How to Get Fortune 500 CEO's To Take Your Call?
"How to Get Fortune 500 CEO's To Take Your Call?"
Secrets From a Savvy Consultant Who Got CEO'S From Disney, Men's Wearhouse, Charles Schwab, & Wells Fargo Bank & Sold His Services
By Chet Holmes of www.howtodoublesales.com
Chet Holmes has sold to more than fifty of the Fortune 500 and been the one to personally get top CEO’s on the telephone and talk my way into a meeting.
He's been able to get around gatekeepers and get the following executives on the telephone:
Michael Eisner at Disney George Zimmer of The Men’s Wearhouse David Pottruck CEO of Charles Schwab Phil Purcell, CEO of Morgan Stanley Carl Reichardt, Chairman of Wells Fargo bank, Alan Horn COO of Warner Brothers Etc…
The biggest tip is that you have to act like you’re important. The dead give-away that you are selling something is when you try to be charming to the secretary. Do not ask her: “how are you today.” That’s the biggest give-away that you are a salesperson.
Holmes explains," I got the Chairman of Wells Fargo Bank on the telephone by calling with a very authoritative voice and saying: “Hi, this is Chet Holmes, is Carl in?”
To my utter delight, he came right to the telephone.
Who calls CEO’s of the largest companies in the world? Very important people. So if your voice has that tone of authority and you TELL the secretary what to do—not ASK her—you are very likely to get right through.
The other secret is to send the gatekeeper back as many times as you can, each time giving very little information. Let me show you difference.
Here’s a weak salesperosn:
YOU: Hi, How are you today? SECRETARY: Good. YOU: Is Mr. Smith in? SECRETARY: Who’s calling. YOU: This is Bill Johnston SECRETARY: May I ask what this call is in reference to? YOU: I’m calling to talk about my product. SECRETARY: I see. Let me take a message.
First question: Who was leading this conversation?
The secretary. As long as the secretary is leading, you lose. You must lead the conversation at all time.
I’m going to give you expert dialogue here to get around the gatekeeper. And keep in mind that I’ve used this personally on hundreds of occasions and have a tremendous track record for getting top executives right on the telephone. Usually within a few days of trying.
Before I give you this dialogue, let me stress one key thing. Never lie. Never give false information. That doesn’t mean you tell the whole truth, you just don’t tell direct lies. Ever.
Watch the subtleties here as I show you how to send the gate keeper back so many times that the CEO finally gets fed up and tells her to put the call through.
YOU: Hi this Bill Johnson, I’m calling for Carl. Is he in? (Notice that she can’t ask my name, I’ve given it to her. Important people give their names). SECRETARY: Can I ask what this call is in reference to? YOU: Just tell him it’s Bill Johnson. (The secretary goes to Carl and tells him it’s Bill Johnson. The boss says: “What’s it about?” She says: “I didn’t ask, it sounded like he knew you.” The boss tells her to get more information) SECRETARY: I’m sorry, can you tell me what this is in reference to? YOU: Did you tell him Bill Johnson? SECRETARY: Yes. He didn’t seem to know you. YOU: Oh. Tell him I’m from XYZ company, that might jog his mind.
Remember to keep a tone of authority. That keeps her off guard. She doesn’t know if she has any power with you yet and the minute you start sounding like a salesperson, you give her that power and she will yield it well. You must keep her off balance.
The secretary now goes to the boss again, expecting that he might know you. You didn’t say he would. You said that the name of your company might jog his memory. Ideally, you will have sent a letter in advance with very little information. Even if it gets thrown out, it still give s you the liberty to act like he might remember you, your company name or the purpose of your call.
The boss says he doesn’t know the name and send the secretary back to you once again.
SECRETARY: I’m sorry Mr. Johnson, but the company name didn’t ring any bells, can you please tell me what this is in reference to? YOU: Who am I speaking to? (You take control of the conversation). SECRETARY: This is his secretary. YOU: Are you his regular secretary? SECRETARY: Yes YOU: What’s your name? SECRETARY: Shirley. YOU: (Tone of authority): Shirley, if you’ll tell Carl that I’m following up on some correspondence to him, that should be enough.
Be clear that a top executive is surely not afraid to take your call. And most are rescuers. They will rescue the secretary and just say: “Put him through, I’ll handle this.” By now, often the CEO comes to the phone just to have the secretary stop coming back to him
He will be gruff, a little impatient. That means that the first words out of your mouth have to sharp, to the point and sound important. Whatever you do, don’t now turn into a salesperson and ask him: “how are you today.” SALESPERSON.
Maintain your authority. And have a fantastic two minute opening worked out.
That’s another article altogether. There are many other tricks to getting top executives on the telephone. I personally teach 18 techniques to get these executives on the telephone.
Be clever, be confident (that’s key) and know that your tone of voice has five times more impact on their perception than the actual words that you use.
Chet Holmes is President and CEO of Jordan Productions, Kaleidoscope Media Group, Business Growth Masters, The CEO Forum and Chet Holmes International. Chet was the number one producer in every sales position held and doubled the sales of every company given to him as a line executive working for billionaire Charlie Munger.
He has had more than 50 Fortune 500 clients and hundreds of other prestigious companies in every field imaginable. Chet has a program entitled: “The High Art of Getting Top Executives on the Telephone.” To learn more about Chet Holmes, you can go to www.chetholmes.com. Or to receive more stunning reports on growing your company, go to www.howtodoublesales.com
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About the Author
Chet Holmes is CEO of Jordan Productions.
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