Telemarketing is big business for many companies. Thousands of dollars are spent to put a software program in place to identify qualified leads, avoid travel and numerous other costs that are associated with personal sales calls. Although the cost for installing a telephone marketing system can be four times the price of sending a direct-mail advertisement, the results have proven to be two to six times more productive.

It was not long after the telephone became a popular means of communication that the telemarketers were quick to use to their advantage in selling. As soon as the Metropolitan Telephone and Telegraph Company assembled a telephone directory in 1895 and sent to telephone customers, the telemarketing had begun to form. Since long distance phone calls were expensive, the directories were used to put together mass mailings to every name in these directories. By 1903, sales leads could be retrieved from phone books in New England, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio and the District of Columbia.

Dial America was one of the first telemarketing companies to form in 1957 and represented not for profit organizations and local sports teams and is still in operation today. The company started as a spin off of Time Inc. magazine that utilized telemarketing on a small scale to promote magazines. Magazines are still a large part of Dial America's consumer base with such publishers like Reader's Digest, People and Ladies' Home Journal. The company has 23 offices spread across the US through call centers and concentrate mainly on outbound communications. If you use reverse phone lookup and find Dial America as the source, you know that it is a reputable company.

As time went on, many businesses found that this type of advertising could be beneficial to their own needs and soon telemarketing phone calls were bombarding the airwaves. In 1991 the United States Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) in an attempt to curb telephone solicitations. The main purpose of the TCPA is to restrict the use of automatic dialing systems; prerecorded voice messages and the use of fax machines to send unsolicited advertisements. Cell phones are also off limit to telemarketers since many charge the consumer each time a call is received.

Many telemarketing firms are members of the International Federation of Direct Marketing Associations (IFDMA) that was established to bring a sense of order to the perception of direct marketing. This organization was founded in 1989 and promotes proper direct marketing techniques to consumers and to fight negative images of direct marketing as it is many times portrayed. This same year, the Data Protection Act of 1998 was enacted in the United Kingdom Act of Parliament to protect the personal data of all identifiable living people in the UK. Understanding this law is very important to telemarketing companies that hold information of the residents in the UK.

Telemarketing is not just a tool to help businesses make outbound calls in an effort to make a sale. Inbound calls are also a large part of the telemarketing structure, providing help to consumers after a product or service has been purchased. You may receive an 800 number to call when you make a purchase if there are any problems. This number will more than likely take you to a call center that has been manned with trained representatives that have been given a list of questions and answers to fit most scenarios. These individuals may also be trained to offer you more products or services as part of their duties.

Telemarketing agents utilize carefully prepared scripts in order to get the most valuable results from a ‘live' call. They are also further instructed not to antagonize the consumer that could be quite provoked by a stranger interrupting their free time. These scripts can range from follow-up queries, upgrading orders or information gathering about past sales. If you are a past customer of a company that is utilizing a telemarketing call, they have the right to contact you within a certain time period after a sale has been made. Simply ask that your name be removed from the calling list and your wishes must be respected.

Many people that receive harassing phone calls from telemarketing firms automatically become angry for having their privacy violated by an unknown party while they are at home. Before you become hostile with one of these callers, try and remember that the individual on the other end of the phone may be a single mother trying to make ends meet or a college student that took the only job that he could find. These types of jobs normally pay minimum wage or are set up on a commission basis only. The employees are part of a larger force that pays them to deliver. This does not mean that you have to make a purchase from a company because you feel sorry for the individual but try and be courteous but firm in your refusal. Take action after speaking with the agent by using reverse phone lookup to get information on the company and then report the business if you are on the No-Call-List.

By September 30, 2008, the US Do-Not-Call Registry had collected more than $16 million dollars in civil penalties against businesses that refused to follow the law. This has forced companies to take a good hard look at taking the gamble of not getting caught. As a consumer, you owe it to yourself and others to report any telemarketing company of wrongdoing according to the Act in order to protect your rights. Always check with reverse phone lookup before filing a complaint with the FCC to make sure that you have a legitimate claim. Also remember that telemarketers may be an annoyance to your personal space but they are people too.