CUTTING YOUR LOSSES

After a couple of your dynamite voice mails have been ignored, try contacting the all-powerful gatekeeper or administrative assistant again (you have a record of her or his name, right?) and ask for help in seeing if there is a time or day when you might have success talking with Ms. Target live. Something like this usually works:

“Hi, Pat. It’s Wendy Winner from Widget World. I’m hoping you can help me: I’ve been trying to get Mr. Target on the phone, and I keep missing him. Any ideas about when is the best time and day to reach him?” [Pause for a second as if this just occurred to you.] “Or is there another number I could try, like his cell phone, maybe, or his e-mail?”

Remember to thank Pat genuinely for whatever information ...

Get Smart Prospecting That Works Every Time!: Win More Clients with Fewer Cold Calls now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.