Ring, ring!! “Rulnick Realty, may I help you?”
PAUSE
“Hi, (stutter) this is Sarah from Travel Rewards, can you hear me ok?”
Ring, ring!! “Rulnick Realty, Wendy Rulnick speaking.”
“Hi, is this Wendy?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I’m calling from Fast-Loop Sales. We’re looking for aggressive real estate agents to handle leads in your area. Could you use more business?”
Ring, ring!! “Rulnick Realty” (down tone)
“THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE (recorded voice). DO NOT HANG UP!!!”
If you are a business owner, you understand how interruptive these robo-calls have become. I get several a day. Oftentimes, there is no one there, they just hang up after you answer. I’ve read this is a way to identify there is a live person at the number dialed, and thereafter, you will get another call from an actual salesperson robo-calling you. A new ploy is to spoof a local number, so you think the call is legit before you answer. For example, my Destin Florida real estate office gets many calls from an “850” area code, but the company is somewhere else, maybe not even in this country. One of the classic tricks is for a robo-calling salesperson to say, “Can you hear me ok?” Don’t say “yes”! (read the article). That’s your clue to hang up. I typically say, “Take me off your list.” I doubt that’s sufficient. It’s gotten to the point where every call I get is suspect unless I know who it is from the caller id on my phone. It’s really sad. Being totally forthright, it’s hard to remain upbeat when answering the phone when every other call is either a computer, a hang-up, or a robo-calling salesperson. I actually accidentally hung up on a real business associate once because I thought they were spammers! After realizing my mistake, I called the party right back and apologized, and we both laughed over it. But, seriously, how much time is spent by businesses handling these calls, when it would be better served helping customers?
Here are some interesting articles on handling robo-calling telemarketers from USA Today:
Can the FCC really put the kibosh on robocalls?
More: How to stop those endless, annoying robocalls to your smartphone
More: How to beat robocallers and telemarketers on your landline
Finally, when you call me, I will do my best to answer with a smile… that is, if I haven’t had a dozen robocalls that day!
It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!
Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty 850-650-7883
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