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Receptionist

by thet
32 replies
I get trough the receptionist 9 out of 10 times,
I wonder,

what happens with that 1?

Is it the voice? Your tone? What I am saying?
#receptionist
  • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
    Maybe the guy isn't in?
    Maybe he's with their biggest client?
    Maybe he took an early lunch?

    ...tons of possible reasons why you wouldn't get put thru.
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    • Profile picture of the author thet
      Originally Posted by jamesfreddyc View Post

      Maybe the guy isn't in?
      Maybe he's with their biggest client?
      Maybe he took an early lunch?

      ...tons of possible reasons why you wouldn't get put thru.
      Sorry. I see what I did wrong there.

      I mean when they tell you "they are not allowed to put you trough".

      So, they "feel" that you are here for a sales call.

      KnowwhaddaImean?
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      • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
        Originally Posted by thet View Post

        Sorry. I see what I did wrong there.

        I mean when they tell you "they are not allowed to put you trough".

        So, they "feel" that you are here for a sales call.

        KnowwhaddaImean?
        You have 9 other times you are getting put thru.
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        • Profile picture of the author thet
          Originally Posted by jamesfreddyc View Post

          You have 9 other times you are getting put thru.
          Are you in a bad mood or just don't feel like bringing some knowledge and experience to this topic?
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          • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
            Originally Posted by thet View Post

            Are you in a bad mood or just don't feel like bringing some knowledge and experience to this topic?
            Never in a bad mood. I thought I was just stating the obvious. 9 out of 10 times getting put right thru is spectacular and wouldn't change anything or worry about that ONE receptionist who has specific instructions from her boss.

            What do you want her to do exactly? If Suzy is simply doing her job ("Suzy, I cannot be disturbed today so please no calls"), then there is nothing you are doing that is causing this. Suzy is just doing her job.
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            • Profile picture of the author thet
              Originally Posted by jamesfreddyc View Post

              Never in a bad mood. I thought I was just stating the obvious. 9 out of 10 times getting put right thru is spectacular and wouldn't change anything or worry about that ONE receptionist who has specific instructions from her boss.

              What do you want her to do exactly? If Suzy is simply doing her job ("Suzy, I cannot be disturbed today so please no calls"), then there is nothing you are doing that is causing this. Suzy is just doing her job.
              Alright. It came across differently. Sorry bout that.

              I understand she is doing her job. But me not getting trough to the manager feels like I am not doing my job very well. I must have come across like a salesperson.

              Some of those conversations goes like this:

              Hi, with Thet, I am looking for [ ].

              She: What's this about

              Me: Well, he is responsible for X right? I am calling him to arrange a meeting with him about X.

              She: So you want to sell your service?

              Me: Well...

              She: Please send your information to:

              ----

              It doesnt go exactly like that. But to me it feels like a loss and i dropped the ball.
              Like.. my voice might have sounded a bit to sales-y, or .. Idk

              So,
              that;s why I asked the question
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              • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
                I'm sure there's lots of ways, maybe even more effective ones, that would deal with this but I usually just opt for honesty and brevity in this situation.

                Originally Posted by thet View Post


                She: So you want to sell your service?
                Me: No sales on this call. I just wanted to have a quick conversation with <name> to see if we should set a time to talk for 5 minutes. <-- I think that is a Claude Whitacre'ism from somewhere.



                There's a lot of stock in tonality and delivery of this stuff. But again, why even worry about this one? It's insane to do that to yourself.
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                • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
                  Originally Posted by jamesfreddyc View Post

                  I'm sure there's lots of ways, maybe even more effective ones, that would deal with this but I usually just opt for honesty and brevity in this situation.



                  Me: No sales on this call. I just wanted to have a quick conversation with <name> to see if we should set a time to talk for 5 minutes. <-- I think that is a Claude Whitacre'ism from somewhere.



