Carol sent me an email,  on a topic, we all struggle with . . . getting through to prospects.

She writes . . .

Uncle Paul,

The majority of the prospects I’m trying to reach are pretty close to impossible to get a hold of.

I’m not getting stopped by gatekeepers, I just always get voicemails and my emails go unanswered too.

Would love to get your take on this.

OK . . . you asked for it!

1)   Are you using your social network to get intros to your prospects? It can make a world of difference.

2)   Speaking of social network, try sending an email to them through your social network. There’s a good 24% higher open rate (according to Epsilon) when you email this way.

3)   Have you included snail mail in your sales mix? I like to skip all the fancy brochures and “corporate” stuff and send a “blank card”. Check out a sample of mine here.

4)   Have you tried creative door openers? And don’t buy in to any of that BS that C-Level dudes don’t like creative things. That’s like me making a statement that Purchasing people don’t like Jolly Ranchers.

5)   When you reach out to them, how is your messaging? Are you well informed about them and reference something specific and meaningful for them . . . or do you sound like you are knee deep in some “smile and dial” extravaganza?

6)   Have you ever had ideas or resource that you simply passed along to them or is every one of your messages basically an infomercial?

7)   Are you’re calling at the same time, with the same message? Doing so makes you predictable and conditions a behavior known as “not listening to your message”.

Calling a prospect at the same time and leaving the same tired message doesn’t inspire call backs

8)   Sorry for the “phone 101” moment but . . . are you trying different times throughout the day? Sometimes calling 5-10 minutes before the hour will help you catch them between meetings.

9)   Are you dead set on only calling “top down”? Sometimes it works out better if you start “bottom up” and get the buy in of someone who’s actually in the trenches. Then together, you go for the top level decision maker.

10)               Have you tried calling another extension and getting transferred? With many phone systems, an internally transferred call appears differently on the caller ID.

11) Check out this podcast I did on What To Do When Your Call Isn’t Returned.

Your Turn . . .

What else can we add to the list? How do you get through to your prospects?

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