I love getting sales calls. The good ones I learn from. The bad ones, well, they become good material for my seminars, articles, and other training. And I record most of them. From time to time, I will post recordings of calls here.

Today I’m starting with the worst call I’ve ever received. I’ve played this hundreds of times in seminars and usually people howl with laughter

Here’s the scenario: I was alone in my office and noticed the calls were not forwarded and a line was ringing. I picked it up and answered, “Business By Phone, this is Art.”

The shaky voice responded with, “Yeah, I’m looking for a decision maker.”

“A decision maker for what?”, I said.

“For getting more business,” he replied.

I said, “Just a minute.” I put him on hold and went to my office where my recorder is. I knew this one would be good.

Here it is.

You gotta admit, at least the guy was persistent and had the “alternate choice close” down.

Aside from the pure entertainment value of this, here’s a scary, but important point: that call might have come in right before yours. THEN what kind of frame of mind would your buyer be in. That emphasizes the importance of being prepared with a value-filled opening, and then knowing where you will go with solid questions.

Want to build your own interest-creating opening and voice mail using my proven Smart Calling process? Get my free, fill-in-the-blanks template, and accompanying video training that will help you draft yours easily. Get it Here.