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How to Get Prospects on the Phone

The document outlines strategies for effective sales prospecting, emphasizing the challenge of contacting decision-makers and overcoming gatekeepers. It recommends using multiple tactics like direct calls, voicemails, and emails, as well as leveraging resources such as LinkedIn and company databases to find contacts. The importance of a structured call cadence and adapting approaches based on organizational structures is also highlighted.

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How to Get Prospects on the Phone

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How to GetProspects on the Phone Michael Halper Sales Prospecting 101
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Your Biggest Challenge • Figuring out who to call – Companies can be big complex mazes – Might not have a the exact name and phone number • Prospects often do not answer the phone – Decision makers are often in meetings – They let calls go to voicemail – Have phone forwarded to a gatekeeper • You can spend as much as 80% of your time trying to connect – That is ok and what is important to use a mix of tactics so that it is only 80% and not 100% – Using the right mix of direct calls, voicemail messages, and email will minimize this challenge
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Figuring Out Whoto Call
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Organizational Structures FunctionalDepartments
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Organizational Structures OrganizationalLevels
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Organizational Mapping OrganizationalLevels
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Finding Contacts CRM
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Finding Contacts LinkedIn
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Finding Contacts BusinessContact Database
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Finding Contacts Prospect’sWebsite
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Finding Contacts Google
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Finding Contacts Gatekeeper •Ask for direction by title – “I am trying to reach the Director of HR, can you point me in the right direction?” •Name drop – “We are planning on meeting with John Wilson but would like to connect with the Director of HR before we go in that direction. Do you know who we should reach out to?”
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Finding Contacts InternalReferrals •Getting additional contacts while talking to prospects •At the end of a good discussion: – “Do you know who else it might make sense for me to reach out to?” •When talking to the wrong prospect – “Oh I see. Do you know who the correct person for me to reach out to is? •Be quick to communicate that you will not share where you go the prospect’s name
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Getting Prospects onthe Phone
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Getting Around Gatekeepers • View gatekeeper training • Name dropping • Be prepared for objections • Be friend the gatekeeper • Ask qualifying questions • Get direct line phone numbers
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Voicemail • Primarystrategy – Do not leave a message – Saves time and keeps call back option open – Schedule the next call for next day or day after • Secondary strategy – Leave voicemail every 5 call attempts – Schedule next task two weeks out – Follow-up every voicemail with an email
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Email • Keyto improving connect rate – Creates a multi-touch approach – It is easier for the prospect to reply to emails – It is easier for the prospect to save your information • Send a pre-call email when it makes sense • Follow-up every voicemail with an email • Guess email address through Google search – Use an email checker – *@[company web domain] • Will provide the naming convention of the website • Send email with guess and check for delivery – Guess using common email styles • [email protected] • [email protected] • [email protected] • [email protected]
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Vertical Movement •Calling at levels above and below the target prospect inside of their department – Trying to reach a manager, call above and call at the director – Trying to reach a director, call below and try to reach a manager
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Organizational Structures OrganizationalLevels
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Horizontal Movement •Calling into other departments that are impacted by the target prospect’s department – Can’t get into IT, call into operations – Can’t get into HR, call into finance
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Organizational Structures FunctionalDepartments
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Organizational Mapping OrganizationalLevels
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Call Cadence Round1 1.Pre-call email 2.First phone call 3.Leave voicemail message #1 4.Send voicemail follow-up email #1 5.Pause (one to two days, one week, etc.) Round 2 1.5 to 10 calls with no voicemail message 2.After 2 weeks, leave voicemail message #2 3.Send voicemail follow-up email #2 4.Pause (one to two days,one week, etc.) 5.Move laterally and horizontally to find new contacts and start round 1 Round 3 1.5 to 10 calls with no voicemail message 2.After 2 weeks, leave voicemail message #3 3.Send voicemail follow-up email #3 4.Potentially close contact
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Summary • Oneof the biggest challenges you face is getting a prospect on the phone • Use resources like LInkedIn, CRM, Google, Company Website and business contact databases to find contacts • Be prepared for how to get around gatekeepers • Use a mix of call cadence, voicemail, and email to create a multi-touch approach • Use vertical and horizontal organization movement when you cannot connect
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Editor's Notes

#3 Alright, so let’s get to some tactics to deal with these gatekeepers. The first approach is to try to enlist their help in getting you to where you want to and try to get them to shift from blocking to helping. I know, easier said than done and this might not work with very difficult gatekeepers, but this can be the tactic to try first. It begins with presenting yourself as lost and needing help to get going in the right direction. Using language like, “Maybe you can help me here.” and “I am not really sure who I need to connect with.” you can sometimes create a scenario that invites more help from the gatekeeper. Part of the execution here is talking with a tonality that has a mix of lost and curiosity. To help with this, try talking with a puzzled look on your face when on the phone with a gatekeeper. The other thing that you can do is just very directly ask for advice from the gatekeeper on how to best engage or get around the organization, what process would work best, or how to best get time on the target prospect’s calendar
#5 Those are the gatekeepers that you are going to face. And the next step that we are going to take is to focus on improving our understanding of the gatekeeper. This comes from one of the 7 habits of highly effective people, written by the late Dr. Stehpen Covey, called seek first to understand in order to be understood. It is a great tactic to use when facing an adversary and we won’t go into a full explanation on that concept, other than to say that we clearly want to be understood by gatekeepers as we want them to know why it makes sense to let us in. So in order to help instigate that direction, we will work to try to understand them. This can not only help us to know how best to deal with them, but when we show them that we understand them, we can stand to build rapport and decrease their guard. And here is a great quote to start the process of trying to understand, Great Spirit – Grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. When we get frustrated with a gatekeeper when they are rude and difficult, this can be a result of us not really understanding them and walking a mile in their shoes.
