Survey shows businesses heated up by cold calls

26th January 2008

Small businesses say cold calls are time-wasting and infuriating….and it's mobile phone companies who top their 'most unwanted' list

Telesales cold callers beware - they top the list of annoying phone callers to small businesses, according to a new survey of businesses in Scotland and the rest of Britain. Three our of four businesses in Scotland who took part in the survey said they are pestered by cold calls.

Overall, more than 60 per cent of small business-owners, surveyed by leading Virtual PA service Kendlebell which has 5 offices in Scotland, said they received more than five irritating calls per week - with 10 per cent receiving 10 calls or more.

And just under 90 per cent of businesses surveyed said sales calls were the 'most annoying' - with half of those saying that calls made by mobile phone companies were the worst.

Simon Carter, Managing Director of Kendlebell, said: "Cold calls from salespeople are a fact of life, but our survey shows they are an irritating distraction which get in the way of the business day.

"It's clear that people running small businesses are often working flat out and really don't want their time wasted. Our own PAs answering calls for thousands of businesses know just how frequently these call are made. By screening them we're helping businesses to give these cold callers the cold shoulder and making sure only the vital callers get through."

Other annoying sales calls included those made by utility suppliers - with gas and electricity companies high on the list - and telesales calls about health and life insurance.

Respondents said they were also irritated by:

- business survey calls

- calls from customer services departments following up purchases made earlier

- advertising sales calls

Only five per cent of respondents said the most annoying calls they received were from unreasonable customers.

To be considered as least annoying as possible, cold callers need to pick their moment before they dial in.

Around 30 per cent of businesses surveyed said that early-morning was the best time to catch them; leaving the call until late in the afternoon is a tactic designed to fail, with only five per cent of those surveyed saying it was a good time to call.

There is worse news too for cold callers from businesses. It seems their efforts may be in vain anyway. Several small business-owners surveyed said they would never consider buying something from a cold calling telephone salesman - even if they were selling an item they wanted.

Businesses which took part in the survey, conducted in January 2008, included book-keepers, software developers, consultants, a chemist, communications and PR companies. Some said they worked from home, others from small office premises.

Article by Kendlebell virtual PAs who answer calls for businesses in every region of Great Britain and Ireland. There are five franchise businesses in Scotland at Motherwell, Paisley, Perth, Edinburgh and East Kilbride.