How to get hold of hard to reach prospects

Hello.

Welcome back to this week's podcast.

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So, look, what I want to talk about this week is a subject that I think is a really difficult subject, but a really important subject that a lot of salespeople I talk to are facing at the moment.

And what that subject is is how to get hold of people or prospects that are hard to get hold of.

And what do I mean by this?

So the reality is now in our modern business world, and recently Apple and Samsung made some decisions where they put caller IDs on on phones.

We used to only have it on landlines, but now they put caller ID on phones.

So trying to get hold of people is sometimes very difficult to do.

So this week I want to talk about all the different ways in which try and reach a prospect that's hard to get hold of.

And I'm going to share a few different tips and ideas on what you can try and do to try and get through to people that you're trying to engage with from a sales perspective.

And firstly, I should say there is no silver bullet.

There's no guarantee that all of these things I'm talking about are going to work.

But what I am going to share with you are some things you can put in place or you can try to try and get hold of a prospect that's key for you.

And so let me start by saying as well, what makes this so key is I think one of the key things you should have as a sales or business person is a list of the top 100 or so prospects, certainly a list of 100 prospects that you want to engage with.

And by the way, if you're and you might have listened to my podcast in the past and you might be thinking, well, what do you mean by hundred?

So what you should have is and it doesn't mean so you can't take business in from anywhere, but you should have a group of people that you know your focus, target audience that you're going to engage with and you're going to try and do business with that are a good fit for you, your ideal customer, to work with.

So the first we want to be able to do is make sure that in your list that you've got, you know, if you're trying to get hold of people, make sure in that list that you've got their key information, okay?

And you know who they are and these key details, and you've got those 100.

What might, sometimes might happen is if you're prospecting and trying to engage with someone, you might have someone that says, thanks very much, I'm not interested, and they might come off the list and you then might add someone else onto the list.

And we should always be looking for this sort of demographic, the audience, the Persona of the people you're trying to work with and engage with.

And ideally, what you're always looking for are basically their contact, email address, their phone number, ideally a mobile number or cell phone number, and then maybe their social media, LinkedIn.

If you've got other channels as well, such as, you know, Facebook or Instagram, then obviously you can try those if need be.

We'll talk about those in a bit.

But basically make sure you've got their contact details.

So you've got this list of people you're trying to get hold of.

Because the reality is, I always say to people, if you had 10 minutes in a room with them and you were able to talk about the pain points and challenges they've got, then, then be in a position where they would probably want to have maybe a bit more of a conversation.

Especially if they thought if you were stuck in a lift with that person and you were talking about challenges and you were asking good questions and trying to engage, you'd probably have a decent conversation that could then lead somewhere.

But obviously the challenge is you can't get hold of these people, you can't get in the room with them.

So what are some of the things I encourage you to do to try and solve this and things that I do and I'm, by the way, I prospect and have sales conversations with people all the time.

I have a list of 100 prospects that are my prospects that I'm trying to work with, engage with?

We do a lot of work with IT service providers and managed service providers.

I have a list of 100 people in that list that I'm trying to get hold of and work with.

So I'm in no different to you.

So.

And sometimes I can't get hold of those people.

So these are the different tricks and tips that I use to try and build relationships with them or to try and get hold of them, I should say.

So point number one is this, research them but don't stalk them.

So one of the things I try and say to people is do a bit of research to find a bit more information about who that person is or their situation.

One of the things that that is important is, and I'm saying by not stalking, you don't want to make people feel creepy, but you do want to feel that they actually feel like you've got to know a bit more about them and not just sort of see them as another number on a bed, on a bed post.

So do a bit of research for them, do a bit of Google search and use chat GPT again to try and identify if you information about that person.

If you can, can it create a profile of that person?

Can it share some stories about their background, for example?

So when I look at prospects on certain situation LinkedIn I might look at their university situation.

What do they qualify in?

I was looking at a prospect the other day and he basically someone had a degree in electrical engineering.

So I was able to get in my mind a quite a clear picture of who that person is.

I saw which university he went, he'd been to, which was in, in London.

So, so I was able to go, okay, I now know this person.

I started to look at their LinkedIn profile and start to see what groups they're a member of, what newsletters would they like, what companies they engage with.

So I started to research the person to build a picture and a profile of that, of that person so that when I do try and get hold of them, I'm going to be in a better position to have a conversation, but not in.

And this has to be done carefully, not in a stalky way, but just so that they know that I've just tried to really find out more about them and be, and understand their unique situation.

So look, the first thing is just do some research, be able to be in a position because when you do understand those elements and when you do start to get hold of people in time, they're going to want to know that you know them.

But also it might also give you an in.

And what I mean by this is it might also give you a route in to try and, to talk to them and get hold of them that you haven't considered before.

