made to existing clients. Technically each rep makes occasional such calls, in the sense that they have to introduce themselves when taking on a new account or when a new accounts payable or whatnot starts at a business. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709/80 "2012-10-16T16:31:09Z")
Great. If you had said that days ago when people were first posting asking what you meant by closing new business, we’d have all been spared this lovely sidebar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-people-who-work-for-me-telemarketers-as-you-mean-the-term/637709.md?page=5)