As I was taking a lengthy walk this morning (my girls have cross country practice at 7:00 AM.  The phone call came before 8:00 on a Friday morning.), I received a phone call from a local number.  Never sure if it is a personal call or a business related call, I went ahead and took the call.  Unfortunately, it was the wrong decision this morning….

Me:  Hello…..SignsSeen

TM (telemarketer):  Could I talk to the person responsible for making decisions?

Me:  I am he.

TM:  Good.  I would like to come by your office this morning and collect an invoice from one of your suppliers.

Me:  Who?  I don’t owe anybody any significant money?

TM:  You are right, you don’t.  I am here to help you collect funds from your customers?  What is your largest outstanding invoice?  Is it for $50.000, $100,000 or $200,000?

The conversation meandered briefly and ended with me saying, “I don’t need your services.”

Frankly, he lost me at “collect”.  When I heard “collect”, my defenses went up.  Unless he was giving me money with no strings attached, I was unlikely to be interested in anything he had to sell.  (Maybe I was extra sensitive to telemarketers.  Last night, a telemarketer yacked at me for 13 minutes without me getting more than a couple of words in.  When he refused to take a “no”, I dropped the “I am hanging up now.”.  He cleared the line VERY quickly. )  I respect peoples right to make a living.  I try and give every person a few moments of my time.  When they choose to ignore my disinterest and talk over me, I know the playing field is unequal.  When the field is unequal, I politely say, “I am hanging up.”

I don’t think a different script would ultimately have changed my conversation with the telemarketer.  However, less “cute” even if it got my attention, would give a better chance of a more extended conversation.  On the other hand, thanks for tipping me off early of what you were peddling.  It saved us both a few moments we could never get back.