Over in the phone, I sold photo packages for a national studio...for one day. I was twenty and needed the work. Most people just ended the call without comment; others were very clear in sharing their disgust at my invasion. Eight hours of cold-call telemarketing was more than enough for me. I sold nothing, and grew so very, very tired of the script that I was commanded to follow verbatim. "Follow the script, and you'll sell." I followed the script, and I ran!
These days, I receive only 1 or 2 calls a month from businesses trying to earn my dollar (thank you No Call List!), and I am so very sympathetic to the plight of the phone salesperson, but...I can't stand the lack of creativitiy in their pitch. I can feel their lack of interest even before they say anything, which has led me to a very fun game and the topic of this week's Spark: Create a response to a telemarketer (selling anything--credit card counseling, computer repair, alarm systems) that would keep the invasive caller on the phone while making any stand-by listeners laugh. I've entertained my family at length by dragging out a dead sales pitch well past the point of the the caller's script or desire to close the sale.
It may seem cruel, but it can be a fun source for exploring your inner "dunce." Good luck!
