00:00To me, it's a serious problem because these robocalls and, you know, they call up and you can say anything.
00:09Do they really believe that we don't realize that it's a computer on the other end?
00:13So stop trying to fake it.
00:14Get a real live person to call and your business will soar.
00:18And it's crazy how these companies are hiring people that don't know how to answer.
00:24Or also another thing, Richard, I ask people, do you ever call your own company?
00:29So how many times have I called a company and I apologize for waking them up?
00:34Oh, hello.
00:35Oh, I'm sorry.
00:36Sorry, were you sleeping?
00:38I feel like I just woke you up.
00:39Because they're so dead.
00:41Hello.
00:43To me, this is your first impression is the phone call.
00:48So if you're not doing it right, you really could lose the business.
00:51But I do have, so my parents growing up in a family business, we were taught not to ask the
00:58question.
00:58So if you are calling up a company, so I'm calling your business up, Richard, and I say, is Richard
01:03available?
01:04And they say to me, may I ask who's calling?
01:08And so I say, who's calling?
01:10And then they come back and they say, no, Richard's not in a meeting.
01:13I think that Richard doesn't want to talk to me because you got my number and my name.
01:17You're asking Richard.
01:19Richard probably told you, no, this is what's going on in my mind.
01:21So we were taught never really ask that question, may I ask who's calling, so that you can come back
01:27and say, you know what?
01:29Oh, Adrian's out of the office.
01:31I didn't realize it.
01:32And it sounds real.
01:33Not like, do you know what I'm saying?
01:35Am I making myself clear?
01:36Of course I do.
01:37But as I said before, this person has been trained for the average burger.
01:42There's nothing special about it.
01:44You, my friend, are gourmet.
01:45Hey, you don't need to angle in or ask, as I say before, you should have earned the pass to
01:52pitch.
01:53My suggestion, depending on the size of your list, do two minutes of due diligence.
01:58Look at a LinkedIn profile.
02:00Look at a website.
02:01Maybe you get lucky.
02:03They just celebrated their 15th year in business.
02:05Then you could say, hey, I just wanted to say congratulations on the 15-year anniversary.
02:10Or maybe there's a chance when you see the directory whom will be answering that call.
02:14So then you could say hi to Kathy.
02:16Nice, Kathy.
02:18And so you're asking me, how do I increase my metrics?
02:21And when someone's busy and I'm asking to speak with them, I do three or four marinated things prior to
02:28asking for time or commitments from people.
02:32I need people to lay down their swords.
02:35And they need to not judge me on what happened with others that didn't show that sort of respect to
02:41that company.
02:43And so when I leave a custom-made voicemail, make a custom-made email, or I try to anchor with
02:49this gatekeeper one, two, or three ways, if it's mystery shopping, if it's a due diligence, a callback, or just
02:56randomly throwing darts out there, you got it.
02:59You got to hit the sizzle in the beginning of something they can relate with.
03:02It's not – they're just not going to give that pass.
03:08These people kind of want you to be a little bit clever.
03:12And so when I smile over the phone by saying the name of the company better than they do, I'm
03:16teaching them to stand up a little straighter.
03:18You sound terrible when you're answering the phone.
03:20Come, please, let you know.
03:22Have some pizazz.
03:24So it makes them chuckle for a second.
03:26I seem sweet.
03:27It's innocent.
03:29It's a lollipop sort of intro compared to a jagged edge angle.
03:34And does it work?
03:36It could work in some places.
03:38I tell you what.
03:40Good point.
03:41If I'm calling in the Northeast, let's say Philadelphia, New York, Boston, that area, yeah, cut the fat.
03:48When you're in the Midwest, take your time.
03:52West Coast, you got to be kind of, you know, cool about it too.
03:55I mean, it's – that's why when I do teach my classes, I have to talk about genres.
04:00We just don't say the beach.
04:01We say we go to the shore, you know.
04:03So people have to learn these things.
04:05And so the more that you teach the North American culture, the more they can make those adjustments so they
04:11don't sound foreign to you if they're making these calls.
04:13But, listen, people are paid to hang up and filter.
04:17And if you're going to have romantic deaths, at least say a company name spike, a positive escalation, two buffer
04:23boomerang techniques, and if you can jump clouds that way, you can get through an eight-hour day of making
04:28phone calls.
04:29Because I'm not judging you on five, ten-minute calls where two of them closed.
04:33I'm judging you on 135, 30-second perfect pitches.
04:37Perfect pitches.
04:39That's an artist.
04:40And I'm willing to play that game.
04:43I could listen to you talk all day.
04:45There is – I don't know how I went 61 years without meeting Richard Blake.
04:49Listen, everyone.
04:50Listen, this is serious.
04:52Richard, if you're – when you're doing coaching calls, like, I want to know every course you're taking or you're
04:57delivering.
04:57So I am –
05:00I don't know if you're doing coaching calls.
05:00I don't know if you're doing coaching calls.
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