I really hate telemarketers who just launch into an obviously pre prepared script, but have’t taken the time to work out will happen f you ask questions or say things off script. So instead of being able to deal with it, they just plough on with their script regardless and hope you won’t notice.

Oh and ones who won’t take a polite no for an answer.

Persistance in the face of a polite “I have no need for your services but thanks for the call” – One firm in South Wales calls me every week to be told the same thing, despite having been asked at least a dozen times to remove me from database. Oh, there’s another one…not removing from database when asked to do so….

1. They haven’t done their homework about me, my work and my office set-up
2. They work to a dull script and my attempts to liven it up don’t make them smile
3. They go straight into the conversation without checking to see if I’m OK to talk now.

For me it’s fundamentally because I dislike being telemarke *to*. Why would I want to inflict that on
other people?!?!

Besides, I’ve never yet met a telemarketer who can tell me what hit rates I can expect and so there’s no way for me to know if it’s going to be worth the money… or at least what the risks are.

We tend to get lots of people cold calling our business trying to sell us stuff which is fine but I really think that they should really take the time and effort to research what it is we do. The first thing that I personally do before I call a company for the first time is check out their web site so I can then speak with some knowledge of what they do rather than lots of ums and ahs!

Junk mail you can open and discard when convenient. Telemarketers phone at the most inconvenient times, without being able to tell if you’re free before they ring. Consequently it’s almost always annoying. As a matter of principle I blacklist cold calling companies and never do business with them.

This is an easy one for me: The telemarketer who calls you by your partner’s surname, wants to know things you’d never tell family and friends and thinks they know you and your business better than you do. In short, the Assumption Squad! As the sayings go:
1. To assume is to make an ass out of u + me or 2. Assumption is the mother of all f*** ups.

As soon as I hear the opening line “how are you today” or “isn’t it great weather today” I feel like someone has invaded my space and is trying too hard to be my “friend”. The call rarely lasts 10 seconds. The worst start for me is the question “do you have room in your business for an extra 20 clients?”. As if I am going to talk about my business needs to a cold call stranger.