                  There's a lot of stock in tonality and delivery of this stuff. But again, why even worry about this one? It's insane to do that to yourself.
                  Yup. It's actually my most profitable approach. I've covered it on this forum, and in my prospecting book.
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                  • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
                    Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

                    Yup. It's actually my most profitable approach. I've covered it on this forum, and in my prospecting book.
                    It's from one of the videos on your YouTube channel. These are really good because you get to express the inflections and tonality of your words when you speak rather than just printed words.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Man, there's many more important things to worry about than the 1 in 10. Maybe use that energy to figure out how you can get the 1 in 10 to call you so you won't have to waste the time and energy worrying about that.

    If you have a 90% put through rate, that's great. I doubt it though because nobody is ever available 90% of the time. Slight exaggeration on your part?
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    • Profile picture of the author thet
      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

      Man, there's many more important things to worry about than the 1 in 10. Maybe use that energy to figure out how you can get the 1 in 10 to call you so you won't have to waste the time and energy worrying about that.

      If you have a 90% put through rate, that's great. I doubt it though because nobody is ever available 90% of the time. Slight exaggeration on your part?
      No exaggeration, but I did exclude the "not in the office" because it's to obvious that out of 80 people you try to reach, you will be a very happy man or woman if you spoke to 10
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      • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
        Originally Posted by thet View Post

        No exaggeration, but I did exclude the "not in the office" because it's to obvious that out of 80 people you try to reach, you will be a very happy man or woman if you spoke to 10
        Well that's what I was thinking.... because there's no way you can consistently get 90% of people on the phone lol. Thanks for clarifying that.
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        • Profile picture of the author thet
          Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

          Well that's what I was thinking.... because there's no way you can consistently get 90% of people on the phone lol. Thanks for clarifying that.
          Ofcourse, didn't mean to put you on the wrong track there
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I wouldn't worry about the odd 1 in 10 you can't get through to because that will always happen. Focus your attention on making each call you do get through to as the best call you can possibly handle.
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  • Profile picture of the author thet
    I was also wondering. How do you cut it off?

    When you notice you will not get past trough. Worst thing to do is probably to go argue about it, right?

    So, do you still try to get in? ..
    What do you do?

    "Bye" and hang up?
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    • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
      Originally Posted by thet View Post

      I was also wondering. How do you cut it off?

      When you notice you will not get past trough. Worst thing to do is probably to go argue about it, right?

      So, do you still try to get in? ..
      What do you do?

      "Bye" and hang up?
      I doubt arguing would get you thru. Maybe she's having a bad day? Just say thanks and call back another day. It's more likely that she has specific instructions about calls and it's simply her job to screen them as instructed.

      Nothing you could do or say will change that. Also it has nothing to do with you personally so why get all upset or obsessed over this? Mark it down in your calendar or call notes to call back some other time, pick up the phone and dial the next number.
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      • Profile picture of the author thet
        Originally Posted by jamesfreddyc View Post

        I doubt arguing would get you thru. Maybe she's having a bad day? Just say thanks and call back another day. It's more likely that she has specific instructions about calls and it's simply her job to screen them as instructed.

        Nothing you could do or say will change that. Also it has nothing to do with you personally so why get all upset or obsessed over this? Mark it down in your calendar or call notes to call back some other time, pick up the phone and dial the next number.
        Well, I want to take responsiblity for the results I am getting.
        Classic tony robbins, i guess. Problems with communications always lay with the communicator, not the receiver?
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        • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
          Originally Posted by thet View Post

          Well, I want to take responsiblity for the results I am getting.
          Classic tony robbins, i guess. Problems with communications always lay with the communicator, not the receiver?
          It's not a problem with communication. It's not a problem with you or what you are saying. Its most likely just her following specific instructions to not let any calls thru.

          You have no idea ahead of time what the decision maker is doing or told the gate keeper. See my very first reply/post in this thread and it tells you everything you need to understand. None of it is because of you (if you are truly getting thru 9 out of 10 times).
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          • Profile picture of the author thet
            Originally Posted by jamesfreddyc View Post

            It's not a problem with communication. It's not a problem with you or what you are saying. Its most likely just her following specific instructions to not let any calls thru.

