Here's an article I found from
Cold Calling Executives They gave me permission to reprint is since I am keeping their
linking info intact! I think it has sensible advice if you're in a job where
you need to contact busy people that you've never met before!
Cold Calling: How To Put An End To Voice Mail JailAs you prospect, do you long for a real live person to
answer your phone calls?
Are the phrases, "I'm not able to answer your call in
person right now …" "I'm in a meeting right now or talking
with another client …" and "If you want help with this,
please press #2, #1, …" starting to wear on your last nerve
… like nails on a chalkboard?
Are you feeling trapped by the very technology that was
supposed to serve you?
Well, you're in good company.
Our informal survey shows the overwhelming majority of
sales professionals share your frustration. One of the most
frequently asked questions asked by our clients is, "I
leave a lot of voice mail messages without getting any
personal contact--ever. Do you have any tips for me?"
Yes, I do!
There are simple, yet effective steps to take that will get
you around voice mail so you can make contact with a human!
Whether the recording indicates it or not, many systems
will reroute your calls to a human being if you press the
"0" Operator button on your phone.
Then when your prospect's operator/receptionist answers,
you can honestly say, "I was connected to the executive's
voice mail and I'm looking for a real, live, breathing,
speaking human to talk to directly. Is the executive or the
executive assistant in today?"
Chances are that you'll get an empathetic chuckle from the
receptionist. Those folks understand how annoying
pre-recorded messages can be.
If your prospect isn't readily available in person, the
operator often knows that and will be glad to offer to
reroute your call to another human being within the
company, such as the executive's assistant, who can tell
you the whereabouts of your prospect.
Equally as import as circumventing voice mail jail is
knowing what to say when you succeed and make contact with
your prospects operator/receptionist!
In many companies, the operator is authorized to page the
prospect for you or to connect you to direct line-if you do
one thing in particular …
What's the key to "authorizing" the operator to search for
your prospect on your behalf?
You must ask for your prospect by first and last name and
pronounce both correctly.
Here's an Insider's secret peek into the mechanics of the
executive suites that will equip you to understand what's
going on in their world. Really good executive assistants,
with the approval of their executives, talk with
receptionists and give them specific guidelines for
handling inbound callers who ask for the President's office.
There are so many calls each day that they must come up
with a system of handling them. Or never get any work done!
Executive assistants direct receptionists to divert inbound
callers who say, "I'd like to be connected to the
President's office please." The preferred method of
handling such callers is to politely reroute them to voice
mail jail.
With your new knowledge of this Insider's secret you'll
want to call and say, "I'm calling to speak to Jack Doe or
his assistant, Mary." You'll find you receive a different
kind of treatment when you use these words. Because of
their "in-house" system for handling inbound calls, the
operator/receptionist will be more likely to give you the
inside scoop as to their whereabouts.
Then, because your words indicate that you "know the rules"
the receptionist is far more likely to be forthcoming with
information that will help you, information such as whether
or not the executive is in the office and the best time to
call back to reach them in person.
Those executives and their assistants are early risers!
They frequently slip into the office between 7:00 and 7:30
AM. Executives take advantage of the still of the morning
to work through the ever-present to-do list without
interruption.
Knowing this about the habits of executives, many a
successful sales professional will make prospecting calls
during those times and connect with their high-level
prospects on the first ring.
Use these tips to circumvent voice mail, be relentless in
your pursuit for a human, and get ready to smile as you
make personal contact with a real, live, person who wants
to do business with you!
Forward this article to friends-they'll thank you for it!
About the Author:
It costs you nothing to enroll in our Mini-Course
“Jealously Guarded Secrets to Cold Calling Company
Presidents” visit http://www.ColdCallingExecutives.com ! Or
call the office of Your Sales Coach for Extreme
Profitability, author, speaker, Leslie Buterin (like
butterin’ bread) at (316)260-3800 9-3 CST (that’s Kansas
City/Chicago Time)
Labels: agent leads, calling leads, cold calling, health insurance leads, leads, sales, sales leads
