Don't blame the messenger-- unless it's the messenger's fault.

You hear a lot of negative things about Telemarketing, but that's because most telemarketing is not done right. Telemarketers that have crummy products, or call late at night, or are othewise intrusive, give the whole industry a bad name.

But advertising done right is a service, not an intrusion, and telemarketing is just another form of advertising -- a form that can work wonders. I've responded to telemarketers who call at appropriate times and are professional, and I've been especially responsive when they're selling a product I'm interested in. I watch commercials on TV, I read ads in magazines and on the internet, so why not listen to someone tell me about a product I might need?

The key is doing it right. A business that wants to promote itself professionally needs a company that knows how to do so, like Blueberry Marketing Solutions. Let me give you two examples:

I got a phone call late one night -- about 9 p.m., from a guy who asked for me but mispronounced my name, so I knew it was a telemarketer. Because it was late, I wasn't much in a mood to talk, so I asked what the call was about, and the marketer kept insisting that he could only talk to me (still mispronouncing my name) and that I would want to hear from him. I hung up.

But I had a call one day about office space for rent, and the gal on the phone was very professional, and as it happened I was interested in looking into some bigger space for our firm. So I talked with her and passed her name onto my colleagues.

See? Professional, polite, to the point -- and I listened. Calling too late and being rude? I'm out of there.

So don't bash all telemarketers, and, if you run a business and want to take advantage of a highly effective tool, check out Blueberry Marketing Solutions.