            You have no idea ahead of time what the decision maker is doing or told the gate keeper. See my very first reply/post in this thread and it tells you everything you need to understand. None of it is because of you (if you are truly getting thru 9 out of 10 times).
            Alright. Thank you.
            Well,
            like I also said in this thread:

            "No exaggeration, but I did exclude the "not in the office" because it's to obvious that out of 80 people you try to reach, you will be a very happy man or woman if you spoke to 10"
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          • Profile picture of the author thet
            Originally Posted by jamesfreddyc View Post

            It's not a problem with communication. It's not a problem with you or what you are saying. Its most likely just her following specific instructions to not let any calls thru.

            You have no idea ahead of time what the decision maker is doing or told the gate keeper. See my very first reply/post in this thread and it tells you everything you need to understand. None of it is because of you (if you are truly getting thru 9 out of 10 times).
            It's interesting. I had two of these today.

            It seems that in the bigger companies it's getting more and more the policy to send everything trough mail. Even with saying: No sales call here, just a call to see if we can have a conversation

            She then says: Do you already do business?

            I answer: No

            She: The policy is that I can't let you trough then

            It annoys the hell out of me:

            1. She already stigmated me very quickly as being sales.. and so I will bother her manager
            2. I could actually be of value.. But she is just to stupid to think differently then her "orders". She can think for herself right?

            If it was simply her orders, it wouldnt bother me as much. What bothers me, is that she seems to decide what will happen or not. She puts me in a beta position by telling me to mail info@****yourcompany.
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            • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
              Originally Posted by thet View Post

              It's interesting. I had two of these today.

              It seems that in the bigger companies it's getting more and more the policy to send everything trough mail. Even with saying: No sales call here, just a call to see if we can have a conversation

              She then says: Do you already do business?

              I answer: No

              She: The policy is that I can't let you trough then

              It annoys the hell out of me:

              1. She already stigmated me very quickly as being sales.. and so I will bother her manager
              2. I could actually be of value.. But she is just to stupid to think differently then her "orders". She can think for herself right?

              If it was simply her orders, it wouldnt bother me as much. What bothers me, is that she seems to decide what will happen or not. She puts me in a beta position by telling me to mail info@****yourcompany.
              She's not stupid. You're not her boss.
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            • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
              Originally Posted by thet View Post

              1. She already stigmated me very quickly as being sales.. and so I will bother her manager
              2. I could actually be of value.. But she is just to stupid to think differently then her "orders". She can think for herself right?

              If it was simply her orders, it wouldnt bother me as much. What bothers me, is that she seems to decide what will happen or not. She puts me in a beta position by telling me to mail info@****yourcompany.
              That point of view will stop you from ever getting better results from these calls.

              She was doing her job. Her boss gets dozens of calls a day from marketers. Maybe hundreds. I honestly don't have a great answer to a good receptionist. All I've ever used (only a few times), when they say "What's this about?"...I said "Do you want to know the whole story?'..and I say it in a slightly exacerbated voice. Our of three times I used it, all three went through.

              But there are others here that regularly talk to receptionists. You'll get good advice.
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              • Profile picture of the author Joe Stewart
                Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

                That point of view will stop you from ever getting better results from these calls.

                She was doing her job. Her boss gets dozens of calls a day from marketers. Maybe hundreds. I honestly don't have a great answer to a good receptionist. All I've ever used (only a few times), when they say "What's this about?"...I said "Do you want to know the whole story?'..and I say it in a slightly exacerbated voice. Our of three times I used it, all three went through.

                But there are others here that regularly talk to receptionists. You'll get good advice.

                You can always jot down the time and make a note to call back at lunch time. Even if the decision maker is out to lunch you may be able to get their name from someone else and call them back another day before she comes in.

                Another way to handle it once you have their name is to say "this is Dr. Jones from the free clinic. We have some test results here and it doesn't look good. Can you please put him on the phone?"

