Dialogue: 'Hello, my name is Shelley and I'm a telemarketer'

Irked by telemarketers? It's not exactly beer and skittles on the other end of the telephone either, writes SHELLEY STEVENSON*.

Have you ever telemarketed? If the answer is yes, you will have the deepest sympathy for me. If not, you might utter a few curses under your breath and just leave it at that.

Yes, I am a telemarketer and I am proud of it - because it is not an easy job.

Take my first telemarketing job - roof restoration. Now, that was definitely no easy task. First of all, roofing is not the most interesting topic unless you are a builder. Secondly, the starting price for restoration was $2000. Let me just say it was a very interesting learning curve.

Before I started out I had no idea what telemarketing was. Now, it seems I have discovered a whole new language.

The definition of telemarketing might well be dialling numbers until your fingers go numb and your voice goes hoarse. Rather, it involves marketing a particular service or product. This ranges from cheaper toll calls to fundraising for a particular charity.

Telemarketers call telephone lists, which are generated from the New Zealand On Disk CD-Rom or bought from Telecom.

These lists are called either called hot or cold. The cold list is exactly as it sounds - it is a number the company has never called before. The hot lists are of clients who know of the product or service and sound interested.

After my introduction to telemarketing, I decided that I would never do it again. Whoops! After roofing came video cleaning and then fundraising.

Now, I have three telemarketing jobs - all fundraising. It appears I have suddenly gained a hard shell. All curses seem to bounce off me as if I had an invisible brick wall around me. Dare I say it, I have become an experienced telemarketer.

Almost as daunting as the loud curses inflicted upon me are the abrupt crashes when I am hung up on. But hold on. I have only said "my name is Shelley". What if I were your long-lost sister or something?

Somehow Aucklanders seem to know exactly when you are a telemarketer by the first words you utter. It's a sixth sense.

Here are a few examples of things I have come across while telemarketing. And this is only while doing fundraising calls.

"I am a bit deaf, dear, can you just speak up?"

"The jury, dear? I'm a bit old for that sort of thing."

"You do talk a lot, don't you dear."

Telemarketing is huge in Auckland."Must be good on the telephone, must be confident" and similar phrases pour out of Auckland's situations vacant pages. As does "telemarketers needed ASAP".

The turnover is incredible. In fact, fellow workers praise my longevity. "Three months, you've been here a long time. Most people stay for just one week."

It is not just the fact of being able to take the heat that applies in telemarketing. It is stamina and plain hard work. Like any job, really.

When people ask me what I do for a job, there is no hesitation: "telemarketing". The reaction varies from a "So, you're one of them" kind of look to a "Mmm, that's interesting".

The word telemarketer seems to hold negative connotations. We seem to be thought of as pests, out to get every hardworking Aucklander's last cent. But that isn't so.

If you do decide to take up telemarketing, I have two words for you: be persistent. Of course, there are good weeks and bad weeks but it all evens out in the end.

Just keep trying. I have been there and it is a struggle. Some people seem to have the gift of the gab, a talent they seem to be born with, but for someone like me it is usually learned after years of hard work.

Sometimes, if not often, it can even be rewarding, especially with that first sale. And it would certainly help if every person was just a little bit easier on us telemarketers the next time we call.

* Shelley Stevenson is also an Auckland freelance journalist.