Sales Calls

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Oh, or change your number and never let anyone have it. I'm not being flipant btw, that is a genuine option tho a bit of a hassle if you've had your number for years and all your friends and family need to get used to a new one.

I work from home so need to keep the number the same, so its not as if I mind being called at home for genuine enquiries for my art, and obviously I have to answer all calls in case it is a potential customer - but the sales calls far outweigh the calls I get from potential customers.

I spose my own advertising and website also generates cold calling and I almost expect the calls from charities, advertising space etc, etc, but its the computer generated ones that really get me where they start by saying "hello, dont worry its not a sales call" then they try to sell me something! ESPECIALLY when Im registered with the F/TPS

I use the Henry Rollins approach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO-iXfF2qPE

Originally Posted by Razor

I use the Henry Rollins approach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO-iXfF2qPE

Absolute quality!

the other approach is to use a personal attack alarm or air horn down the phone to them!!

Originally Posted by need2ride

I work from home so need to keep the number the same, so its not as if I mind being called at home for genuine enquiries for my art, and obviously I have to answer all calls in case it is a potential customer - but the sales calls far outweigh the calls I get from potential customers.

It maybe worth getting an 0845 number for the business line - you can get them free and direct it anywhere you want (have a look online) - introduce it and phase out the home number and change it to another home number. I also have the 2 numbers on the 1 line thing - cant remember the correct name - but it rings differently for personal calls to business so I pass this to friends.

The only sales call i've enjoyed was one I got while Airsofting.
We forgot to charge our walkie-talkies so we took our phones with us in case we needed to contact each other and got seperated.

Got a call so I answered it (headset)

Caller: Hello sir I'm blah blah blah from yadda yadda yadda
Me: What the? how did you get this numb...

*Grenade bounces though the window and gunfire rakes the room*

Me: S**T GRENADE! GET DOWN! GET DOWN!

*Grenade goes off and the room is stormed, door kicked in - More Gunfire*

Caller: err....is this a good time

*Sounds of a scuffle as I exit to the corridor and bump into a slacker who got left behind and wrestle his gun off him and point it at him*

Me: GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR, DON'T MOVE!! HANDS ON YOUR HEAD! DO IT!! DON'T F***G LOOK AT ME!! LOOK AT THE FLOOR NOW YOU **** ******
DAMMIT WHERE IS OUR BACKUP!!!

*sighs*

Oh...yeah anyway as I was saying how did you get this number

Caller: *click*

they never did call back.....

Originally Posted by PsychoCannon

The only sales call i've enjoyed was one I got while Airsofting.
We forgot to charge our walkie-talkies so we took our phones with us in case we needed to contact each other and got seperated.

Got a call so I answered it (headset)

Caller: Hello sir I'm blah blah blah from yadda yadda yadda
Me: What the? how did you get this numb...

*Grenade bounces though the window and gunfire rakes the room*

Me: S**T GRENADE! GET DOWN! GET DOWN!

*Grenade goes off and the room is stormed, door kicked in - More Gunfire*

Caller: err....is this a good time

*Sounds of a scuffle as I exit to the corridor and bump into a slacker who got left behind and wrestle his gun off him and point it at him*

Me: GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR, DON'T MOVE!! HANDS ON YOUR HEAD! DO IT!! DON'T F***G LOOK AT ME!! LOOK AT THE FLOOR NOW YOU **** ******
DAMMIT WHERE IS OUR BACKUP!!!

*sighs*

Oh...yeah anyway as I was saying how did you get this number

Caller: *click*

they never did call back.....

Brilliant!!!!!

PsychoCannon, LMFAO. Please please please record some sounds the next time you go airsofting, that would be so hilarious to put as the 'On hold music' in the office! (Does that make me an evil person? )

Need2Ride, I understand the woes of telesales calls, and I too need my landline for work. My solution to the problem is this:

Install Skype, pay for a Skype-In number, get a USB phone for my laptop, and a USB/PSTN adaptor for the house. The reason I did this is because then I get a generic number, so clients at work don't actually know where I live and the number was hand picked by me to be memorable.
Clients can either call me directly via skype (skype-skype call, and therefore FREE) or just dial my 0161 number & pay whatever rate they need to depending where they call from. A lot of my clients have actually signed up to skype just so they can get around paying call charges (I work with foreign countries quite a lot - big phone bills) when they call me or I call them.
The USB phone is a very distictive ring, and not changable, but for a £15 phone, I don't really mind. The house phone, has the normal BT ring for calls to my normal BT line, but a call coming through Skype has a much longer "single" ring (opposed to the BT "double ring"). Instantly able to screen calls, without worrying about looking at the computer/phone for CLI.

Yes, there are costs associated, but it's a marvelous setup for me. You can login to skype from N places at the same time. I login at home, at the office, and on my laptop whenever I'm mobile & have an internet connection. Someone calls, all instances of skype ring at the same time. If I miss a call, I have skype forward it to my mobile (which charges me for the priviledge, but I claim it back from work anyhow).

Might not be right for you, but it's definately great for me!

Originally Posted by Gmonsta

oh they are the same with me and also registered. If I am bored they can be very entertaining at times. I am a bit slow so it takes me so long to understand what they are trying to sell/say. See how long you can keep them on the line and waste their time.

Next time - see how many times you can get them to say the word "SV650"

My favourite with any who ask me a question that might feasibly require me to go and check with another person/some paperwork is to say, "hang on I'll just check, I'll be a couple of minutes" then go off for 5-10 minutes. Come back if they're still there say "sorry for the delay, but I think I know where it is now, won't be much longer" then just leave the phone off the hook till they're gone.

All great suggestions.

I once had a guy trying to sell me a mobile phone and service on the phone for about 1/2 an hour. He really thought he was going to get me to sign up (if that was in fact his true purpose) but as soon as he asked for my credit card details I refused. He got rather upset and hung up on me...

thanks for all the suggestions guys - Razor the Henry Rollins one is brilliant LMOA

Baph - some of them do already have a long distinctive ring but Im not aware of having skype? So usually I can ignore those ones but as they seem to be going on all day most days now, and into the evening, if Im asleep (occasionally I have a little "siesta" as I work from home - just to recharge my batteries ) it makes me really cross (although obviously I would never mind being woken up if it were a genuine call for my work).

I have been picking them up over the last few days as there have been so many and asking them not to call back (and telling them Im watching Eastenders )

But Ive decided Im going to have a bit of fun and try out my own sales tactics for my paintings