The telephone is an interactive medium, which provides the flexibility and immediate
response of a personal conversation. It can be especially effective when used in
concert with other direct response media, such as direct mail or a Web site. To those
who know how to use them, the interactive features of the telephone are, in many
cases, replacing the face-to-face contact of a salesperson’s visit to a prospect or a
buyer’s visit to a retail location. The telephone obviates the need for travel and makes
it possible to talk with and not just to customers and prospects. The application of the
telephone to direct marketing efforts is a most powerful combination. No other direct
marketing medium can match its effectiveness. Telemarketing is actually a form of
personal selling, since it occurs on a person-to-person basis but without the face-toface
aspect.