Love Those Telephone Solicitors!

By Mary Wilkey
Posted Sunday, October 10, 2004

Hey, I'm just like you! I absolutely go spastic over these unwanted, bothersome calls—at least I used to!

Here is how I've learned to make lemonade out of these lemons:

It is FUN, so EASY, and you just about have a captive audience, as they really don't know where you're going, and they will listen to you!

The first one I ever did went like this:

The gal said, "May I speak to Mary Wilkey, please?"

"This is she."

"This is Darla from Eagle blah-blah-blah . . . "

I cut her off and said, "Hi, how are you today?"

She, of course, said "Just great—how are you?"

"Oh, I'm so glad you asked. No one cares much these days. To tell you the truth, I'm really having a lot of problems—my arthritis is acting up, my eyelashes hurt, and to top it all off, my dog just died!"

She reacted, "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that!"

"Yes, well—things will get better, I'm sure—what company did you say you're with? Could you spell that, please?"

She did, and I asked where the company was located, and she said Denver and Atlanta. I asked where she was calling from, she said Atlanta, and I asked if she was from Atlanta, and she said that she moved there from Indianapolis, and I said I used to live there, and my daughter still does, and isn't it a beautiful city, blah, blah.

Then I asked her how long she'd been surveying people, and she told me, and I said, "You have such a nice speaking voice. You're probably very good at what you do—you know, I just started with a business that could use someone like you—do you have any spare time?"

She said, "Actually, no—that she does this only part time and she has another full time job in advertising/marketing."

I said, "Perfect!"

As it turned out, she just wouldn't let me give her any more info, but isn't this a beautiful way to turn what could be an otherwise unwelcome interruption in your busy day into a potential new member of your marketing force? It also gives me a new "lease on life" regarding the former barrage of unsolicited calls I receive daily.
Now I actually look forward to them as opportunities!

There you have it, folks—a tasty, sweet lemonade
from those tart lemons!

Feel free to reprint the above article with this info intact: Article penned by Mary Wilkey, publisher of 'elf Expressions Ezine: (http://elfexpressionsezine.com). To subscribe, email me at subscribe@elfexpressionsezine.com

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