                I've seen people do this and it's crazy, but it actually works sometimes. Some other things that I've heard are:

                "We never buy over the phone"

                Reply: "Well get under the phone, then."

                or

                "We only buy locally"

                Reply: "Well I'm not prejudice, I'll sell to anybody!"

                or

                "I have so many of those I could probably sell you some."

                Reply: "No thanks, I never buy over the phone."

                Once you reach a certain point in a call where it doesn't look like you're going to make a sale anyway you don't have a whole lot to lose, right? You'd be shocked by how many people laugh their head off at those responses. They can be an icebreaker or they may hang up. So what?

                Have fun!
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
    If you are calling companies that have a purchase process then you may be stuck with that. How about trying to pursue a referral contact?

    Is the prospect on LinkedIn or social media?

    There might be some forum members that could talk more about that process.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesfreddyc
    She then says: Do you already do business?

    I answer: No

    She: The policy is that I can't let you trough then
    Have you pursued the path provided? Maybe ask about the policy and the best way forward, maybe take another crack at getting thru:

    "Oh I didn't realize there was a policy in place. Before I go down that road, a quick one-minute conversation with <prospect name> would help to identify if my company could even be a good fit and I could save everyone a whole bunch of time and energy."
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  • Profile picture of the author Joe Stewart
    First off, if you expect to work with a customer long term you can't start off a relationship by lying to him or his secretary. I'm 100% transparent when I cold call.

    Hello, how are you (in my happy voice)

    Her: Fine, what can I do for you (or something rude, so what)

    My name is Fred Funk and I OWN the XYZ Company in Anytown, USA. I'm looking for the person that's in charge of purchasing widgets for your company.

    Her: Okay, that's Frank. Can I tell him what this is about?

    I'll then repeat exactly what I said before. It usually makes her sound foolish and gets her backpedaling because I already told her who I was and I'm having to repeat myself.

    When the purchaser comes to the phone I repeat the exact same thing. I'll then engage in a bit of small talk like "are you staying busy, what kind of work are you doing, etc" and then I'll get right to the point.

    Look, I don't want to take up too much of your time, this is what I do.....

    That's about it, really. Some calls are different, but most are the same. Be completely transparent upfront, 30-60 seconds of small talk (if it extends beyond that they're likely talking about themselves, which is a good thing) and then get to the point.

    After that I give a short presentation, ask for the sale and deal with any objections.

    Pretty simple.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
    Originally Posted by thet View Post

    I get trough the receptionist 9 out of 10 times,
    I wonder,

    what happens with that 1?

    Is it the voice? Your tone? What I am saying?
    The receptionist isn't lying when they say they are out, busy or not taking calls. It's not you.
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    • Profile picture of the author thet
      Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

      The receptionist isn't lying when they say they are out, busy or not taking calls. It's not you.
      No i understand. I don´t understand the lack of professionalism with most. Very unfriendly in telling me `no´, like they are the boss.
      Probably some ego issues.
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      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        Originally Posted by thet View Post

        No i understand. I don´t understand the lack of professionalism with most. Very unfriendly in telling me `no´, like they are the boss.
        Probably some ego issues        .
        No. It's that you are the 87th cold call that they have received that day.

        You're actually lucky that they tell you "No". I don't even do that. I just hang up.

        Your attitude about them is understandable, but wrong.
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        • Profile picture of the author thet
          Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

          No. It's that you are the 87th cold call that they have received that day.

          You're actually lucky that they tell you "No". I don't even do that. I just hang up.

          Your attitude about them is understandable, but wrong.
          Haha It would be weird for a receptionist to hang up. A director / manager etc, sure, i see how that would work haha
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  • Profile picture of the author thet
    Also interesting,

    when you sound a bit cranky, like I am today, you dont get as many `no` from the receptionists.
    When you are all happy,
    i get more

    I need to get depressed :p
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  • Profile picture of the author Skystar
    Wow! You get through 9 out of 10 - that's a super percentage! Try asking the 1 who won't put you thru for you prospect's email and send him a note. See if they have a fax line. Everybody reads a fax.
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