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ozbound
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« on: October 23, 2002, 09:53:17 pm » |
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I'm calling folks to verify addresses and business categories for our company database. I'm wondering how to word my inquiries so as not to come across sounding like a telemarketer? (I've already had one receptionist hang up on me--okay, maybe they thought I was trying to sell them something but that was completely rude!!  ) I feel especially silly asking them, "What does your company do?" but in some cases we need that information in order to put them in the proper category. |
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jadegrniiz
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« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2002, 11:26:47 pm » |
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I always identify and introduce myself first, then throw the burden of conversation back at 'em.
"Hi, Jane! This is Lori at XYZ Corp, how are you today? I'm trying to update my contact database and wanted to make sure I have your mailing address right. Can you verify that it's still: 123 Main St, Anytown, ST ZIP?"
You could also say "I was wondering if you were still interested in staying on our contact list? Great!! Are you still at 123 Main ST?"
Jadegrniiz
Deskdemon Forum Board Staff
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vegasadmin
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« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2002, 04:37:23 pm » |
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I agree that it's helpful to identify yourself and your company right away. People are more likely to be cooperative when they know right away that you have a legitimate reason for wanting this information.
I've had to do a similar project two times - once for an economic development group that was associated with the local chamber of commerce and once for an architectural firm. The first was a major pain in the butt for everyone concerned because there was a whole list of questions to be answered, not just name and address, and the second was probably an easier task than you've got since I was calling only town and city governments for contact information. They usually had a sheet with all the information on it that they faxed to me. My sympathies because, though it looks like an easy job on the surface I know it's not - largely thanks to telemarketers who use the "updating our data base" approach to try to get information people just don't want them to have. Is it possible to spread this job out over a period of time so that you only have to do it for a small part of each day?
Colleen
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andream
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« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2002, 04:47:48 pm » |
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You know that you can use the net to do this nearly as fast and with half the problems?
Try entering just the phone number (including the area code)for the company, if they've got a website it'll come up and you can vertify the information from there.
Yes, there will be cases where you don't have that ability, but it sure cuts down on the rejection levels.
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ozbound
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« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2002, 06:13:52 pm » |
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That's a good point, Andrea. I actually did find some of the info on Superpages. I'll look for websites too. It sure does save a lot of time, not to mention long-distance phone calls!
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jari
Newbie
Posts: 27
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« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2002, 02:19:31 pm » |
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Why not phone up a directory enquiries company and give them a list of the businesses you want to check. In the UK, our current provider won't do that but we're starting a trial next week with a new company that said they'll give you as many numbers as you want without the hassle of phoning them for 2 numbers at a time. What's more they supposedly always have a human at the end of the line so no more automated answers (a pet hate of mine). I'll let you know if they're any good.
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