Hello everyone

I am a newbie here and will try to be civil non combattive on this board.Maybe someone here will be able to help me with any issues that concern me.

Hi Mark,

You wrote:
-------------------------------------------------
> I am a newbie here and will try to be civil
> non combattive on this board.Maybe someone
> here will be able to help me with any issues
> that concern me.
-------------------------------------------------

So what exactly are some of the issues that you are concerned about right now?

Here to help if possible,

Paul Short
EbizEdge.com


Free Report "The Missing Element" to Success in Life and Business!

Any advice on writing effective phone scripts that will at least close maybe 4 appointments out of ten calls.

techniques to avoid being screened from the secretary or receptionists.

any methods to get information from a tight lipped secretary or receptionist.

I know there is no magic,any advice is appreciated.

> Hi Mark,

> You wrote:
>
> -------------------------------------------------
>
> -------------------------------------------------

> So what exactly are some of the issues that
> you are concerned about right now?

> Here to help if possible,

> Paul Short
> EbizEdge.com

> Any advice on writing effective phone
> scripts that will at least close maybe 4
> appointments out of ten calls.

As a business person, I hate getting "scripted" sales calls; I hate listening to someone practicing their reading skills on my time. (I do enough reading practice with my kids!)

Make a list of your important salespoints for reference only, and actually *talk* to the person you call in your own words. If you believe you're selling a good, worthwhile product or service that will be beneficial to the person you're calling, let them know that. Let them know what benefits they'll get.

I know I don't ask to be removed from solicitor's calling lists nearly as quickly for a salesperson who sounds like they're having a conversation WITH me as I do for the ones that read their scripts AT me. (I don't respond to ANY sales calls; if I'm interested, I ask them to mail me info and then I'll decide.)

> techniques to avoid being screened from the
> secretary or receptionists.

I also am a receptionist part time outside my business. A good secretary/receptionist ALWAYS screens, and it can't be avoided! What you can do is ask for the office manager or someone in the purchasing department (rather than asking to talk to Mr. Boss-of-the-biz who probably delegates purchasing decisions to one of his managers.)

Receptionists take a lot of calls and can usually tell if you're a salesperson. Don't try to sneak around the receptionist or secretary; that can get them in trouble, and it will insure that they will not EVER cooperate with you again.

They should not to be seen as the 'enemy' to avoid, but rather as the 'bridge' to getting your sales info to the right person or department.

> any methods to get information from a tight
> lipped secretary or receptionist.

Be respectful and courteous. Ask the secretary or receptionist who you need to talk to about their company's 'whatever-you-sell' needs. Again, don't look at the receptionist as a barrier to be gotten around, but as the inside person who can connect you to the person you want to talk with.

> I know there is no magic,any advice is
> appreciated.

I think my main emphasis is for you to change how you look at the person who answers the phone. Don't try scooting past them slyly. Try talking with them and using their position to help you get your message to the right person.

-Laura Lee Wolter
CyberNiche Software
http://www.cniche.com/
[email protected]


CyberNiche Software

Hi,

Please fill in the blanks:

1) Do you have a written work schedule, broken down into 1 hour for Task A and 2 hours for Task B, throughout your workday? Yes [ ] No [ ]

2) How many hours a week do you work, with work being defined as something that will later bring in money? _____________

3) Of the number of hours in #2, above, how many of these hours are devoted to selling? _______

Your answers will give us a starting point from which to help you.

Best,

- Boyd

> I am a newbie here and will try to be civil
> non combattive on this board.Maybe someone
> here will be able to help me with any issues
> that concern me.

I know you post on lesleys board and I am trying to be civil here and non combattive.

1-yes

2-4

3-4

maybe I should try harder,or maybe smarter.

Thanks

> Hi,

> Please fill in the blanks:

> 1) Do you have a written work schedule,
> broken down into 1 hour for Task A and 2
> hours for Task B, throughout your workday?
> Yes [ ] No [ ]

> 2) How many hours a week do you work, with
> work being defined as something that will
> later bring in money? _____________

> 3) Of the number of hours in #2, above, how
> many of these hours are devoted to selling?
> _______

> Your answers will give us a starting point
> from which to help you.

