Phoning for Godot

I had a pet peeve when I started out my career on the Agency side. I used to telephone my clients, prospective or current, and leave a message for them to call me back. Often, they didn’t.

I vowed to myself, as I toiled as an assistant account executive for an advertising agency, that I would return calls if I ever became a client. I did not mind if the response was negative; I just wanted a response. There is little worse than the never-never land of trying to decide whether to call someone back for the third time. You don’t want to be a pest. You just want to talk to the person.

I devised strategies. I called early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Lunchtime, the most convenient time for me to call, was never the right time to catch my clients at their desks. My clients ate lunch away from their desks. (Lunch habits have since changed considerably.)

Then came Voice Mail; yet another barrier to reaching an actual person. On the positive side, I could at least leave a message, which was a step up from no contact whatsoever.

You are likely thinking, then, that after becoming a client I was conscientious about returning telephone calls. You would, unfortunately, be wrong in that assumption.

For many, many years I attempted to return every call from outside vendors, partners, suppliers — even wrong numbers. I returned cold calls to say that I was not interested. I typically returned calls the same day I received the original message. I swear that this is true.

Then something happened. The number of calls I received each day became proportionately greater than the number of calls I needed to make. As I became responsible for more and more brands, there were more and more people who wanted to talk to me. As I gained authority and earned the right to make decisions about who we would hire, everybody wanted to persuade me to choose them. As I became a gatekeeper, my gate got harder and harder to get through.

Finally, I had to make some rules. Though I believe then and now that learning about new opportunities is imperative in our business, I only returned cold calls if the caller left a short message that intrigued me. Depending on my happiness level that day, the obvious recruiter calls would be saved, discarded, or returned. If the call was from someone I was currently working with, I passed it on, replied via e-mail, or returned the call — but not always the same day I received the message.

And so, I turned, into what I feared most. I became the Client Who Did Not Return Calls.

Here’s the Solution

I am not unsympathetic, however. I do have a few tricks that can help you get that call returned. Follow them and, if all the stars are aligned in the heavens, you will be able to reach the client.

1. Leave a SHORT (ideally, 30 seconds) and concise message that includes information on why the client should return your call. Focus on what the benefit is to the client, not to you.

2. State your name and phone number S-L-O-W-L-Y. Repeat it S-L-O-W-L-Y. I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked to call somebody back but couldn’t understand the name or phone number. In this situation, the recipient has two choices: Ignore the message or replay it multiple times in hopes of deciphering it. Most clients choose the former.

3. Get an e-mail address for those clients who prefer that form. Some people faithfully answer e-mails and not phone calls. The advantage to e-mails is that a client can communicate at a time most convenient to him. The more convenient you make it to respond, the more likely he will. E-mails are also more easily saved.

4. Take advantage of references, friends, and acquaintances to assure the client that it would be in their best interest to talk to you. There are many people I respect in the world. When these people recommend that I speak with somebody, I make a point to do so. It’s critical, however, to use this properly. If you mispronounce the name of the person who supposedly recommended you call somebody, it defeats the purpose; if you drop the name of someone who is less respected, it will not help.

I also have a final word of advice for clients. I know your inbox. I understand your pain. But return those calls. If you do not, the person trying to reach you will call again, and again, and again, and again. You will have to hear their message again, and again, and again. You will spend more time listening to those messages than you would have spent calling back the first time.

Sara Owens spent more than a decade at Kraft Foods and ConAgra Frozen Foods, and is currently working as a consultant. Reach her at [email protected].