Monday, June 25th, 2007
Suppose that a nonprofit organization calls you on a regular basis to see if you are interested in renewing a membership or donating to its cause. Perhaps, a potential supplier calls you regularly to see if you are interested in buying its “widget.”
You have the ability to negotiate when dealing with telemarketers. Your response is a negotiation. Most responses fit into one of the five styles of negotiation which are avoidance, accommodation, compromise, problem solving, or competing. Think about five typical responses and which category they may fall into…
Hanging up or seeing that it is a telemarketer and not answering the telephone would be two examples of the avoidance technique. In this approach, people simply avoid negotiating.
If you listen to the person’s speech even though you are not going to buy, this consistent with an accommodation approach. With accommodation, you solve the problem by solving the issue the other person is facing. In this situation, the other person is trying to find people to listen to his or her information and that is what you are doing.
Suppose that you tell the other person you are busy and agree that the person can call you at a different time. This is a compromise. With this, both parties get less than what they were hoping for, but the result is somewhere between what the parties are hoping for. Â
Imagine asking questions, learning about the widget, and mentioning it to your friend who may have a need for what is being sold. That could be a problem-solving approach. With problem solving, people often suggest out-of-the-box ideas that expand the realm of options beyond those that are ”obvious.”Â
What approach would you be using if you told the person to go away and never call you again?  This approach would be one manifestation of competing.
The circumstances determine what response is appropriate. The key is to use the approach that is most likely to lead to the result that you are seeking.
By the way, on the subject of telemarketers, here are a few tips for dealing with telemarketers…
Technorati Tags: negotiation style business telemarketers avoidance competing problem solving accommodation compromiseTelemarketers often use “limited time offers” to try to force your hand. Rather than falling victim to that, ask yourself if you were looking for what is being offered before you received the call.
Stay connected to your community. When people are isolated, they may be more vulnerable to telemarketers’ tricks. These are two reasons that many elderly people contribute to causes they don’t support and buy widgets they don’t need.
Get it in writing. If someone calls you via telephone and you did not initiate the contact, have them send you the information in the mail.
Give the telemarketer little or no information.  Any information you provide can be used to try to make the sale. The less you say, the more difficult it is for them to sell you something.
Use the do not call registry.  Click here to visit the site and register. You can also make complaints about callers on this site.
