Actually, I fully understood what he meant from the beginning - that he probes for new (additional) business with current customers. I think people were just misunderstanding and/or talking past each other, and assuming “probe for new business” meant “call and talk to new businesses”. There’s a different between “new business” with a company, and getting “new businesses” as customers.
In the OP, Skald said (my emphasis added):
The three items on the list (a, b, and c) were all examples of things they do with existing customers.
It was completely obvious. Since he said they only call existing clients “closing new business” means new orders from those established clients. Everyone is so gung-ho to play gotchaya they thought there was some double speak when it was pretty plain language.
Well, I’m glad it was obvious to you. It wasn’t obvious to other people who are just as qualified in the field of business. But Waenara’s first paragraph isn’t actually helpful re: the discussion. It’s preening that he knew the answer already.
And I don’t see how my “first paragraph” was preening. Maybe just the first half of the first sentence should have been omitted or worded differently. But the other two and half sentences were trying to explain where I thought the point of confusion was. I don’t think saying people are “talking past each other” and giving an explanation isn’t helpful.
It’s not business knowledge - it’s English. Unless you thought he was lying about “only calling existing clients” the meaning of “new business” is obvious. Pretty simple.
I don’t consider upselling to be cold selling. EVERY BUSINESS UPSELLS. Some do it on the phone. So maybe that’s telemarketing vs tele-cold-call-sales?
Maybe we need new words.
Like…customer rep.
Incidentally, my reps have no incentive to call customers without an account. They don’t work off a leads list; they work off a territory list, consisting of the clients already assigned to them. They are required to contact a certain unique number of customers a day, and they can only get credit for a call if there’s an account attached to it. Making their productivity numbers impacts their reviews. So even some hardcore refugee from a cold-calling business had the idea to buy his own leads list and try to recruit new customers, he wouldn’t get credit for the calls he was making, and he’d be taking time away from doing the tasks he’s reviewed for.
Your description seems overly complicated. If I read it correctly, you do not actually solicit clients over the phone. That would make you not a telemarketer. It’s the same thing where, if you sign up for someone’s email newsletter, even if you later decide you don’t want it, it’s not spam.
None of the rest of what you said matters. It doesn’t matter when or where you call. All that matters is that you only call people you are already in business relationship with who willingly gave their number. To claim that is wrong is ridiculous.
And to use telemarketer for something that’s not inherently bad is just, well, unusual to say the least.
If a customer or potential customer calls up, gives a number, and wants to get a quote, that’s one thing. If a business calls a customer or potential customer and attempts to sell or upsell, that’s another thing. Both activities are telemarketing, in that they are sales over the phone, but one activity is desired and valued by the customer, and the other might be desired or valued, but it might also be regarded as an imposition.
Giving a phone number is NOT the same as giving permission to be solicited. Usually, the phone number is required to set up an account, and in the OP’s case, there’s no way to tell the business “Don’t call me to sell me more stuff”, the customer is obliged to tell the business to quit calling him/her/it. It might be legal to solicit people who are current customers, but what is legal is not always right.
I buy stuff over the internet. Usually I’m required to give a phone number and an email address. I always give a fake phone number, and I give my spamcatcher address, unless I WANT to receive emails. Some companies have a checkbox which asks whether I want to receive promotional emails. Many don’t. The ones that send me promotional emails without my permission are put on my shit list, and I don’t buy from them again.
I value my time and privacy much more highly than some random company’s profits. Some companies value their profits more than my time and privacy. My continued business will depend on whether a company respects my time and privacy.
The people claiming anything sold via the phone = telemarketers = evil are simply ignorant of how most commercial business occurs.
For on-going, active business, an eight second introduction is not a significant interruption. If it were cold calling, then yes, it’s telemarketing. Calling existing clients to let them know that you are the go to person in not. Unless it’s a weekly thing.
Vendors who take the time to understand what I need are extremely valuable.
The only thing I’d have my salespeople do differently is to ask if it’s OK to give the eight second introduction rather than tell them to write down our number. I hate being forced to do anything without my buy in, and I never force anything on them.
Our call go something like this (translated from the Japanese)
Hello this is Bayer from Tokyo Torture Toys, am I speaking to Ms. World Ruler?
Do you have a moment? I’d like to make sure you have my contact info and to confirm yours?
(If not) Is there a better time to call?
(wait for them to respond, if they seem hesitant) If you need anything please call and ask for Tokyo Bayer. Have a good day!
I’m not claiming that telemarketers are automatically evil, though some telemarketers are. In fact, if the customer initiates the transaction, I’d say that the telemarketer can be on the side of good.
My objection is that the assumption is that a customer WANTS the telemarketing, and has to opt out of it for every company s/he’s doing business with. I don’t like opt out, I like opt in. If I want a company to call me, I’ll let them know.
If you reread the OP, this is for on-going business of $20-$200 a day. That’s a minimum of $400 per month or $4800 per year of on going business.
Small businesses will typically have less than 10 to 20 vendor they do that much business with. If each vendor calls twice a year, that’s 320 seconds or five minutes per year.
His clients (and mine) are people who use these services / products in their business which helps them make money. None of us in these type of businesses make money by pissing off the clients.
This, from someone who cuts cold-callers short when I’m not interested.
To me, it makes no difference if it’s my existing supplier calling me to upsell something, or a cold call from a competing supplier - both are telemarketing. But there is a difference between that and account management. I just think the job description in the OP conflates the two aspects, which means unfortunately the account management bit gets the telemarketer santorum on itself. And I truly loathe telemarketers. They’re the only people who make me rethink my pacifism.
The Op seems all about buzz words, not clarity. This, and his refusal to even let the people doing it, say the word ‘telemarketing’ are big red flags for me.
Stopped reading after awhile, but I’ll put my 2 cents in: To my mind, teh Ebil Telemarketers = cold calling private phones. Cold-calling related places of business without first sending them written information would be a stretch but I’d accept it.
Your friend deosn’t want a job; she wants a paycheck. Don’t hire her.
