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Old 02-12-2008, 02:27 PM   #41
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DH taught me a foolproof method for getting rid of these parasites--although I first thought it was rather cruel... When it becomes obvious the caller is trying to sell you something over the phone, just lay the phone down gently and leave the room. You'll be surprised how long they will continue to talk, even with no feedback. Eventually they will hang up--and I have never had one call back a second time.
I dare say you will never miss any important offers that come as sales calls over the phone!
I'm meaner than you .I just hang up when I see where their pitch is headed. They never call back .
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Old 02-12-2008, 02:36 PM   #42
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I'm meaner than you .I just hang up when I see where their pitch is headed. They never call back .
That works well most of the time........
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Old 02-12-2008, 02:38 PM   #43
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That works well most of the time........
"Hello eridanus, we got accidentally disconnected, because the well mannered don't hang up on one another."

Remove me from your call list.

"Sure, I can do that but first let me tell you about...."
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Old 02-12-2008, 02:43 PM   #44
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I'm meaner than you .I just hang up when I see where their pitch is headed. They never call back .
I've never bothered because it is still a person on the other side of the line, but I've heard that air horns and bullhorns can both be had very cheaply. That might be useful for repeat offenders.
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Old 02-12-2008, 03:02 PM   #45
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Airhorns would damage your hearing much more than that of the person on the other side.

I like the idea of just wasting their time. Tell them "oh, there's someone at the door... hold on a minute", and then just put the phone down and go do something else. That doesn't inflict too much emotional distress and it hits directly at the bottom line of the telemarketers by making it expensive for them to call you.
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Old 02-12-2008, 03:17 PM   #46
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Wecome to the wonderful world of "cross-marketing." The big banks have been trying to do this for years. Some day they will get it right (maybe).
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Old 02-12-2008, 03:39 PM   #47
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Even though logic tells me that I am an intelligent person who is reading and learning as fast as I can, and I CAN do this myself, I don't really know that for a fact at this point and it is easy to feel really, really timid about it.
Want2, don't sell yourself short. Just by the fact that you're a member of this board puts you ahead of 99% of the rest of the country as regards investing, polishing, and caring for your nest egg. You have a PLAN. Most don't, and that's what your caller was banking on. He had the misfortune to hit on someone who had a plan and the moxie to stick to it.

Listening to him and investing with him would have probably been a good way to reduce your net worth......
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Old 02-12-2008, 03:51 PM   #48
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My assistant just got a meager inheritance and the bank guy tried to sell her an annuity...It went something like this: Deposit 30k, wait 10 years, then we give you your 30k back, 3k per year for the following 10 years. You never lose your principal...etc. So, after 20 years you get your principal back! Oh, except for the 5.75% sales charge.

She knows I have an interest in investing, but she knows nothing about it, so I have been trying to teach her little bits here and there. I brought up a spreadsheet and showed her how much money they were stealing from her how much her money would be worth after inflation. I think I got her attention.

These bank guys really do prey on people, men or women, who look like they don't know what they are doing.

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Old 02-12-2008, 04:52 PM   #49
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I think he is trying to prey on my insecurity, find a chink and insert himself into my financial planning. I can't help but think that a man would not have been pressured like I was, though maybe I'm wrong about that.
I think a man would be pressured differently, but no less hard.
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Old 02-12-2008, 04:56 PM   #50
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I never discuss any specifics. I have found that if I give them information about my plans or give reasons why I don't want what ever it is they are selling, it only gets them going to explain why their service is better to overcome my objections and make a sale.
Good point; salesfolk are trained to overcome objections.

If I want to go past, "No, thank you, bye", I say, "It just doesn't feel right." How the heck can you argue with a feeling?
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Old 02-12-2008, 04:57 PM   #51
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Next time he calls, tell him you'd like to have his plan reviewed by a few of your investing buddies and have him post it here.
Oh, hell yes!!!

I like the way you think, Nords.
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Old 02-12-2008, 04:59 PM   #52
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Want2, don't sell yourself short. Just by the fact that you're a member of this board puts you ahead of 99% of the rest of the country as regards investing, polishing, and caring for your nest egg. You have a PLAN. Most don't, and that's what your caller was banking on. He had the misfortune to hit on someone who had a plan and the moxie to stick to it.
Thanks. I do have a plan, though I don't have much experience in investing.

This board has helped a lot. The first time the market took a little dip, I was among the "The Sky is Falling!" contingent and was surprised that most of the rest here on the board seemed as cool as cucumbers. After that, when the market drops I have been relatively calm about it too. Recently, I bought funds when the market dropped precipitously. I was pretty freaked, but someone here pointed out that I probably got a good deal. I did, and so I learned something there, too.

Also, I like the fact that on this board I can be honest about what I don't know, and ask, with no repercussions. I have learned a lot here.

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Listening to him and investing with him would have probably been a good way to reduce your net worth......
LOL!!! Well, then I'd be in trouble. After getting a couple of large distributions from my mother's estate last week, I have completely retired "Plan A" (the low net worth plan that was my only ER plan until recently).