Maybe they're the member of a club that you hadn't thought of before or, or maybe they a member of a group that you didn't realize before and then you might know someone else in that group.

So there's different routes by researching people that we can try and find out about them and their situation.

So that's point number one.

Point number two is this.

Ensure that your social profiles and the Google search for you is clear as well.

And by the way, we're doing these things, these are things just to get ready before we start to share some of the ideas about how to, to reach out to people.

But just make sure your LinkedIn profile and social profiles are strong and clear.

So when people do, if they hear your name or if they have, if you are going to leave, you know, emails or messages in different channels and you can't get hold of them, make sure if they are looking, who is this person?

They search you up and they find, okay, I can see what that person's about.

And you want that to be clear about what it is you do and how you operate, but also to try and create that bit of curiosity that helps them to really sort of see, okay, you could be an interesting person for me to have a conversation with.

So that when they maybe do you do call or engage again, you may be getting to think, okay, this person could be worthwhile, worthwhile, have having a conversation with.

And the third point linked to that, linked to the research link to the Persona, is make sure that when you do try and get hold of them, you've got something valuable to give.

When we go into sales situations, always with an expectation, if we want something from them, it's so hard sometimes if we do get hold of them, when we do get hold of them, to then get something back from them.

But where we can share a story, where we can share, you know, you should always be looking and thinking, what are the top three pain points for your audience?

And so when you know those things, you can start to then try and create some materials, whether it's a video, whether it's a checklist, a quiz, a guide, whatever that can help them in this way.

So really try and have some value.

So instead of going in and asking for something, you're going in and being able to share something that can make that person, okay, this person's quite useful.

So those are things to do to make sure that you are prepared for the conversation when it comes the point about how to get hold of people.

If you can't get hold of someone, if you have got their contact numbers, then obviously trying to contact them is a good thing.

One of the first Things I encourage people to try and do is to try and call at different times of the day, which are different to normal.

One of the challenges if you're trying to get hold of, especially someone that's a decision maker, you may find when you phone the office between sort of nine and five, you're going to get their team or people involved in their business and you're not going to get them themselves.

Whereas if you call outside of those hours, and I'm going to give a criteria here of when do I think the earliest time in the morning I would call someone.

The latest time in the evening I would call someone.

I would say 8 till 7.

So 8am is the earliest time I would call someone.

7Pm is probably the latest I would call someone unless I knew them after that, I think they're going to think you're a pain or someone that they don't want to speak to.

I think most people in a business situation, eight in the morning until seven and now a lot of salespeople will say, oh, I don't want to call someone for 9am, fine, we'll don't get hold of them then.

But the chance of that person being in a meeting at that time is probably less likely.

And so if, certainly after, you know, after 5 o', clock, you're probably there working late.

Executives tend to work to later times and so try and call at some different times in the day.

That'll be my first thing that I would encourage you to do and not just expect it to be the same as everyone else that you engage with at that time.

So firstly, try some different times.

The second point I will say to you about this is you have to be innovative within your approach at how to engage with these people.

So when you're trying to talk to someone that is hard to get hold of, what they're basically doing is putting the barriers up that says I don't want to be contacted by any person at this particular time.

That that's not mean to say that they.

And certainly if they're not answering your calls, if the gatekeeper is basically fobbing you off, then then you.

It's hard to get hold of them.

So the question is, how can you reach out to them in a different way?

So a couple of things I encourage people to do, one of which is video prospecting.

So there are seven methods of outbound prospecting and those seven methods are email, social media, face to face, calling them, video prospecting, voice prospecting and direct mail and video prospecting and direct mail are two really clever, simple ways in which you can actually get in contact with someone in a different way.

So video is where you might use a tool like Vidyard or Loom and you will actually maybe in these videos.

And I've got a video that I've actually, I've actually got a video that I've done on how to do this more effectively.

You might need to put a little video up that says, look, I appreciate you don't want to speak to me, you don't know me, you don't want to make in contact with me because you think I'm going to sell something to you.

But actually here's the reason why I'm getting in contact.

Here's the challenges that I know you're facing in your role and I've got some stuff I want to do to try and help you solve those challenges or fix these issues.

So using video tools as a one to two minute video is a way of doing that.

Another great way of doing that is to use some direct mail.

So a card or a letter.

So, so one of the things that we started doing for a couple of clients is to send some letters out to people.

I think direct mail is going a bit full circle.

And we marked on this letter private and confidential so that it had to be.

And it was handwritten.

So it was written in a way that made maybe someone that works with them, that person think, oh, I'm not sure if I should open this.

I want to try and get hold of the person.

We marked it as private and confidential.

So utilize different approaches.

Or another thing you might do is if you, you know, again, you'll be careful how you do this, but sending something to them in the post, that's a bit different.