> Best,

> - Boyd

Hi Boyd,

> 1) Do you have a written work schedule,
> broken down into 1 hour for Task A and 2
> hours for Task B, throughout your workday?
> Yes [ ] No [ ]

Boyd, why 1 hour for Task A, and 2 hours for Task B? Is there a reason for this time division (1 and 2 hours respectively)? Or is this just an example, i.e. x hours for Task A, and y hours for Task B?

Thanks Boyd, I've often found your advice is pretty good. :)

- Dien Rice

Hi,

Thanks for the compliment, one of my drives is a desire to be complimented, and I look on this as a failing that I'd like to expunge. Of course, we all like to be praised. Before the Trick Report I was even trying to figure out a way to make money from this "want," but I wasn't able to figure out a way that didn't rely on the ad model, and the Trick Report, perhaps unfairly, soured me on the ad model.

About the schedule thing, I saw some excellent advice to webmasters, which can be derived from 20 questions posted by someone I respect a lot, and I'll quote some of these questions:

[...Quote removed at Boyd's request - DR...]

Best,

- Boyd

Hi Boyd,

> Thanks for the compliment, one of my drives
> is a desire to be complimented, and I look
> on this as a failing that I'd like to
> expunge

it's been a long time since you gave me those option trading tips!! I lost a lot of money but still value your input. Just kidding about your advice but not the other part!! Oh, BTW, what do you make of CISCO? I may have to declare bankruptcy if some of those Jan 03 calls, with a strike price of $60, don't move up. Don't ask what I paid for the calls. I wear my hair very short these days and I ain't got no more nails to bite :-) Think we'll see a summer or fall rally this year??

Your post has confused the heck out of me. But I would like to know. Seriously, do you schedule your day or week in advance. And if so, do you find yourself straying a lot from that schedule or do you find the exercise a very useful one for accomplishing the tasks you set out to do?

I used to religiously make 'to do' list and found that I seldom accomplished even 50% of the tasks that I had written. Maybe I've got a discipline problem? :-)

Regards,

Eliz.

Eliz:

I'd like to see the whole "set of questions".

Anyway...

> But I would like to know. Seriously, do you
> schedule your day or week in advance. And if
> so, do you find yourself straying a lot from
> that schedule or do you find the exercise a
> very useful one for accomplishing the tasks
> you set out to do?

I schedule my week as much as possible using a "daily diary". And I also realise unscheduled things can pop up. IF those unscheduled things are more important than what I have scheduled, my schedule changes. If not, I move the new item to a place I can fit it in.

This frees my mind from trying to keep track of everything.

> I used to religiously make 'to do' list and
> found that I seldom accomplished even 50% of
> the tasks that I had written. Maybe I've got
> a discipline problem? :-)

Maybe... maybe not.

I seldom accomplish all the things on my daily to-do list. BUT, I get much more done than if I don't have a list.

And what of my list?

I write down the things I need to do and then prioritize them.

Then I do the most important item until it is done, then move on to the next most important until it is done. And so on down the list.

If I don't finish the list... and I seldom do... at least I got the most important things done.

The items that didn't get done get moved to the next day's list.

They might not get done the next day either - but - eventually they do get done.

I have found that certain items can take a long time to do if I were to keep doing them until done. And so I'm now experimenting with breaking them up and doing a little bit a day over the course of a week or so.

With running different businesses, marketing them, seeing existing clients, visiting with prospective clients, taking on new projects like The Entrepreneur's Hotsheet, updating existing projects like The Art of Leverage, plus working on new projects, I would get nothing much done without a written schedule.

And all this organizing for the week ahead gets done on the weekend.

Works for me.

Michael Ross
The Entrepreneur's Hotsheet
http://www.sowpub.com/entrhotsheet.shtml

The new and improved Writer's Friend V2
http://www.sowpub.com/writersfriend.html

The Art of Leverage
http://www.sowpub.com/artofleverage.html