How to handle a TelemarketerWritten by Reagan D. Lynch
It's like clockwork. You sit down to dinner and phone rings. You answer it. The caller is trying to sell you something or tell you that you've won a fabulous prize.Here we go again. You just got a telemarketing call. So do you want to know how to handle these guys? Well, keep reading. The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule helps protect you from abusive and deceptive telephone sales practices. The Rule restricts calling times to hours between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. (your local time) and puts other limits on telemarketers, too. For example: *Telemarketers must tell you it's a sales call, name of seller, and what they're selling before they make their pitch. If they're pitching a prize promotion, they must tell you that no purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win. *It's illegal for telemarketers to lie about their goods or services; earnings potential, profitability, risk, or liquidity of an investment; or nature of a prize in a prize-promotion scheme. *Before you pay, telemarketers must tell you total cost of goods they're selling, any restrictions on getting or using them, and if a sale is final or non-refundable. In a prize promotion, they must tell you odds of winning, that no purchase or payment is necessary to win, and any restrictions or conditions of receiving prize. *It's illegal for a telemarketer to withdraw money from your checking account without your express, verifiable authorization. *Telemarketers cannot lie to get you to pay, no matter what method of payment you use. *You do not have to pay for credit repair, recovery room, or advance-fee loan or credit services until these services have been delivered. *It's illegal for a telemarketer to call you if you have asked not to be called. Ok, now that we know what they can and can't do while on phone with us, let's get them off phone altogether. Warning--some of following suggestions are liable to make you laugh. I have personally used each of these, and it is so much fun! 1. Depending on gender of person calling you, start hitting on them. That's right--make a pass at them. For example, I am a male. If person calling me is a female, I will flirt with her until there is no tomorrow. I have done this twice, and person hung around for about 30 seconds before she called for a supervisor. That's my signal to hang-up.
| | Letting Go Of Wanting Your Own ApprovalWritten by Peter Murphy
It is easy to see how important it is to be approved by those people who matter most to you in your life. Family and friends are ones you turn to first in a time of crisis. You count on them for support and encouragement and their approval of who you are and what you do is deeply significant.Ever had a time in your life when those closest to you disapproved of your behavior? It is very uncomfortable is it not? In a moment, peace of mind can vanish in a puff of smoke and you crave approval more than anything else. This time in wilderness seems to last forever and when it is finally over newly earned approval of your peers feels just great. This wanting approval can get out of control though. We can easily extend this need for approval to all people we come into contact with in our life. When we want and need approval we encounter this lack of approval everywhere we go; waiter does not smile when he takes your order; checkout operator hardly looks at you; and your boss only compliments your work when moon is full and first Tuesday of month precedes a wet weekend! All of a sudden life is a struggle, a constant battle to get other people, all people, to like you and to approve of you. And more you want this approval less you seem to get it. What is solution? The answer is to not be concerned about what other people think of you. This can be achieved by approving of yourself completely despite your past indiscretions, failings and errors of judgment. When you totally accept and approve of yourself you will have little interest in how other people view you. If they like you *Great*, if they do not, that is their choice and their loss.
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