So for example, we use some, what we call lumpy mail campaigns where we'll send something in a box or in a bit that doesn't look like normal letter, which is more likely to get that person to open it up and then to potentially then think, okay, this is, this is, you know, who is this person?

Try engage with them.

And if you then utilize those methods and then follow up with a phone call or an email, you're potentially increasing your chance of them actually going, okay, that was the person that sent me that card or that was the person that created that video.

Okay, that did pique my interest.

All right, I'll give them a chance.

So by using those in those different elements, it can help create that bit of awareness that makes that person think, I'm going to give you that the attention, because the reason they're not doing it is because they just don't think you're worthy of their attention at the moment.

The reason they want to be hold of is they think you're not.

You're going to sell to them.

You're not going to be someone that's going to give any value to them.

You're going to someone to take from them and therefore you're not worthy of their time.

So that's the reason why they're doing that.

So try and look at innovative methods to do that.

Another thing I encourage people to do when you're trying to get people to get hold of is put a bit of humor into it.

Try and put a bit of humor.

There was a great video a number of years ago about a guy that was trying to reach out to a gym owner and he got two dumbbells and apparently he was doing like dumbbell lifting and saying, I'm going to continue to do these lifts until I get in contact with you.

And please watch the video for the next two minutes.

You'll see that I get really tired.

Please give me a meeting.

All right.

He was a bit humorous in the way he did it, but the guy at the end of it was like, okay, fair enough.

That's really funny.

I'm going to give you a bit of time, I'm going to give you some attention, I'm going to give you some meeting.

I had a CEO friend that I knew who had a really, really funny PS at the end of his email.

I've reached out to him actually, and I'll tell you, I'll show you the message if you want.

But basically there was a funny PS message that he put on his.

On his email, which meant that the CEO was like, yeah, that's quite funny.

Okay, I quite like this guy because they've been funny.

And he opened up and had a conversation with him because of it.

So be innovative in your approach, but also be a bit humorous.

Just be open to be able to laugh at yourself.

Sometimes we're too serious in sales and if we can laugh ourselves and laugh at sort of what we do and sort of how we do it, but also make the other person laughing.

Great.

But obviously stay away from things that are, you know, or risque or politically incorrect or difficult in that respect.

We don't want to do those sort of things.

But trying to do that in a different way is a way to get hold of these people.

Because fundamentally, if their phone, if they don't answer their phone, you can't force them to speak to you.

But here's another thing you can also do.

One of the things you might do is go to events where they might be attending.

So if you really want to engage with someone, there's a prospect at the moment that I want to engage with and have a conversation with.

And I've been trying to get hold of him.

He's proven very difficult, if I'm honest with you, because he thinks I'm going to sell to him, rightly wrongly, I've not tried to sell to him or sent that information, but he's got that in his brain.

So the only way in which I'm going to do it, he's a member of a networking organization that I'm also, as a networking event that I'm also going to be part of.

I'm going to go to that networking event.

I'm going to go to that event and have a conversation with him and make sure that I can sort of develop things from there and be interested and curious by what's happening in his world.

So have a little look at the events that they go to.

You're getting on someone's LinkedIn profile or social profile.

It will show details of the types of events they've been to.

Are they a member of a certain type of group?

In which case then is there a way in which you can go along to that group so that you can be part of that process or part of that journey?

And again, when you're there, you don't want to make a beeline for them and say, I wanted to talk to you, but you can then start to, you know, maybe go, hey, so and so appreciate you.

You know, we've tried to speak a few times.

I know you don't want to.

You've been not wanting to speak to me, but let's want to have a chat to you about a couple of things and talk through some issues and see what, you know, where things are you.

If you go to an event where they're there, then that's a great way to do that.

Another way you can also do that is if you're going to an event where they're speaking at.

Sometimes people, executives will speak at events.

So can you go to an event that they're speaking at which can give you a chance to then meet them and afterwards and say, look, really appreciate.

Just, you know, thank you for your speech.

That was really good.

I particularly like the party mentioned on this, this and this.

I'd love to maybe just grab A few moments with you and chat with you about a couple of things.

And when you're giving people a bit of credit and thoughts around that sort of stuff, people are then more open to having a conversation with you and to doing that.

So really make sure that you build engagements right in that way.

But the other thing you can also do is link your approach to news or events from their side.

So is there an award they've won?

Is there something that's happened in their world that is taking place?

Can you congratulate them on something?

Maybe they've won an award or shortlisted award?

So can you link your communication, your approach, to something that they've done in that respect?

So, you know, you might find that they.

Which they have.

And again, I've seen people, I've sent, you know, someone's won an award and they've actually been sent a bottle of champagne.

I've sent them a bottle of champagne, sorry, afterwards, to say congratulations on the award.

I'm sure you've got this one, here's another one.

I'd love to have a chat to you in time.

And generally when people give something to someone, they feel they want to return the favor back.

