Getting your phone calls returned

Mel Lester posts some worthy suggestions in his blog entry: Getting your phone calls returned. Lester wisely points out that you won't get far cold calling with a scripted message that doesn't meet your prospective client's interests.

Yeah, coming up with a good reason for the client to return your call (what I call your "entree") isn't easy. But it works. It requires more work up front. So you can make 20 shotgun calls to prospects and maybe get 3-4 to return your call. Or you can offer your entree to 5 prospects and get 3-4 to return your call. Which seems the better strategy? By the way, your chances of eventually making a sale are substantially increased when you take the more client-focused approach, starting with that initial contact

Alas, these days, the number of "bad calls" seems to be increasing disproportionately. This is because the in the era of email, the phone is used much less for casual conversations, and much more frequently for important or meaningful connections. Almost all uninvited and scripted calls are from inept marketers, and are simply not worthy of a response.

As a good example, today, one of my top sales representatives received an unsolicited call from someone representing one of our competitors, pitching advertising in an association publication.

Alas, the caller had absolutely no knowledge of our real relationship with the association -- or, for that matter, our business, or he would have never called us -- as he rattled on in a lengthy and (for us) amusing voice message.

So how do you get calls returned, and meaningful action? Assuming you have a good reason for your call, I'll add one idea to Lester's list, especially if you are calling a senior executive or CEO of a larger company with much authority.

When you call, don't ask for the person directly, ask for his (or her) executive assistant. Better, find the EA's name first (often through the receptionist) and then call the EA.

Explain your purpose, provide whatever documentation s/he requires by email or fax, and seek her guidance on the best way to proceed.

I've never had a legitimate call to an EA shunted aside or not followed through properly. Today, for example, I received a return call, not from the company president, but the person who could really answer my inquiry -- and he was being really courteous to me because he knew the company president wanted him to speak with me.

Executive assistants know which buttons to push, and more importantly, they can handle your inquiry in the most appropriate manner for their busy executive's schedule, perhaps by forwarding an email note, faxed documentation or the like, and getting the response you need. If an appointment directly with the decision-maker is appropriate, they will set one up, but usually on a cold or initial call this is way too presumptuous.

But your stage is set for discussions with more junior employees of the organization and you have a natural follow-through with the EA if you need to communicate further at the higher levels.

EAs may be "gatekeepers" to keep uninvited intruders out -- but they also facilitate your entry if you really have something of relevance to offer. If not, why are you calling in the first place?

A lesson from Joe

This posting from Ford Harding: A Lesson from Joe: It’s Not about Us is a humbling reminder about our place in the world; and our self-absorbed anxieties (or visions). Although Ford took the experience as a reminder that he shouldn't think too much about pursuing opportunities and calling, I take it in a slightly wider perspective -- that we should absolutely respect the person who we are calling and the value of his/her time and priorities.

This doesn't mean be 'sucky' but it suggests that we connect where appropriate with the person's 'gatekeeper' (administrative assistant), or use alternatives to the phone and in-person visit where we really don't need to be in the busy person's face.

For example, in at least a few instances where I had a proposal/request for an extremely busy CEO talked with the AA and then put the thoughts down in paper on a fax and sent it to her. The document then lands on the decision-maker's desk, and I received the response/answer I needed. (I realize this only works if I have a prior, real, relationship with the decision-maker, or I am ready to accept a referral to someone else in the organization; I'll still be communicating with the power of the boss's office, in that case, however.)

And it reminds me of the absolute power you obtain by promptly and honorably returning calls, even when you don't see much business opportunity or value in the process. It takes just a few minutes but leaves a powerful impression on the perhaps overly self-absorbed caller!

Gatekeepers

The question on linkedin.com, "How do you get past the "gatekeeper" when trying to get into a company to find a person?" has attracted several responses that indicate some general themes and practices of salesmanship.

Getting seven out of eight right is pretty good

I like seven of the eight suggestions in a recent promotional email from construction marketing guru Henry Goudreau, so will share them here.

Here are eight things you can do to find business in a tough market:
1. Look for new prospects to call. Call on prospects you never thought of calling
before. Get on the phone ... make a deal ... make some money! Stretch your imagination. Go out and generate some positive activity.
2. Spend at least ONE HOUR a day on the phone telephone calling these people. If business is slow, you've got plenty of time on your hands to accomplish this. Start calling people ASAP. There's a huge difference between being busy and being productive. Your assignment is to look for customers. Don't think about it, JUST DO IT!
3. Create a dynamic USP and Elevator Speech. (Editor's note: See this entry on the "Elevator Pitch" from May, 2007.) If your calls are ending in less than 10 seconds, you're doing something wrong. You might not be peaking their interests. Go to Volume Two and review how to develop a great USP and Elevator Speech and learn to ask the right questions.
4. Expect voice mail. That's right, everyone is using it, probably you too. Note the time of this call and try another time either at the beginning or end of the day. Meanwhile, move on to your next call.
5. Expect rejection. No one is waiting for you to call so they can buy your services. Expect rejection. Your job is to find the decision maker who makes the decisions, qualify them and develop them.
6. Ask great questions. Don't talk about yourself learn to ask the questions that will reveal to you what it is they really want. Try to discover their problems and what they need.
7. Identify decision makers. Only work with decision makers, find a way to get around the gatekeepers.
8. Always ask for commitments. A commitment is a commitment, big or small. Ask for the deal or ask for another appointment face-to-face so you can get more information that will lead you to "wet ink." Always ask for a commitment.

The only point I disagree with is his observation: "Only work with decision makers, find a way to get around the gatekeepers." In the sense of not trying to actually 'pitch' to gatekeepers, I agree, but the fact is, gatekeepers are there for a reason -- and they are actually decision-makers of the highest order since they control access. Ignoring that, or regarding the person (or voice mail) that screens calls or 'denies access' is inviting perpetual frustration.

Respecting their role, and having a clear understanding of your purpose and the legitimate basis of communicating with the 'boss' is vital -- if you don't have it; if you are just banging out the calls with a rote process and not much thought -- you will (especially in a smaller market) quickly burn up your leads and end up with little to show for your efforts.