Inn the news June 20, 2012

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JBloggs

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Don't be disappointed, I may have some google alerts later on, but this fit this category. No matter what you do someone is trying to sell you something. Consider it a pet peeve of mine, calls emails letter weekly here.
I got a call from the link below, in FLA. I just stepped back in and was about to return the call and googled instead. Now admittedly this is a great idea, but one cover photo I have already framed, and the article about us being for sale, do I really want to frame that? I mean COME ON! She said she saw the news article and... (So silly me thinking she may be interested in the for sale portion of the news article)
www. inthenewsonline .com/ << remove the spaces and cut n paste.
 
I get this in the mail, e-mail, and on the phone every time we are in the paper or a magazine. They offer plaques too. And it is not just the B & B - was in a few other write-ups with the same results.
 
Luckily, we get a lot less of that than you do, south of the border. But it is incredible the number of people trying to sell me being listed on the first page of google. And for the longest time things were quiet and then Main found me and now my phone rings from them before my call blocking gets them.
Sometimes I wonder if it's just too cheap to make a telephone call. I mean, in spite of repeated NO they keep on calling. Maybe if we had an option on the telephone "For $10 we can guarantee you that someone will actually listen to your sales pitch for 5 minutes, for $1 we might answer the phone, for 50c, you can leave voicemail. All others, you are being screened. Thank you for your call."
 
I had a particularly persistent one from Y elp. On the phone call I told her to send me an email with details and if we were interested we would call. The email had no information and asked for a time for a 30-minute (!!!) demo over the phone. Then she called, got my husband, asked when I would be back, called again while I was home and left a msg to call her for a demo. I responded to her email that we weren't interested because we still had no information in writing. Her next email suggested two times when she could perform this 30 minute live demo. Of course, we're not doing that, and with her fifth email she sent a link to their information page about marketing program costs (starting at $300 a month) but she clearly has the wherewithal to spend lots of time on the phone.
Even without all of the tricks that phone marketers use, like recording your conversation and editing it to look like you approved some expense, why would a decent-size company like Y elp think that business owners will sign up to spend $300 to $1000 per month over the phone with nothing in writing? I guess people do it, or they wouldn't keep trying.
 
I had a particularly persistent one from Y elp. On the phone call I told her to send me an email with details and if we were interested we would call. The email had no information and asked for a time for a 30-minute (!!!) demo over the phone. Then she called, got my husband, asked when I would be back, called again while I was home and left a msg to call her for a demo. I responded to her email that we weren't interested because we still had no information in writing. Her next email suggested two times when she could perform this 30 minute live demo. Of course, we're not doing that, and with her fifth email she sent a link to their information page about marketing program costs (starting at $300 a month) but she clearly has the wherewithal to spend lots of time on the phone.
Even without all of the tricks that phone marketers use, like recording your conversation and editing it to look like you approved some expense, why would a decent-size company like Y elp think that business owners will sign up to spend $300 to $1000 per month over the phone with nothing in writing? I guess people do it, or they wouldn't keep trying..
I often start phone calls with "All purchase order must be signed in ink and can only be authorized in writing. No one at the company is authorized to make purchased by telephone." It's on the record at that point I just repeat "No one is authorized to make telephone purchases." At that point they realize that even if they get a yes, it means nothing.
 
I was contacted by them also when my personal business was in the paper a few years ago. It was very expensive and really wasn't worth it for me (I had a home-based business). I think if it's a business that has a waiting room and people coming in that haven't made the "buy now" decision, it would be a great marketing tool. But, for you I would think it would be more of a novelty for your own enjoyment.
 
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