So, look, these are some different ways in which we can try and get engagement with people who are hard to get hold of.

There's no guarantee that we're going to get hold of these people.

There is no guarantee of that because of the fact that it's just difficult to always guarantee that.

But you've just got to try and build relationships and do it in a certain way.

The other final thing I'd say to you about doing this is to also build relationships with the gatekeeper or the people in their company.

So if you're trying to get hold of someone and you're trying to speak to someone, build a relationship with the gatekeeper.

So say, oh, I'm trying to get hold of so and so at the moment.

Oh, they're really difficult to get hold of.

When is she normally available?

And then just be personal, hey, how's your day been?

What's been happening with you?

And try and see if you can have a conversation.

Some gatekeepers don't want to do that, but some people are open to then sort of saying, yeah, it's been a tough day and, oh, what's the best time to get hold of someone?

Or you can build.

I mean, I've had people where I've built a relationship.

Oh, it's me again.

Hello, how's your morning?

But last time I spoke to you, you were going away for the weekend.

How was the weekend?

And then because they're chatting to you and they feel you're interested in them, they're more likely to then say, well, actually I have seen them today, but I'm not sure that I can get hold of them.

What's the best way of getting hold of them?

So you can build relationships with the gatekeeper and, and that can hopefully get you to a position where you can start to maybe get an inroad into that person from that stage as well.

So, look, there's different ways of what we can try and do here and become their friend.

Build relationships is the key thing.

But just make sure that, as I said at the start, be short, concise in your approach and what you want to get from things, and you're going to stand a far better chance of getting hold of people.

The sales world that we live in is difficult.

Right?

It's hard for us to reach out to people.

But my final point to you is if this person is worth engaging with, then be a bit persistent.

There's a stat that shows that 80% of sales are done on the 5th to the 12th interaction.

And that stat was done from a number of years ago.

So I actually think the stat's higher now.

I think most sales are done.

My record was 19 times and I used this with a lady where I reached out to her and engaged with her.

I couldn't get hold of her for a long period of time and eventually I got through.

So the key thing I'd say to you is don't give up on things.

Be a bit persistent, be a bit consistent in your approach.

If you give up straight away, you're going to fall by the wayside.

But just continue to engage, continue to add value, continue to be relevant and curious and try these different approaches and you're going to start a better chance of engaging with that person, hopefully turn that into a piece of business.

So I hope that's helpful.

Look, it's a difficult subject, it's a difficult one, but these are the methods I've used.

But let me know what are the things that you've used that have worked really well for you?

Is there a method that you've used to try and get hold of someone in that way?

Let me know.

By the way, people always say to me, should I leave a voicemail if I do get a voicemail on a mobile phone?

100, Yes, leave a voicemail.

I've done a video again on voicemails and what to do, but Voicemails should be short, sharp and succinct.

But yes, 100%.

It's James from X, Y&Z Company here.

Telephone number is 01-234.

Blah, blah, blah.

Do that at least.

They may not listen to it.

They may listen to it, but at least it means in your.

In their mind.

When you then do send an email or a social message or something else afterwards, they think, oh, that's the guy that connected with the.

That's the person that did this.

So make sure you do those things.

It's going to be a help for you.

Let me know.

I'd love to hear your feedback on what, what's worked for me on your side as well.

So let me know what has worked from you in that respect.

But as I always like to do, I like to finish the podcast on a inspirational story and I wanted to do a story of a guy called Matt Johnson.

So Matt Johnson is a guy who was actually a singer.

He's on a music show.

But the reason I think he's an inspirational story is he saw a guy that was sadly in a difficult mental position and was looking to jump from a bridge and he didn't have any emergency people around him, so he decided to put his van, he had a camper van, and he decided to put his van underneath where this guy was going to jump from.

And the whole idea being that this guy was like, you know, he wanted to help him, save him.

And what I think about this story and why it's inspirational for me is because sometimes we think again, we can't, you know, we can't do much.

We can't affect someone's life or we can't do things in a certain way.

But yet that story from Matt Johnson showed at that moment in time, he could have sort of driven on, but he said, no, I'm going to make a change in that person's life.

The person came down afterwards, they've been able to, you know, recover their mental health and that person's.

Our life is a role of one person's actions.

So that's a sort of inspirational story for me when things like happen, put himself out to get things, get someone in a better place.

And I think, what inspiration, what better inspiration is that if we can help someone today and keep them alive and make their life better, then we're all in a good place.

So that's it from me.

I hope you've enjoyed the podcast this week.

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Share it.

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But as ever, that's it from me.

Thank you so much for listening.

Until next week.

Have a great week.

Remember, you've always got a choice.

Eat or be eaten.

Take that choice into your own hands.

But stay happy, stay healthy, keep selling well, and I'll see you next week for another episode.

Take care.