I was doing some chores at home when the phone rang. The call display showed a number that looked familiar to me. So I picked up the phone and, after asking for me, the person on the other end of the line, someone who works at a bank I do business with, immediately began promoting the latest service the bank provides. I told him that I was not interested and the caller promptly hanged up.
The above was one of the less painful telemarketing calls I have received. I have also had some bad experiences with telemarketers before (with this being one of the extreme examples.) While I do not like telemarketers, I have come to the realization that being a telemarketer may be one of the least desirable/most despised (desk) jobs there is.
I am sure there are quite a few people who dislike receiving calls from telemarketers and some of them may have strong feelings towards such calls (and those who make the calls). If someone who despises telemarketers receives a sales call, one may immediately hang up with the telemarketer states the company one works for. Such treatment is mild compared to someone who starts a diatribe (which may include expletives) directed towards the telemarketer making the call. It must be tough, for anyone, to be yelled at by people who are most likely strangers for the sole reason that one is trying to do one's job. The toughest part, for the telemarketer, is that one has to remain calm and not to yell back while the person on the other end of the line rants on and on, or else a complaint against the telemarketer may be raised by the recipient.
For telemarketers, it can be very frustrating to hear so many people refuse the products they are selling. One has to wonder how are they able to keep their frustration in check during sales calls. (One possible reason for telemarketers keeping their emotions in check may be that the consequence of venting one's frustration during a call is being fired.)
When the recipient of the call says "no" initially, a telemarketer has to ask (oneself) one question &mash; should I end this call and find someone else to sell it to; or should I try to convince this person that the product I am selling suits the customer? If the answer is the former, both the caller and the recipient move on. (This is, to me, a better alternative as the telemarketer get to call someone else quicker and the call recipient get back to work/play/sleep.
If, on the other hand, the telemarketer decides to convince the recipient (whether the decision is by choice or by force) to make the purchase, the telemarketer would start stating the (supposed) benefits of the product one is selling (which is probably typed in a list). If the call recipient still reclines the offer, the telemarketer may need to resort to utter a few lines about saving money/time, helping one's family, finding peace of mind, etc., hoping that the constant barrage would wear down the recipient and force the recipient to relent and to sign up for/purchase the promoted product.
Sometimes the telemarketers may be worn down from making the same sales pitch and saying "I understand, but..." (when the call recipient declines the offer), call after call, day after day. It must take quite an amount of endurance/perserverance for someone to be able to withstand the number of "not interested" responses a telemarketer receives each day. The toughest part may be that one has little time to recover from the previous call before making the next one in an upbeat/enthusiastic mood.
I understand that being a telemarketer is a difficult job. However, when a telemarketer calls, my response would likely remain "sorry, I am not interested".