#6 Those are the gatekeepers that you are going to face. And the next step that we are going to take is to focus on improving our understanding of the gatekeeper. This comes from one of the 7 habits of highly effective people, written by the late Dr. Stehpen Covey, called seek first to understand in order to be understood. It is a great tactic to use when facing an adversary and we won’t go into a full explanation on that concept, other than to say that we clearly want to be understood by gatekeepers as we want them to know why it makes sense to let us in. So in order to help instigate that direction, we will work to try to understand them. This can not only help us to know how best to deal with them, but when we show them that we understand them, we can stand to build rapport and decrease their guard. And here is a great quote to start the process of trying to understand, Great Spirit – Grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. When we get frustrated with a gatekeeper when they are rude and difficult, this can be a result of us not really understanding them and walking a mile in their shoes.
#7 Those are the gatekeepers that you are going to face. And the next step that we are going to take is to focus on improving our understanding of the gatekeeper. This comes from one of the 7 habits of highly effective people, written by the late Dr. Stehpen Covey, called seek first to understand in order to be understood. It is a great tactic to use when facing an adversary and we won’t go into a full explanation on that concept, other than to say that we clearly want to be understood by gatekeepers as we want them to know why it makes sense to let us in. So in order to help instigate that direction, we will work to try to understand them. This can not only help us to know how best to deal with them, but when we show them that we understand them, we can stand to build rapport and decrease their guard. And here is a great quote to start the process of trying to understand, Great Spirit – Grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. When we get frustrated with a gatekeeper when they are rude and difficult, this can be a result of us not really understanding them and walking a mile in their shoes.
#8 To help us to understand the gatekeeper more, let’s look at a day in the life for them. First of all, as we mentioned earlier, many gatekeepers work in very hectic environments. They usually have to deal with a steady flow of internal and external calls and request. And a major portion of their calls that they answer are from sales people that are cold calling and trying to get in to sell something. And most gatekeepers that you reach might not be completely happy with their position. This might not pertain to executive assistants as those positions can actually become fairly senior and offer decent compensation, but most people do set out a plan at an early age to become a switchboard operator or a front desk receptionist. The other key thing to focus on when trying to understand gatekeepers is that they often have been given the clear objective of keeping out cold calls from sales people. Business owners and managers may tell a gatekeeper that it doesn’t matter who they are and what they say, keep out a call from someone who appears to be trying to sell something. So when they are being difficult and not letting you in, they are actually just following orders and trying to do what they have been told. And if when you get through to a target prospect and that prospect did not want your call, the gatekeeper could get in trouble for not doing their job.
#9 To help us to understand the gatekeeper more, let’s look at a day in the life for them. First of all, as we mentioned earlier, many gatekeepers work in very hectic environments. They usually have to deal with a steady flow of internal and external calls and request. And a major portion of their calls that they answer are from sales people that are cold calling and trying to get in to sell something. And most gatekeepers that you reach might not be completely happy with their position. This might not pertain to executive assistants as those positions can actually become fairly senior and offer decent compensation, but most people do set out a plan at an early age to become a switchboard operator or a front desk receptionist. The other key thing to focus on when trying to understand gatekeepers is that they often have been given the clear objective of keeping out cold calls from sales people. Business owners and managers may tell a gatekeeper that it doesn’t matter who they are and what they say, keep out a call from someone who appears to be trying to sell something. So when they are being difficult and not letting you in, they are actually just following orders and trying to do what they have been told. And if when you get through to a target prospect and that prospect did not want your call, the gatekeeper could get in trouble for not doing their job.
