Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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September 28, 2007

I Asked a Telemarketer for Her Number — I Actually Wanted It!

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 7:02 am

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My son is a recent college graduate.

Since his last year of school started, our phone has been inundated with calls from Student Loan Consolidation Services. They’re calling, asking for my son. Their objective is his business. His name is on some list of the class of 2007. They want to refinance what they assume to be my son’s school loans.

To say these calls are an irritant is to say that major dental surgery is not fun. It’s a relentless one-a-at-time water torture — daily ringing, the same hour, the same number. No message is left on the machine. Eventually we have to answer each one to make it stop.

The call routine is almost word-for-word predictable. The waste of time is pitiful. A bored caller goes through a call script, and we go through our own to get off the call list — the list we shouldn’t be on to start with.

Then this week, Maria called.

When I said, “Who’s calling?”

She said, “Are you his mother?” It was authentic and transparent. Imagine that. She wanted to know about the person — me — answering the phone.

Before she got much further, I had to ask her name, thank her, tell her how nice that was.

We had a great conversation. She asked my son’s situation. She told me two things she liked about what she had to offer and why she believed in it. We both knew it wasn’t my decision.

Then, I did something I’ve never done before. I asked a telemarketer if I could have her number. I took it down and gave it to my son. One day later, I explained to him why he should call her.

Maria, the caller from National Student Loan Division, deserves this mention. She made me a person, when her whole industry had made me a target.

Thank you, Maria.

Yeah, I’m thinking it’s sad that I find this remarkable.

I’m also thinking that maybe if we tell everyone . . . Maria might be the first and the only.

[Please know that this is not an endorsement of the company or a recommendation of their financing. I have not done the research. This is as statement of an outstanding example of customer relationships.]

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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13 Comments to “I Asked a Telemarketer for Her Number — I Actually Wanted It!”

  1. September 28th, 2007 at 8:25 am
    Mother Earth said

    I have been told I have a lovely phone voice. I even recently looked at telemarketing as a way to earn quick cash. I didn’t think I could take the no’s.

    Prior to my last marriage I seemingly was on some lists for something and at dinner time the calls would start. I used to turn the call around and try and sell to them - boy did they hang up fast!!

    However one guy didn’t and eventually he asked me out!! Isn’t that funny??

    * i do not go out w/ telemarketers

    Mother Earth
    http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

  2. September 28th, 2007 at 8:26 am
    Mother Earth said

    OH PS

    oh very happy college graduation - how wonderful!!

  3. September 28th, 2007 at 8:29 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Mother Earth,
    I bet you would be as successful as Maria. The trick would be finding a company that you believed in, which would mean one that let you tell the story your way. . . .

    I can’t begin to tell you how compelling it was to have a real person talking to me.

  4. September 28th, 2007 at 11:20 am
    Mother Earth said

    I feel that way about customer service in general - if someone treats me like a person - and your so there how compelling it is - I am very loyal. I will hunt them down for more of the same. It’s always funny when they
    “get” that you are back for more because of all they did for you the last time “oh that’s my job” no honey you are much more than your job

    sortof the model I like to follow

    I actually will be doing some phone work for this new freelance job ( liz did i tell you derrick and I are launching another blog? I am beside myself excited about it!! Stay tuned )

    anyway once I start doing the phone gig maybe i can get a date out of it too ( giggle )

    Mother Earth
    http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

  5. September 28th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
    Teresa Valdez Klein said

    Why is it that we always have the least interested, least involved people working in customer service and customer outreach? I dread calling customer service for my bank, my cell phone company and especially my utility company.

    When you pay customer service and telemarketing people minimum wage and stuff them into boring call scripts rather than letting them be human and creative on the phone, no wonder the vast majority of them are bored, detached and uncaring.

  6. September 28th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
    James said

    Great post Liz! This happens to be just where I am heading and a good example of how to do it right.
    It really does come down to relationship and building it before even trying to sell or market. Building the relationship is the real work, the rest then takes care of itself.

  7. September 28th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Mother Earth!
    You are so incredible! How do you do it all?!!! People say I have it going on. You make me look like I’m sleeping. :)

  8. September 28th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
    ME Strauss said

    James!
    What a great quote!

    Building the relationship is the real work, the rest then takes care of itself.

  9. September 28th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
    Mother Earth said

    oh my gosh liz - if i have impressed you as someone who can “do it all”, well that’s kindof amazing -

    your chatting with a gal who has recently hit a brick wall and really grappling to make it back to some stability.

    I have had some really incredible good fortune these last few weeks and also some rotten you’ve got to be kidding days - today being one

    I have been typing non-stop these few weeks to make some money and to make some sense out of it all

    thank you tremendously for saying I’m incredible — that way made my day

    Mother Earth
    http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

  10. September 28th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Oh Mother Earth,
    You’ve made my day over and over. Angels are everywhere waiting for you to notice them. Just look up from those keys. :)

  11. September 29th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
    JohnB said

    If only we had one of these here in Canada:

    https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx

  12. September 29th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi JohnB,
    Welcome. If only the one the US worked like it’s supposed to. . . .

  13. June 11th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
    galbehindthevoice said

    I am in teleservices and really like my company and we call to give people practically free vacations to the beach for our timeshare advertising..I just wish people would actually hear me out cuz its a great deal I am offering them….Needless to say I get hung up on for hours..lol..they dont realize what they are missing out on..go easy on the telemarketers lol

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