Getting what you want

The secretary, every salesperson's nightmare! They are the ones charged with keeping the evil salespeople from getting in-touch with decision makers. For fear that WE in our snidely ways will somehow single-handedly talk that person into buying something that will ultimately bankrupt the company or something worse.

So today when I volunteered to help a college get some of her old leads and contacts info up-to-date, (yes I know it should have never been out of date to begin with, but we will deal with that issue another time) I knew that it would be an uphill battle. In some cases I had to find out if that person still worked for the company, and if not who replaced them. And in other cases why we simply haven't contacted them. All this without looking like a buffoon or a telemarketer digging for a quick sale. Since all I needed was the contact info-and not the real person I took a different approach.

Rather than preach to you the best way to do this. I am going to tell you the way I did it, feel free to pick apart, or use it to your advantage. That's what this blog is for.

Here is what I did to have a successful sales call.

1. Names, Names, Names.
   - Whoever answered the phone I addressed them by their name. And immediately told them my name and the company I was with. By addressing the person by their name it made the conversation much more personal. And I acknowledged them, and not the person I was trying to get to.
   
   "Hi Denise, this is Mike with ACT,Inc.[...]"
   
   
   
2. Admit defeat right-away
   - I wasn't afraid to let the person on the other end know that we had dropped the ball and needed to update our information. In one word-honesty. No smoke and mirrors here, we lost contact and I want to re-establish it.
   
   "[...] I was calling because somehow we lost contact with Gene Kelly at your company. I know it shouldn't have happened, but I was hoping to update his email address. He had inquired about our product at the ASTD trade show and I was hoping to send him an email follow-up."
   
   If Gene didn't work there: "Ok, so it looks like my info is really out of date, do you by chance know who replaced them? And if so could I have their name?"
   
   
   
3. My number-YOU BET!
   - Because I wanted someone's information I wanted to make sure they had mine, so I offered my contact information to them. That way if the call got interruped or they received another call the ball was in their court. Basically I offered trust.
   
   "Just in case we get cut off, I want to give you my direct line, that way if they have any questions they can contact me."
   
   
   
4. More than happy to email
   -I really didn't need to talk to the person, and the secretary being the adamant gate-keeper most of the time didn't want me too, I knew that my information could be assertained from them. So I asked for what I needed and told them why and what I was planning to do with the information.
   
   "I really don't need to talk to Gene, I am just looking to update his email address. That way I can just send him the information he needs and he can view it whenever he wants."
   
   
   
5. Thanks, I really appreciate your help.
   -After I received the info from the person I thanked them personally for helping me. And in the show of gratitude I used their name.
   
   "Denise I wanted to thank you for taking the time to help me out. I am going to email that information to Gene, and if either of you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me."

At the end of my calling adventure, I had a 99% success rate (one person didn't answer the phone). And most every call ended with the person saying "Wow, that was easy I wish more calls were like this!" To me that one sentence is the true measure of how good your phone skills are.

The Selling Point:
Secretaries are used to being overlooked and often trampled on when it comes to salespeople. I make the secretary my best friend, often I don't even try to get to the decision maker on the first call. Let's face it, sales is about relationships, and if you only view the relationship with the decision maker as important--its time to change jobs. Some of my biggest sales came from never talking directly to the money-person. Instead I empowered the secretary, it gave them a sense of importance and gratitude. And I was never afraid to just be human on the phone, if I made a mistake, or wasn't sure if I could get to the person I needed I admitted to it. Sometimes I will even jokingly comment on what a good job they are doing preventing me from getting through.

tags technorati : Sales Tools Secretary Customer Contact Information Sales Call Creativity Customer Retention Relationship Building Sales Tools