Everyday promptly at 8:30 am I receive a phone call from Unknown Name, Unknown Number. On the days I’m game for a little conversation I answer and well, one of these days I’m going to know who exactly is calling. But in the 8 or 9 times I’ve tried to find out the name of the company, I’ve been hung up on. Clearly a company that is not following good direct marketing practices. If you’re doing direct marketing I recommend bookmarking The Direct Marketing Association’s Corporate Responsibility Resource Center which offers great guidance to ensure you are following all the good common practices. For example, a very practical diagram for telemarketing campaigns is 10 Steps to Making a Sale under the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Telemarketing Sales Rules provided by the DMA Department of Ethics & Consumer Affairs.