#10 To help us to understand the gatekeeper more, let’s look at a day in the life for them. First of all, as we mentioned earlier, many gatekeepers work in very hectic environments. They usually have to deal with a steady flow of internal and external calls and request. And a major portion of their calls that they answer are from sales people that are cold calling and trying to get in to sell something. And most gatekeepers that you reach might not be completely happy with their position. This might not pertain to executive assistants as those positions can actually become fairly senior and offer decent compensation, but most people do set out a plan at an early age to become a switchboard operator or a front desk receptionist. The other key thing to focus on when trying to understand gatekeepers is that they often have been given the clear objective of keeping out cold calls from sales people. Business owners and managers may tell a gatekeeper that it doesn’t matter who they are and what they say, keep out a call from someone who appears to be trying to sell something. So when they are being difficult and not letting you in, they are actually just following orders and trying to do what they have been told. And if when you get through to a target prospect and that prospect did not want your call, the gatekeeper could get in trouble for not doing their job.
#11 To help us to understand the gatekeeper more, let’s look at a day in the life for them. First of all, as we mentioned earlier, many gatekeepers work in very hectic environments. They usually have to deal with a steady flow of internal and external calls and request. And a major portion of their calls that they answer are from sales people that are cold calling and trying to get in to sell something. And most gatekeepers that you reach might not be completely happy with their position. This might not pertain to executive assistants as those positions can actually become fairly senior and offer decent compensation, but most people do set out a plan at an early age to become a switchboard operator or a front desk receptionist. The other key thing to focus on when trying to understand gatekeepers is that they often have been given the clear objective of keeping out cold calls from sales people. Business owners and managers may tell a gatekeeper that it doesn’t matter who they are and what they say, keep out a call from someone who appears to be trying to sell something. So when they are being difficult and not letting you in, they are actually just following orders and trying to do what they have been told. And if when you get through to a target prospect and that prospect did not want your call, the gatekeeper could get in trouble for not doing their job.
#12 To help us to understand the gatekeeper more, let’s look at a day in the life for them. First of all, as we mentioned earlier, many gatekeepers work in very hectic environments. They usually have to deal with a steady flow of internal and external calls and request. And a major portion of their calls that they answer are from sales people that are cold calling and trying to get in to sell something. And most gatekeepers that you reach might not be completely happy with their position. This might not pertain to executive assistants as those positions can actually become fairly senior and offer decent compensation, but most people do set out a plan at an early age to become a switchboard operator or a front desk receptionist. The other key thing to focus on when trying to understand gatekeepers is that they often have been given the clear objective of keeping out cold calls from sales people. Business owners and managers may tell a gatekeeper that it doesn’t matter who they are and what they say, keep out a call from someone who appears to be trying to sell something. So when they are being difficult and not letting you in, they are actually just following orders and trying to do what they have been told. And if when you get through to a target prospect and that prospect did not want your call, the gatekeeper could get in trouble for not doing their job.
#13 Alright, so let’s get to some tactics to deal with these gatekeepers. The first approach is to try to enlist their help in getting you to where you want to and try to get them to shift from blocking to helping. I know, easier said than done and this might not work with very difficult gatekeepers, but this can be the tactic to try first. It begins with presenting yourself as lost and needing help to get going in the right direction. Using language like, “Maybe you can help me here.” and “I am not really sure who I need to connect with.” you can sometimes create a scenario that invites more help from the gatekeeper. Part of the execution here is talking with a tonality that has a mix of lost and curiosity. To help with this, try talking with a puzzled look on your face when on the phone with a gatekeeper. The other thing that you can do is just very directly ask for advice from the gatekeeper on how to best engage or get around the organization, what process would work best, or how to best get time on the target prospect’s calendar
#14 Alright, so let’s get to some tactics to deal with these gatekeepers. The first approach is to try to enlist their help in getting you to where you want to and try to get them to shift from blocking to helping. I know, easier said than done and this might not work with very difficult gatekeepers, but this can be the tactic to try first. It begins with presenting yourself as lost and needing help to get going in the right direction. Using language like, “Maybe you can help me here.” and “I am not really sure who I need to connect with.” you can sometimes create a scenario that invites more help from the gatekeeper. Part of the execution here is talking with a tonality that has a mix of lost and curiosity. To help with this, try talking with a puzzled look on your face when on the phone with a gatekeeper. The other thing that you can do is just very directly ask for advice from the gatekeeper on how to best engage or get around the organization, what process would work best, or how to best get time on the target prospect’s calendar
