5 potentially big problems related to telemarketing for planned gifts

Greg, you are someone who offers a variety of superb services and products. More than that, you are someone I consider to be a friend. It is in that context that I offer my criticism of your anti-telemarketing post.
I have a number of problems with your post:
1. Bias. Plain and simple, you are biased and should have acknowledged this in your post. You offer a variety of services that compete with telemarketing for limited budget resources. Your company, which does not offer telemarketing services, is in competition with those companies that do. Because of your bias, your post strikes me as ill-informed, at best, or entirely self-serving, at worst.
2. Good v. Bad Calling. While telemarketing campaigns can exhibit the problems you’ve outlined, a well-designed phone campaign will eliminate or minimize those potential problems. You’re painting with too broad a brush. Just as there are good, well-designed surveys, there are bad surveys. Saying that all surveys are bad simply because some are would be foolish. Doing so in regard to phoning is equally foolish.
3. Cost. Telemarketing can certainly be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Outsourcing calls can be costly. However, doing calling in-house with staff, volunteers, and/or paid callers can keep the costs moderate. In any case, expressing cost as cost-per-dollar raised reveals just how reasonable an investment in calling can be. Typically, a phone program for planned giving will cost pennies on the dollar raised. Consider the following examples:
A university in Texas targeted 7,000 with a mail promotion of CGAs, following up leads with phone calls from paid students that resulted in $730,000 in CGA contracts.
An orchestra in the Pacific Northwest implemented a coordinated mail/phone campaign targeting 2,200 prospects with an in-house calling operation in an effort that produced an estimated $2 million in confirmed bequest expectancies.
4. Calls are an Interruption. Any communication is an interruption. The real question is: Is that interruption really a problem? If the phone call is to an organization’s most loyal supporters, those individuals will actually welcome the call, particularly if it imparts a word of appreciation and interesting news. Also, each call should begin by asking permission to speak. If the individual is too busy at the moment, an appointment can be set to call the person back at a time of their choosing. By way of example, I know that my wife actually looks forward to receiving a call, for the annual fund, from a current student at her former college.
5. Mortality Issue. While some calls get into the “mortality issue” prematurely, that’s not always the case. Again, it’s the difference between a well-designed call and a poor call. You can’t paint all calls with the same brush.
6. Too Many Hang-ups. First, I’m not sure what you mean by “too many.” Second, the more loyal the group contacted and the more phone responsive they are, the fewer hang-ups and requests to be removed from calling.
7. Overload. This is a bogus issue. If implemented properly, the pace of calling can be controlled to ensure that the staff is not overwhelmed by leads. Furthermore, some outsource providers also offer follow-up services allowing the charity’s staff to focus on the most important leads while ensuring that cultivation continues with the others. “Overload” is no more a danger with calling than it is with other promotional efforts. Oddly given the theme of your post, you seem to be suggesting that phoning is such a powerfully effective tool it will overwhelm staff while surveys are sufficiently ineffective that staff will not be overwhelmed.
In summary, phoning can certainly be problematic. However, it does not have to be. To the contrary, it can be quite effective and cost-effective.
In the interest of full disclosure, I need to point out that I am a phone fundraising pioneer. I have pioneered the use of the phone for annual giving, membership marketing, nonprofit ticket sales, capital campaigns, and planned giving. However, I do not currently provide such services directly. Instead, I offer related consulting services (as I do with direct mail, surveys, websites, etc.) when developing holistic marketing strategies for my clients. Those plans occasionally call for calling when appropriate and well-designed.