The Phonetic Alphabet
I recall my children learning the phonetic alphabet at school and I remember reading stories to my daughter all about Annie Apple and Naughty Nick and his lost nails. Great fun and a useful tip when getting people’s names from the gatekeeper is to write the difficult ones down phonetically rather than literally. Type this into your CRM system so when you get to talk to them, you’re able to say their name perfectly.
Spell it as it is said, is the key. A short tip that’ll pay you big dividends when you get to pronounce the name of a prospect when everyone else gets it wrong.
Ask for their help
For most salespeople, if not all of us, being nice to people is second nature and something that gives us plenty of pleasure. So being extremely nice to the gatekeeper should come naturally to us.
The problem is we know they have been created to fob us off as their boss doesn’t want any sales calls. And this puts us on our guard and we leave ourselves to the mercy of the gatekeeper’s generosity.
The simple answer is to be very nice to them and ask them for their help. People can’t resist helping.
- “Hello I need your help…?”
- “What’s the best time to reach Bob?”
- “Hello, can you help me please to get a message through to Bob?”
Are just some ways that you can ask for help to get through to your prospect. And remember to ask their name and remember it for next time.
Sound Important
A UCLA survey showed that on the telephone a massive 84% of the message and meaning is derived purely from your voice. This fact deserves a book in its own right but for now I’m asking that you sound important so you can get through the gatekeeper.
Important people have deeper voices and say things in shorter sentences. Their tone of voice falls at the end of each sentence to accentuate their importance and they leave lots of pauses.
And most people when faced with someone who sounds ever so important will put you through without hesitation. Try it, its fun as well.
“Hello, Paul Archer here, CEO Archer Training. Mike Brown please.”
Said in the right way will have many gatekeepers reaching for the transfer button.
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