Right now I have about the right net worth for "Plan B" so I am working on it and have just about all the wrinkles beat out of it. If the rest of the inheritance comes through as I am told it will in the second quarter of the year, "Plan C" will be a perfect fit.
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Old 02-12-2008, 05:03 PM   #53
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DH taught me a foolproof method for getting rid of these parasites--although I first thought it was rather cruel... When it becomes obvious the caller is trying to sell you something over the phone, just lay the phone down gently and leave the room. You'll be surprised how long they will continue to talk, even with no feedback.
My frustration with the telemarketers who apparently have a 'they will buy if you simply talk long enough first' mandate eventually overcame my innate politeness. Now I say once, "Thank you, I'm not interested" IF I can get this in in the first five seconds. If not, the receiver goes down on the desk. If they continue talking after the "I'm not interested", the receiver goes down on the desk.

The poetic justice here is that the more of my time they try to waste by talking, the less money they make (since they could have been dialing for dollars with other suckers customers...
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Old 02-12-2008, 05:07 PM   #54
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I made the mistake of going to a "free lunch seminar" with a friend once. Had to listen to a lame presentation by an Ameriprise (yikes!) sales guy. Unfortunately, I didn't think to make up fake info when they asked for our contact info.
[Blues Brothers]

Don't worry; I falsified my information. I gave my address as 1060 West Addison.

(think) That's Wrigley Field!

Yah. Cool, huh?

[/Blues Brothers]
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Old 02-12-2008, 09:31 PM   #55
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LOL!!! You are all making me feel a lot better. I am probably a prime target because I am so inexperienced with investing and timid, as well as green. But maybe I know more than I realize. I know enough not to want any of those from my bank, not even the pen (I have plenty from other vendors).

With an inheritance comes all sorts of baggage that is making me feel more timid at the moment. I feel a responsibility not to let it slip through my fingers, since my family worked so hard for it. If I let my own money slip through my fingers, I'd just tighten the belt and I would never feel this timid in the first place. Also increasing one's net worth by several times is a different dynamic. Nice, but a little edgy.
W2R ... ease up on yourself. Your past posts show that you are fairly level headed and have a plan (that's the important part).

I think you're right, ... the 'new found money' seems to be what is throwing you off your game. Treat it as part of your existing portfolio. Same plan (well, maybe now you can get the orchastra seats instead of balcony ). But essentially you should do what you've been doing.

About being timid, I would subsitute the word careful. Careful is ok.

Also agree with poster on being a member of this board is a good indicator. We are all trying to learn, refine our strategies, and help each other.

Hang in there.
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Old 02-12-2008, 09:49 PM   #56
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I think a man would be pressured differently, but no less hard.
They go for the ego with men. Eons ago, I was called by a boiler room commodities vampire(ss). In my youth, I was more polite (I have overcome this character flaw when it comes to dealing with parasites) and tried to ease out of it by saying '... I have to discuss this with my wife'... LOL the vampiress retort was something I had heard when I was in high school, she said '... who wears the pants in your family?' ... I hung up.
Interesting ploy don't ya think?
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Old 02-12-2008, 09:55 PM   #57
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Investment guy: "Who is your financial advisor, if I may ask?"
I have an answer that I have been really wanting to use for this question: "The firm of French, Fama, Malkiel, Bogle and Bernstein."

If they don't get it they have nothing of value to offer!

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Old 02-12-2008, 09:57 PM   #58
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Good point; salesfolk are trained to overcome objections.

If I want to go past, "No, thank you, bye", I say, "It just doesn't feel right." How the heck can you argue with a feeling?
When I was in sales, they called it objection handling. We even had scenarios and scripts. As trainees, we would practice them on each other before going in front of a client. These telemarketers have online scripts that they go to (dozens of them) when you give your objection.

The best thing is to INTERRUPT them with a loud 'Thank You, Not Interested! and hang up. Giving them an objection just feeds their process.

This experience has given me a lot of enjoyment... on the rare occasions when I am in the mood, I mess with them by giving them objection after objection and wait while they scroll thru their objection handling screens. ... hey I have my 'b*tch days' too
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Old 02-12-2008, 10:24 PM   #59
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LOL!!! You are all making me feel a lot better. I am probably a prime target because I am so inexperienced with investing and timid, as well as green. But maybe I know more than I realize.
C'mon W2R, I'm not going to be as nice as everyone else

You need to SUCK IT UP, YOU have an engineering degree and a Ph.D. for gosh sakes. You're probably smarter than 99% of these bank bozos

After reading a couple of books you probably know more about investing than most of them

However there is one thing that I think that you would really suck at and that is selling investment products

With my sincere apologies

MB
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Old 02-12-2008, 10:40 PM   #60
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C'mon W2R, I'm not going to be as nice as everyone else

You need to SUCK IT UP, YOU have an engineering degree and a Ph.D. for gosh sakes. You're probably smarter than 99% of these bank bozos

After reading a couple of books you probably know more about investing than most of them

However there is one thing that I think that you would really suck at and that is selling investment products

With my sincere apologies

MB
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