Indeed, companies wouldn't bother calling potential customers unless it was profitable.
In 1999, telemarketers sold $230 billion worth of goods and services over the phone, and that number has been growing at a steady rate of 8.5 percent a year.
A study by the Direct Marketing Association found that every dollar spent on telemarketing typically yielded $10 in sales, while a dollar spent on more conventional advertising yielded just $5 in sales.
College students--as members of an age bracket old enough to begin making financial decisions, but too young to have formed established connections with particular brands--are a particularly sought-after group.
And telemarketing, explains Chester G. Dalzell, a spokesperson for the DMA, is one of the only ways for companies to come into direct contact with consumers.
"You can do all the TV advertising you want, you can do all the direct mail you want, but the only way to truly find out if you can benefit the consumer is to talk to them: Ask them how much they're paying, and then say 'We think we can give you a better rate,'" he says.
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