Yes, there are still secretaries in the business world, and they deserve the utmost respect. Go out of your way to develop a friendly and genuine rapport, because if you are flip or tactless with them, you will substantially diminish your chances of getting through to your contact.

When you leave a message with a secretary, automatically offer some explanation about why you are calling. Often a simple reference to your earlier correspondence will be sufficient. After two or three pleasant exchanges with the secretary, you might garner an idea about the best time to catch your elusive contact.

The Internal Phone Trick

Many phone systems differentiate between outside incoming calls and internal incoming calls. If your contact appears to be evading you, try phoning a number one or two digits removed from that of your contact. A simple, "Oh, I'm sorry, I must have dialed the wrong number, would you mind transferring me to ..." could get you through.

Keeping Track

Keep track of when you called and whether you left a message with a person or on voice mail. Use codes to indicate when you phoned and what type of message you left. This is important so you can gauge when to follow-up if your request for a return call goes unanswered. (Also see the "Notes" section below.)

What is the best time to make marketing calls?

Sorry, there is no foolproof answer to this question. That said, you can experiment by trying early in the morning, over lunch or after normal business hours. Voice mail fanatics often turn their systems off in the early morning hours to accept internal calls from other early-rising work associates. Some may answer their own calls while support staff are away for lunch, and many personally answer their phones after five o'clock.

"I'm in the middle of a meeting..."

If you finally reach your contact but receive this response, it is not the time to attempt an abridged version of your dialogue. Simply ask when would be a good time to phone back. Maintain control of the calling process and then follow through exactly on time. Even if you fail to connect the second time, you have demonstrated you are well organized and the type of person who meets your commitments. That can be enough to cause the contact to return your next call promptly.

Recorded Message: "I'm out of town for the next week."

Don't hang up. Use this as an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism by confirming you called and say you will phone back a couple of days after your contact returns to the office. By doing this, you are suggesting you know how hectic it can be after being out of the office for an extended period of time. A little genuine empathy can be a nice touch.

Be Up!

Any highly successful salesperson will tell you that you must be "up" to make good sales calls, and that is exactly what you are doing — selling yourself and your company. It is a fine line between not being up and procrastinating. Using the "I'm not in the phoning mood" excuse cannot last for more than two days. After that you are procrastinating and you should give yourself a refresher course about telephone techniques by reviewing this article!

You might ease yourself into a good telephone day by starting with a call to an old colleague or friend, just to get the blood flowing. Never let a bad telephone day cause you to avoid meeting the commitments you made in an earlier letter or during a previous call. Make the calls!

Making the Calls

Set yourself a realistic goal for the number of calls you want to make. Then decide when you are going to make your marketing calls, organize all your background material and get started! Make several calls in a row and you will find yourself developing a steady cadence and your confidence will increase after each conversation or message.

The other plus to getting the calls out of the way quickly is that your line is then freed up for incoming responses. Besides, when you are finished, you can turn your attention to other details of your business.

And don't forget, when you connect (either in person or with a machine), visualize the person on the other end of the line, be yourself and talk as though you were face to face.

If you do not accomplish the desired results during your call, ensure you conclude your conversation on a positive and polite note. You might well orchestrate another opportunity to see or speak with this person, and at the very least, you always want to demonstrate your professionalism.

Notes

Take rough notes while you are speaking with a contact and immediately transcribe them into your client tracking database. You will want to know the essence of your remarks when you next call this person. Even reject calls deserve write-ups because you may need the information in the future.

Persistence

One of my old partners once asked how I stayed so positive when potential clients failed to return my calls. My response was something like this: "These are busy people and at the moment, responding to my call may not be their number one priority. But until they tell me to quit calling, I will just assume they haven't had the time to get back to me. And even if they tell me to stop phoning, I'll assume they didn't mean it because they were simply having a bad day." Polite persistence is an absolute must if you want to get ahead in business.

Working the telephone part of your marketing campaign can be a challenge but it will be rewarding. Remember, those calls are almost always the precursor to advancing your business opportunities.

Ink Ink Publishing & Presentations
#231 - 30 Sierra Morena Landing SW
Calgary, Alberta T3H 5H2 Canada
Reg's Cell: 403-607-4652
Res. Phone: 403-275-4537
Reg's Email: regpirie@telus.net