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skipping cell phone voice mail introductions
To save your prospects, customers and colleagues time (and money) when they reach your cell phone's voice mail introduction, mention in your greeting that they can immediately leave a message by hitting your carrier's particular key for getting straight to "the tone".
"Hi, you've reached Michael Corleone. To leave a message immediately, please press the star button now. To lose additional time and use additional cell phone minutes, please leave your message after the ridiculously long message that follows this message. Get the message?"
We suggest using only the first two sentences.
The keys are...
Verizon: press the star button (*)
Sprint & AT&T: : press the number one (1)
T-Mobile: press the pound button (#)
For you... if you know the carrier of the person you’re calling you can hit the appropriate key the moment their voice mail introduction begins and go straight to the tone.
It’s beautiful. Pure saleslove™.
alerts: staying in the know
Stay in the know with your most important customers, prospects and competitors. Set up daily, weekly or as-it-happens email alerts from Google. Enter the names or topics of your choice and Google will send you updates on all relevant search results.
To track when a website or blog links to your site or a competitor's site, enter "link:www.company.com" with "company" being the actual site you'd like to track.
If you have a large number of names or topics to track, consider mentioning the idea to another department that supports sales (e.g., marketing, product development, etc.).
text message information
You can get specific address information and phone numbers sent to your cell phone, Treo or BlackBerry by text messaging Google – perfect for those last minute "I forgot the number/ address" moments on the way to a sales call or when setting up dinner reservations with an important client (or figuring out who else you might see if an appointment cancels or runs shorter than expected).
Here's how...
- Set up Google in the contacts list of your device in the same way you add a friend
- Add Google's number as 466453 (you can do this each time without adding it to your contact list, as well)
- Type in the name of the business or person on which you want the information, the city, and the state and send it as a text message
- Within 10 seconds (this is our experience), if the information is available, it will be sent back to your device
- If you have a Treo or BlackBerry, you can highlight the phone number and push dial... you'll need to do the talking/ selling – one thing Google won't do for you
Learn more about how to do it and all of the other information you can get through Google’s short message service (SMS).
web background checks
Be sure to run an Internet search (choose your engine) on new hire candidates before extending an offer. You may learn something that further validates your decision or something that causes you to reconsider. If you’re accepting a position, it may be helpful to do the same on your new leader.
Try using the person’s name, city, and state (e.g., Rocky Balboa, Philadelphia, PA), as well as the name with the word "blog" (e.g., Rocky Balboa blog).
Consider doing the same with your most valuable prospects and customers. Blogs, in particular, may give you better insight into their priorities and challenges, and help you understand them even more.
Submit a tip. Please email Catherine Baab–Muguira at  . We'd love to hear from you.
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