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IMPORTANT NOTE:  For those individuals who have given you permission to contact them, you might want to use the following guidelines.  Please remember that according to the “Do Not Call” laws, you are not allowed to contact individuals, at their home number or cell number, if they have not provided you with written permission to do so.  The "Do Not Call" laws do not apply to business numbers.  For more information on the “Do Not Call” laws click here .

If your client is a business person and you are calling them at the office it’s best to make these calls (during the customer's time zones) at

    * 9 am or
    * From 11:30 – Noon (before people go to lunch) or
    * 4:30 – 5:00 pm (while they are in their office getting ready to go home).

Make these calls Monday – Friday; DO NOT call over the weekend.

However, if you are calling clients after hours or on weekends, at their home number, then plan accordingly.

Marketing studies have shown that people are much more likely to buy on a Friday.  With the weekend at hand they often are not working quite as hard and are in a good mood and more willing to spend money.  We suggest that you set aside a three-hour block of time on Friday’s to offer complementary consultations or demonstrations.  If you are a retail shop owner, Saturdays and Sundays are also excellent days for offering free demonstrations or consultations.

When you call people know what you are going to say.  Know whether you are willing to leave a voice mail or if you will hang up and try again to speak to them in person.  You want to make these decisions ahead of time so that you do not become tongue-tied.  

We are including for you a sample follow up script.  We don’t recommend that you use it word for word but rather use it as a template for creating a script that speaks as you do.  This can be used if you are able to speak to the person directly or you get their answering machine.  

If you do get their answering machine, and choose to leave a message, we suggest you leave a detailed message so the person will know why you are calling and to avoid playing phone tag.

SCRIPT:

Joan, this is Alicia Smith.  Did you receive the package that I sent last week?  (yes or no – the answer really isn’t relevant.  If they got the package, say Great!  If they didn’t, let them know that you’ll put another in the mail today.)

I’m calling today because I would like to offer you, or anyone with your organization, a complementary consultation (or demonstration).

Alternative if you also do live, in-person training: I’m calling today with one of two offers.  I would like to offer you, or anyone with your organization, a complementary consultation –OR- I would like to offer a complimentary training session for your group sometime this quarter.

TIPS:

At this point, simply see where the conversation goes.  Each one will be different so you will need to be on your feet and flexible.  

Be prepared to handle objections.  There’s no need to get defensive or feel the need to sell the person.  If you answer their questions honestly and easily it will more likely lead to the result that you want.

Alter your script as you talk to more and more people.  Each time you do this you will become more comfortable and your presentation will become more polished.