#16 Alright, so let’s get to some tactics to deal with these gatekeepers. The first approach is to try to enlist their help in getting you to where you want to and try to get them to shift from blocking to helping. I know, easier said than done and this might not work with very difficult gatekeepers, but this can be the tactic to try first. It begins with presenting yourself as lost and needing help to get going in the right direction. Using language like, “Maybe you can help me here.” and “I am not really sure who I need to connect with.” you can sometimes create a scenario that invites more help from the gatekeeper. Part of the execution here is talking with a tonality that has a mix of lost and curiosity. To help with this, try talking with a puzzled look on your face when on the phone with a gatekeeper. The other thing that you can do is just very directly ask for advice from the gatekeeper on how to best engage or get around the organization, what process would work best, or how to best get time on the target prospect’s calendar
#19 Alright, so let’s get to some tactics to deal with these gatekeepers. The first approach is to try to enlist their help in getting you to where you want to and try to get them to shift from blocking to helping. I know, easier said than done and this might not work with very difficult gatekeepers, but this can be the tactic to try first. It begins with presenting yourself as lost and needing help to get going in the right direction. Using language like, “Maybe you can help me here.” and “I am not really sure who I need to connect with.” you can sometimes create a scenario that invites more help from the gatekeeper. Part of the execution here is talking with a tonality that has a mix of lost and curiosity. To help with this, try talking with a puzzled look on your face when on the phone with a gatekeeper. The other thing that you can do is just very directly ask for advice from the gatekeeper on how to best engage or get around the organization, what process would work best, or how to best get time on the target prospect’s calendar
#20 Those are the gatekeepers that you are going to face. And the next step that we are going to take is to focus on improving our understanding of the gatekeeper. This comes from one of the 7 habits of highly effective people, written by the late Dr. Stehpen Covey, called seek first to understand in order to be understood. It is a great tactic to use when facing an adversary and we won’t go into a full explanation on that concept, other than to say that we clearly want to be understood by gatekeepers as we want them to know why it makes sense to let us in. So in order to help instigate that direction, we will work to try to understand them. This can not only help us to know how best to deal with them, but when we show them that we understand them, we can stand to build rapport and decrease their guard. And here is a great quote to start the process of trying to understand, Great Spirit – Grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. When we get frustrated with a gatekeeper when they are rude and difficult, this can be a result of us not really understanding them and walking a mile in their shoes.
#21 Alright, so let’s get to some tactics to deal with these gatekeepers. The first approach is to try to enlist their help in getting you to where you want to and try to get them to shift from blocking to helping. I know, easier said than done and this might not work with very difficult gatekeepers, but this can be the tactic to try first. It begins with presenting yourself as lost and needing help to get going in the right direction. Using language like, “Maybe you can help me here.” and “I am not really sure who I need to connect with.” you can sometimes create a scenario that invites more help from the gatekeeper. Part of the execution here is talking with a tonality that has a mix of lost and curiosity. To help with this, try talking with a puzzled look on your face when on the phone with a gatekeeper. The other thing that you can do is just very directly ask for advice from the gatekeeper on how to best engage or get around the organization, what process would work best, or how to best get time on the target prospect’s calendar
#22 Those are the gatekeepers that you are going to face. And the next step that we are going to take is to focus on improving our understanding of the gatekeeper. This comes from one of the 7 habits of highly effective people, written by the late Dr. Stehpen Covey, called seek first to understand in order to be understood. It is a great tactic to use when facing an adversary and we won’t go into a full explanation on that concept, other than to say that we clearly want to be understood by gatekeepers as we want them to know why it makes sense to let us in. So in order to help instigate that direction, we will work to try to understand them. This can not only help us to know how best to deal with them, but when we show them that we understand them, we can stand to build rapport and decrease their guard. And here is a great quote to start the process of trying to understand, Great Spirit – Grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. When we get frustrated with a gatekeeper when they are rude and difficult, this can be a result of us not really understanding them and walking a mile in their shoes.
#23 Those are the gatekeepers that you are going to face. And the next step that we are going to take is to focus on improving our understanding of the gatekeeper. This comes from one of the 7 habits of highly effective people, written by the late Dr. Stehpen Covey, called seek first to understand in order to be understood. It is a great tactic to use when facing an adversary and we won’t go into a full explanation on that concept, other than to say that we clearly want to be understood by gatekeepers as we want them to know why it makes sense to let us in. So in order to help instigate that direction, we will work to try to understand them. This can not only help us to know how best to deal with them, but when we show them that we understand them, we can stand to build rapport and decrease their guard. And here is a great quote to start the process of trying to understand, Great Spirit – Grant that I may not criticize my neighbor until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. When we get frustrated with a gatekeeper when they are rude and difficult, this can be a result of us not really understanding them and walking a mile in their shoes.

How to Get Prospects on the Phone

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Editor's Notes