Done telemarketing in both incoming calls (Ticketmaster, required to upsell entertainment guides and CDs) and outgoing calls (CUC, wonder if they are still around).
About scripts: At CUC, we were given manila folders containing the exact scripts for the initial pitch and for nearly every conceivable rejection. These scripts were approved by clients, and we were absolutely not permitted to deviate from these scripts. You could not stick by the script and have a conversation with the person at the other end of the line.
About refusals: Agree that the initial “No” is universal. I worked at CUC for three months, and got a sale on approximately 1% of my calls (better when we were selling coupons for restaurants; much worse when we were selling credit reports). Nearly all of them started out with a “no.” We were not allowed to hand up until we’d received two refusals (although “not interested,” at CUC, was good enough). Thank God it wasn’t three.
About the do-not-call list: If the person at the other end asks to be placed on a do-not-call list, there was a script for that too. The script said that “there will be a processing period of two to three weeks, during which time you may conceivably receive an additional call.” The only exception - which would get you off our list quickly - is if you threaten to prosecute.
About the delay between pick-up and hearing a voice: The management walks a tightrope between getting as many calls out as possible and not causing victims - err, would-be customers - to wait. The computer placing the calls had an adjustable parameter called an “abandon rate.” A short abandon rate means that the computer will hang up quickly if no telemarketer is available. This results in a pause of about 30 seconds between calls for the telemarketer - good for the telemarketer, good for the customer, bad for getting a large volume of calls out. A long abandon rate means that the computer will keep the victim waiting for a while, as long as 10 or so seconds. This causes a queue to build up, and no breaks between calls. Makes for cranky telemarketers, victims who are already irate before you even say “hello,” but it does help fulfill the contractual agreement with the client to make a lot of calls.
Toward the end of my tenure at CUC, I would take a breather of my own between the time the customer hung up and the time I signaled I was ready for another call. Sometimes as long as two minutes. I didn’t care - I considered my work to be a burden to society, and if they fired me, so what? I was making shit money.
Some of the other telemarketers really creeped me out. When new telemarketers came on board, we’d write down our names and a comment about ourselves as an introduction. A few would make good remarks, such as “Remember, you’re more than this job.” The majority, however, would write chilling remarks such as “I love being 100% scripted.”
When I worked at Ticketmaster, I did deviate from the script - slightly more tolerant environment. The Entertainment Guide pitch went something like:
[QUOTE=TicketMaster]
Have you heard of the TicketMaster Entertainment Guide? It will tell you about upcoming concerts, sporting events, blahblahblah. While the guide itself is free, there is a shipping and handling fee of a dollar a month.
[/QUOTE]
Management knew the pitch was worthless - basically asking customers if they wanted to pay to get junk mail - so while their official policy was to stick to the script, nobody got in trouble for wandering from it as long as they got sales (I usually did) and didn’t say anything that was patently false.