Arguably, a discourse entered into with a salesperson is never to be entered into with the understanding that the discourse is merely a conversation. Salespeople are, it is important to remember, specifically trained to persuade a person to buy a product; very simply, to a salesperson, everybody is a consumer and every discourse has an agenda.

Unfortunately and to provide evidence to support this argument, it is often the naive, ignorant or unknowing individual party or parties who are targeted by salespeople and not simply or specifically those who fit the demographic at which a product is aimed or intended.

What is Cold Calling?

Cold Calling describes situations in which a person’s home or personal landline or mobile phone less often (as it costs companies more to call mobile networks than landline numbers) are called by salespeople who are either self-employed or more often employed by a company or business which has a product to sell.

What Sort of Businesses and Companies Make Use of Cold Call Sales Tactics?

The answer to that question is that reputable businesses or companies do not operate via aggressive and unethical sales techniques such as cold calling; a company or business with a genuinely useful or disable product or service does not need to ‘drum up’ sales by such means or amass revenue via ‘bullying’ potential customers into investing in their products or services. Hence, cold calling is a popular method by which specifically timeshare scams operate, and cold calls from any supposed business or company should as such be received with caution and suspicion.

Why Does Cold Calling Work?

Cold calling works, when it does work because consumers who receive a cold call are denied the opportunity to prepare themselves. When a person actively seeks out a product or service they are able to set a budget, do their research and arm themselves with the information they need to enter into a financial negotiation or make a purchase (of any kind) knowing what they want, what they are buying and how to go about getting whatever ‘it’ might be for a price they are happy and able to pay.

In contrast, when a person is called ‘out of the blue’ and made an offer it is all too easy to become flustered. In fact, cold call salespeople specifically exploit this fact in order to ‘push’ a sale. Equally, scammers capitalise on this reality in exactly the same way and both will often as such tell the person they have called that they have ‘a once in a lifetime offer’ to make or offer terms which comes with a deadline. That is, you buy now or miss out. Then, people feel they haven’t the time to properly orientate themselves or consider whether what is being offered is a ‘good’ deal. Hence, making any purchase or sale, such as buying or selling a timeshare via the phone is not just ill-advised but a gamble. Even if a business or company are operating legally and are consequently not ‘scamming’ you into parting with your money or existing timeshare, it is highly unlikely the deal you will get will be the best out there.

What Should I Do if I Receive a Cold Call?

Of course, it is unrealistic to simply hang up or ignore the phone unless you are expecting a call, but because cold call salespeople know this many will begin their sales pitch before you have had time to even fully ascertain with whom you are speaking. Hence, do not feel it is rude to interrupt a person when you receive an unsolicited phone to ask with whom you are speaking; ascertain whether a call is a cold call made by a salesperson and so whether to end the conversation there.

Finally, if you are looking to buy or sell a timeshare before you start shopping for that ‘great deal’, do as much research and learn as much as you can to ensure that you are sufficiently knowledgeable and able to find what you are looking for and subsequently negotiate the terms of the transaction.

Posted on: 29th April 2016