I'm starting to really hate them.
We get probably 4-5 cold calls a day from various services. I would tell you what kinds but most of them won't tell me.
Caller: Is (bossman) there please?
Me: I'm afraid he's not available at the moment could I help you with something? - this is always the answer, even if he's sitting 5' from me just working on something quietly at his desk
Caller: That's ok, I'll call back.
OR: Can you tell me when's a good time to call back?
Me: I'm sorry, his schedule is really unpredictable, did you want to leave a message or send him an email? That's the best way to get a return call.
Caller: That's ok, I'll call back.
And they do, relentlessly. Very few are nasty, and it's a business number so it's not like I can stop answering or report them for anything, it's just a huge time suck, it distracts me from whatever I was working on, and it won't get them anywhere, ever.
The worst part is, I'm expected to make cold calls as part of my job, and I actually tell people my name, where I'm calling from and what I'm hoping to accomplish. My hit rate is over 80% that will at least let us quote for them. How hard is that?
Me: Is so-and-so there please? Oh no, okay can you tell him it's name from company, I was calling because we do work in your area and I was wondering if he had any questions about the services we provide, or if there were any upcoming jobs that he would want quoted. Could I leave a message for him to call me back?
Novel right? Now how do I teach everyone in the world to do this so they will stop calling back every day and asking for the boss, who will never answer?
We get probably 4-5 cold calls a day from various services. I would tell you what kinds but most of them won't tell me.
Caller: Is (bossman) there please?
Me: I'm afraid he's not available at the moment could I help you with something? - this is always the answer, even if he's sitting 5' from me just working on something quietly at his desk
Caller: That's ok, I'll call back.
OR: Can you tell me when's a good time to call back?
Me: I'm sorry, his schedule is really unpredictable, did you want to leave a message or send him an email? That's the best way to get a return call.
Caller: That's ok, I'll call back.
And they do, relentlessly. Very few are nasty, and it's a business number so it's not like I can stop answering or report them for anything, it's just a huge time suck, it distracts me from whatever I was working on, and it won't get them anywhere, ever.
The worst part is, I'm expected to make cold calls as part of my job, and I actually tell people my name, where I'm calling from and what I'm hoping to accomplish. My hit rate is over 80% that will at least let us quote for them. How hard is that?
Me: Is so-and-so there please? Oh no, okay can you tell him it's name from company, I was calling because we do work in your area and I was wondering if he had any questions about the services we provide, or if there were any upcoming jobs that he would want quoted. Could I leave a message for him to call me back?
Novel right? Now how do I teach everyone in the world to do this so they will stop calling back every day and asking for the boss, who will never answer?
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