Why I discourage unsolicited phone calls from speakers
Jan/29/2008
This
rant refers to callers who do not book an appointment
and pay me for my time. My regular consulting rate
for non-members has been $450 an hour. My rate for CF
member-speakers is $100 for 30 minutes
or
$200 for an hour. (Members get a $250 discount.) I
am perfectly happy to accept any call where a
caller prepays for the time required. I am also
happy to take calls from reporters and producers
and meeting planners.
Here's why.
1. Easily, I work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. After 30 years of working a schedule like this I need to cut back hours and have some kind of life. To do this means working only at tasks that are productive (income-generating).
2. Most callers don't identify themselves and want information from me, but won't reveal who they are. It's not polite and I'm not comfortable being at such a disadvantage.
3. Many callers won't tell me what they want me to do for them, which is counter-productive. It makes me think it will be difficult getting any kind of information from them if I work with them in the future.
4. Many callers are unknowns and want me to make them famous without paying for the marketing service. That's unrealistic and it isn't going to happen.
5. Almost none of the callers have read the FAQ or articles on the web site and want me to tell them what they can easily read for themselves. That tells me they aren't willing to do the work and don't value my time or efforts in posting the information.
6. Almost none of the callers who place unsolicited phone calls to me ever contact me again, except to call a year or so later with the same questions. That tells me they aren't ready or serious or realistic in their expectations.
7. Those who do contact me again haven't paid any attention to the explanations I took great pains to provide. That tells me they don't respect my time.
8. I usually have to answer the same questions all over again rendering the time I spent on the phone with them for free a complete waste of my time. Again, this shows disrespect.
9. Most callers require about an hour of my time; with about 6 callers a day, nearly all of my income-producing time is eaten up by unproductive calls.
10. I prefer to spend my time doing income-producing activities, and to leave the phone lines open for reporters and journalists who want to do a story on the directory that will promote the speakers who have paid to have a presence here.
11. I don't have hired staff to answer phones for me. I answer my own phone because if it's a reporter who has a deadline and needs an interview right now or a meeting planner who needs a speaker fast, I want them to reach me, not have to deal with staff or be put on hold.
12. I charge for phone consults - as indicated above and on several pages on this web site - as a way to reduce the number of unsolicited calls that go nowhere. When that policy is ignored, it's a sign of someone who takes advantage of others... and I don't do business with people who exploit others.
13. I run a tight ship so I can serve the speaker-members where it matters: media and press interviews to generate interest among meeting planners, and contract negotiations to bring speakers greater incomes.
14. When a speaker calls me and doesn't give me any contact info I have no way to follow up with relevant news later.
15. I have one phone - a cell phone - and no call waiting. When I am on the phone with a non-paying caller, that means nobody else can get through. If a reporter or producer calls they get a busy signal. They will likely call a competitor and not do any promotion of the directory.
This is why I prefer to hear from you by email first. No matter how wonderful you are, it doesn't pay for me to give away $450 worth of my time - my hourly rate as a consultant - just to get an $99 membership fee. This is a for-profit business; not a philanthropic society.
Andrea
Here's why.
1. Easily, I work 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. After 30 years of working a schedule like this I need to cut back hours and have some kind of life. To do this means working only at tasks that are productive (income-generating).
2. Most callers don't identify themselves and want information from me, but won't reveal who they are. It's not polite and I'm not comfortable being at such a disadvantage.
3. Many callers won't tell me what they want me to do for them, which is counter-productive. It makes me think it will be difficult getting any kind of information from them if I work with them in the future.
4. Many callers are unknowns and want me to make them famous without paying for the marketing service. That's unrealistic and it isn't going to happen.
5. Almost none of the callers have read the FAQ or articles on the web site and want me to tell them what they can easily read for themselves. That tells me they aren't willing to do the work and don't value my time or efforts in posting the information.
6. Almost none of the callers who place unsolicited phone calls to me ever contact me again, except to call a year or so later with the same questions. That tells me they aren't ready or serious or realistic in their expectations.
7. Those who do contact me again haven't paid any attention to the explanations I took great pains to provide. That tells me they don't respect my time.
8. I usually have to answer the same questions all over again rendering the time I spent on the phone with them for free a complete waste of my time. Again, this shows disrespect.
9. Most callers require about an hour of my time; with about 6 callers a day, nearly all of my income-producing time is eaten up by unproductive calls.
10. I prefer to spend my time doing income-producing activities, and to leave the phone lines open for reporters and journalists who want to do a story on the directory that will promote the speakers who have paid to have a presence here.
11. I don't have hired staff to answer phones for me. I answer my own phone because if it's a reporter who has a deadline and needs an interview right now or a meeting planner who needs a speaker fast, I want them to reach me, not have to deal with staff or be put on hold.
12. I charge for phone consults - as indicated above and on several pages on this web site - as a way to reduce the number of unsolicited calls that go nowhere. When that policy is ignored, it's a sign of someone who takes advantage of others... and I don't do business with people who exploit others.
13. I run a tight ship so I can serve the speaker-members where it matters: media and press interviews to generate interest among meeting planners, and contract negotiations to bring speakers greater incomes.
14. When a speaker calls me and doesn't give me any contact info I have no way to follow up with relevant news later.
15. I have one phone - a cell phone - and no call waiting. When I am on the phone with a non-paying caller, that means nobody else can get through. If a reporter or producer calls they get a busy signal. They will likely call a competitor and not do any promotion of the directory.
This is why I prefer to hear from you by email first. No matter how wonderful you are, it doesn't pay for me to give away $450 worth of my time - my hourly rate as a consultant - just to get an $99 membership fee. This is a for-profit business; not a philanthropic society.
Andrea