Tips for Improving Your Sales Calls - How to Get Past the Receptionist

When placing an unsolicited sales call, the hardest part is actually getting to speak to a decision maker. In fact, receptionists are trained to sniff out unsolicited sales calls and keep them at bay. Well, there are a few things you can do to disguise your call. The items listed below will help you not sound like a sales call and enable you to get past the person at the front desk.

First, you should do a little research. Who is the decision maker at the company? Many times you can find a whole list of company employees and their titles right on the internet. If they don't have a website, you can look in the yellow pages. If you still can't find the right information, you can call and ask. However, this should be kept separate from your actual sales call. It isn't time to sell anything yet. Just ask a question like, "Who is responsible for buying your supplies."

Now, that you have a name, you want to make sure you can pronounce it correctly. If you can't pronounce the name correctly, it shows that you do not actually know this person. When making your sales call, you probably want to use the first name only. This makes it sound like you already know the person. It will throw off the front desk hounds.

Now, when asking for the decision maker, you should know that there will be follow up questions. No good receptionist is going to just hand over her boss without asking, "May I ask what this is in reference to?" Be ready for this question. Do not say anything about selling. Keep this answer short and relevant. Don't lie. Remember you still have to sale a product and you can't do that if you have broken your trust. For instance, if you are trying to sell an alarm system, you may say you are calling about a security issue. You aren't lying but you aren't giving too much away either.

What you say in response to the receptionists question is going to effect whether or not you are put through to a decision maker. However, your attitude to the receptionist also plays a role in whether or not you will put you through or whether she wants to interrogate you further. Do not be rude to the receptionist.

In the end, you may not get through to a decision maker every time; however, using these tips will help you get through many more times than you would have on your own. Remember to do your research, pronounce the name correctly, keep your answers short and relevant, and don't be rude to the receptionist. Using these tips should help you raise your sales.