http://bigsendworld.com

I would have to say this is probably the best job I could get for so many reasons. First off, I only have to work 3 shifts, about 10 hours a week and they give $10 an hour plus bonus. Second, it is leisurely, just sit the whole time and make calls while talking to your neighbor.

But most importantly, my phone and talking skills have skyrocketed. This job could have accelerated my PU skills as recently I have noticed my flirting/small talk ability has improved so much.

What this job entails is a relentless ability to stick to the topic, calibrate to what each individual wants to hear, learn to use fast or slow speech (as sometimes they say "I have to go right now, so hurry up), also when a person is on the threshold of donating or not donating, how to push that person over the edge and make the donate at least the minimum.

This job is about calling up strangers, opening them, getting them into rapport or delivering a high octane, persuasive pitch that is different per each person. On the job, my usual phone call goes like this:
"Hi is Mr. Jimmy Jim Wong there? ((Yes that is a real name I saw!))
Hey Jimmy my name is BigSend and I'm calling from your alma-matter just trying to keep in touch with our alumni. How are you doing today? [said calmly like a friend... then wait] Awesome, could we confirm, are you still at 123 4th street? And you majored in English in 1975?"

That's my Opener. It's slightly interactive.

From there, I see if they are willing to actually talk to me, or if they want to get into the pitch.

Neg: "I definitely don't want to take up too much of your time, so I'm just updating you on some of the great things happening here: "

Then smoothly transition to the pitch: "With state funding going down and tuition that we are trying not to raise for the future generations, we look to our alumni for any kind of gift they would be willing to give"

Now, the fun part. Above is just the "routines" the MOST important part are the negs/disqualifiers/sound bits. I call them disqualifiers based on the very general definition of negs/disqualifiers I gave in pervious posts and based off the definition Style gives it in his stylelife challenge.

Neg 1: "Its okay if that's too much, I only ask as there are some alumni willing to give that much and we want to give them that opportunity. Believe me, we don't want to see you go in the poor-house for giving us too high of a gift, we want you to be as successful as possible"
That line has given me great success at keeping the pitch alive. Even on the phone I'll have a smile on my face as I say it, as smiles can be communicated via vocal tone. I classify this as a neg because it disqualifies them from being able to give a large amount. Now this is actually a good thing because before this neg, almost every caller would hang up at the high amount (the first ask is $2500). How do you keep them from hanging up? I say neg them and get them to think that it is okay to not be qualified to give $2500.

[I know I know, negs are pretty fucking confusing. I imagine lots of guys would disagree that this is a neg. I again encourage you all to re-read my definition of Negs (posted a few days ago) based off of Styles ideas and what I have experienced in field. Its very subtle and psychological what negs do]

Others negs:
(This one is based off the fact that for the highest donators of $1000-2500 they become part of a Chancellors organization, so we pitch that. The bad part is sometimes the alumni think we are trying to sell the Chancellors packages and they forget that the money is a gift)
"For those who donated at the highest asking level, we also offer some perks but really the most important thing is giving back to the under-grads and helping out the future generations"

This neg disqualifies the calls as a pure solicitation to join a Chancellors organization so that way the callee's don't feel like we are just another dude hitting on them. (Like, a neg make a girl understand that we aren't just another dude hitting on her).


So inadvertently, this job has gotten me a lot smoother with delivering sound bits: negs, disqualifiers, routines, punch line jokes, and new sound bits I am going to call "Rapport Doors"

Yes I just came up with a new term... "Rapport Doors"

Rapport Doors is nothing new, I'm just a cocky bastard and am making a name for the act of asking about something someone has and going into rapport over it. For example, on the job if I see someone is a Professor of English, I may TELL him or her about my experiences reading "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and how I felt about Joseph Campbell's "Power of Myth". Then I ASK them what they thought of it.

So that's the Rapport Door sound bit:
Tell them about something I saw/did/read (which I know they'd be into) then I ask them how they felt about it.

So for girls that could be if I see them reading a certain book, or taking a certain class, or wearing something. Whatever. Now I only use rapport doors only after I know they are at least willing to talk. I have called up people and tried it without any acknowledgement of rapport. E.g. I called up a Physics Professor (who works somewhere else now) and the first thing he told me after I mentioned I was from his Alma Matter was "I'm not interested, good bye" so I said "wait wait wait! I have question for you as you are a physics major"

And he said "I understand you have a question, ask someone else as I answer my students first. Hopefully people there can help you. Now I must go, good talking with you." (He had a lot of words to say "no")

Even though I didn't really Tell him anything, I tried to ask him something that was obviously an interest to him (a possible door if we had already had some level of rapport before hand), but he just dismissed it. So the Rapport Doors have to be done congruently and when a conversation is established.

There was one guy I called up, a Rabbi who has never donated before. Now I am Jewish and I Told him how I pray for peace in Israel and Lebanon... and implicitly it was an "ask" of what he thought, I mean he's a Rabbi. (Also, it should be said that I was talking to him for at least 5 minutes before I mentioned this very, very sensitive topic). He mentioned to me that he was displeased with what some Professor at my university said about the situation in the Middle East... but I reversed the displeasure with the fact that we can't censure, as we censure them, what if someone censures us?

Anyway, we talked for 15 minutes in total and he said he will "donate for this pleasant conversation".

And my final Neg. This is the neg that has gotten me nearly all the donations.
"I understand that now is a bad time to give, as I said we definitely don't want our alumni to be in any financial problems because of us. However we are really looking for any kind of participation from our alumni because of what is called Corporate Incentives. Most of the money coming into the school is not really from Alumni [neg], but really from large endowments and corporations. Now the way we get money from corporations is when they see a lively relationship between the alumni and the alma matter, as in they see at least some kind of relationship, no matter what the money [neg], then they actually invest in us. That is as long as we get some kind of participation from our alumni and corporations see this, then they will contribute big because they see our school as being greatly supported by its graduates."

So I keep them on the phone through that whole routine. I kid you not, I have had lots of people I call saying "Wow you are really good at this... all right here is my credit card but let me get it fast before I change my mind."

Others end up saying "okay, call me back/send me more info and I'll think it over"

So the above is a neg because it disqualifies them from having to donate big, they just need to give something.

And the bonus neg:
"...(them saying now is a bad time)...In fact, if you know you want to give something at some point, I can actually split the gift up into installments and even push it back so you won't be charged anything for 6-8 months from now."

Damn I'm evil!



So it comes down to ALWAYS having the better answer (which is huge PUA dogma that Rick H talks about).

Put it this way, if deep down they do want to donate, but they keep putting up resistance, me always having a better answer will break that resistance down till they finally say "OKAY!! FINE!!!" :-)

If I always have the better answer, then I can get almost every tentative alumnus to donate. I fucking got caller of the day last Tuesday (Haha).

[So just like with girls, if you always have a better answer (like a neg/disqualifier or whatever, like passing her shit tests] and deep down she does want you (and every girl wants you because you are the fucking man and girls need the fucking man), then she will eventually start to chase you.

Unfortunately I do need to work at this a lot. I only get low donation amounts of like $50-100 while the veterans can get $200 - $1000. So I talk them down well, now I need to figure out how to make them say Yes to higher amounts. Its risky, but it's the next step for me.


Also, I have to say that this job is great if you sit next to a girl and just practice playful small talk and banter on her for 3 hours straight. It all works together. If it's feasible, I recommend any college kid to take this job at their school. I only do it 3 times a week for only 3 hours a block. Its some pocket change + social builders. Plus you get bonus if you get donations.

Posted by BigSend on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 at 7/25/2006 12:02:00 AM | Permalink