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Tempdigest When asked, "What job title do you call first to schedule a sales call?" sales professionals say they place the first call to individuals holding a variety of job titles. They include: district manager, plant manager, finance director, administrative director, vice president of human resources, vice president of quality, chief operating officer, chief financial officer and the president. The focus of Secrets To Scheduling The Executive-Level Sales Call is to increase your profits by reaching the multimillion-dollar decision-maker. Our research shows the majority of sales professionals start the sales process somewhere other than at the top of the organization. As strange as it sounds, your chances of scheduling an appointment on the calendar of the top executive increase dramatically if you call the office of that executive. Make your first call to the president's office; ask for help. Ask the executive assistant for help and then defer to his or her judgment. Be certain to state that yours is a high-level meeting. For example, "We usually meet with someone from the president's office, but you know your company far better than I do, so where would you direct my call?" If the president's office is clearly the wrong place for your meeting, you can trust the assistant to direct you to the appropriate senior-level person. As you call that person, state clearly, "Your president's office said I should be scheduling with you." This is a strong opening line and inside introduction. If the president's assistant refers you to another senior-level person, the assistant will often call that person and say, "The president would like for your to handle a call from. . ." Either way, you win. You meet with the president, or your first cold call becomes a warm introduction from the top of the company. Does this work? You bet it does--our clients report results of $1 million to $13 million managed services contracts as they call the top decision makers. Shoot for the moon--call the president first. |
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Leslie Buterin, founder Top Dog
Consulting |
