Ask the Sales Doctor - Total Selling Systems

Warren Wechsler's
Ask the Sales Doctor

The Best Time for Sales Calls

Warren Wechsler, bestselling author and national sales and motivational speaker, provides many valuable resources free of charge to sales trainers and sales managers. Some restrictions apply to the use and distribution of this information. For more valuable materials, visit Warren's web site www.totalselling.com. All materials and content © Warren Wechsler, 2001 – All rights reserved.

Sally writes:

When is the best time to initial prospect and make appointment setting calls? I've been told to stay away from Monday mornings and Friday afternoons, as this is not a good time to be calling. What do you think?

Warren answers:

Sally, I'm really happy you sent this question in. You would not believe how many times I'm doing seminars and people say to me…They'll raise their hands; they're moving around on their chairs. They can't wait to ask the question. I say, "Yes? What's your question?" And they say, "What's the best time to make initial prospecting and appointment setting calls? I've been told that Monday mornings and Friday afternoons are bad times to call. What do you think?"

Well, Sally, it's a bunch of nonsense. It must have started maybe during the 1950's when men were men and boys were boys and girls were girls. There was this whole misconception that "don't be calling on Monday morning because Mr. Business Executive is setting his schedule. And don't call on Friday afternoons because Mr. Business Executive is winding down the week and getting ready for the next week. Nobody wants to talk to salespeople on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons."

It's a bunch of bunk. It's a bunch of bunk. Let me tell you the best time to make prospecting calls and initial approaches. The best time is any time. I'm being tongue in cheek. The best time is any time. But let me tell you some tips. Actually Monday mornings are great times to call people because too many salespeople listened to those other audio books, or read those books or went to seminars, and they're afraid to call Monday mornings, so it's a great time to call. If people indeed are setting their calendars for that week, wouldn't that be the best time to call? The answer is yes. Monday mornings are great times to set your agenda and set your calendar and make appointment setting calls.

And also Friday afternoons are great times. So many times a lot of the other people are leaving the office, and those very driven, hard-working, entrepreneurial type people that you want to talk to, those high impact, high energy decision makers are still working Friday afternoons. And let's take it one step further. If they're wrapping up their week and planning their next week wouldn't that be a great time to be talking to them? The answer is yes.

Here are some other great times to make initial prospecting, appointment setting calls. How about if the business opens at 8:00, you get the direct inward dial number, you get somebody's direct extension, and you call him or her at 7:42, or 7:58 AM. Call them before everybody else is there, before the switchboard gets busy. How about calling them at 11:59 AM or 12:03 PM when a lot of other people are going out to lunch and shifting around their schedules and all that? You would be shocked at how many decision makers are sitting at their desks at 12:07 because they're trying to get things wrapped up and they don't have to punch a clock and be going to lunch from 11:30-12:30 or 12:00-1:00. So try a couple minutes before or a couple minutes after when you think they might be going to lunch.

Another great time to call, Sally, is after 5:00. After all the business is done and everybody is going home, the high level decision maker, the high energy, the real driver, that's the person that's still at his desk. He doesn't want to fight rush hour traffic. He ends up working another hour or so, and then leaves his office after all the rush hour traffic is gone. That's another great time to call people.

The best time to call is anytime. I've given you some ideas on when to call, but let me tell you something. Don't believe any of that stuff you've heard before.

One other thing is, if you're looking for the best time to talk to a particular individual, one of the greatest things you can do is make a friend out of the assistant to the person you're trying to get hold of, and then find out what that person's rhythms are, what that person's routines are. For example I just talked to a client of mine in Jacksonville, Florida today. I know that this person comes in at noon and works till about midnight. So I never try calling him in the morning. I wait till 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon his time when I know he's got most of his crises out of the way. He's been known as a really hard guy to get hold of. I've never had a problem getting through to the guy as soon as I figured out what his schedule is and when's the best time to call him.

This was a partial transcript from Warren Wechsler's weekly radio show. Warren Wechsler, bestselling author and national sales and motivational speaker, provides many valuable resources free of charge to sales trainers and sales managers. Visit Warren's web site www.totalselling.com Also, listen to Warren's weekly radio broadcast Wednesday's at 4:05 - 5:00 pm Central time, on KMCD-AM 1570AM. Shows are broadcast live on the internet at http://www.warpradio.com/asx/KMCD-AM.asx