As you may know, I get incessant, unsolicited calls from contractors seeing if they can sell me any of their handiwork.
Actually, a lot of the calls are not from contractors but from people who are working on commission (I assume) to find prospects for contractors. They say they're with a contracting company but I think they're just people who answered an ad on Craig's List and got a list of prospects and the promise that if their calls lead to any business, they'll get their cut.
Today, I got a call with a new sales pitch. The caller was young and female…
HER: Hello, my name is Abby and I'm calling on behalf of my father, Harold Black. He's a licensed contractor working in your area and he's very experienced in building, painting, roofing, tile work, plumbing, electrical work of all kinds and anything else you might be in need of. My father is a very good man and he would be glad to come by and give you a free estimate…
ME: You're reading a script.
HER: No, I'm not.
ME: Yes, you're reading a script. If you want my business, tell me again about your father but don't use the exact same words.
[CLICK!]
So she was gone. Less than one minute later, the phone rang again. I answered and heard a different young female voice…
HER: Hello, my name is Lauren and I'm calling on behalf of my father, Harold Black. He's a licensed contractor working in your area and he's very experienced in building, painting, roofing, tile work, plumbing, electrical work of all kinds…
ME: Hold it, Lauren! Less than sixty seconds ago, I got a call from a young woman who read me the exact same script about this contractor.
HER: Uh, well, sometimes my sister makes these calls…