To Succeed in Sales, Enlist Help of Others

Steven Perlmuter worked in advertising and marketing for 14 years before he took over the Southern California arm of You Name It Promotions, a Bay Area company that sells personalized promotional and gift items. In a business where he must do a lot of cold calling, Perlmuter has learned that knowing how to talk to whomever answers the telephone can make the difference between a new account and a dial tone. But though it’s important to identify the decision-maker in a firm, he says, sometimes sweet-talking the receptionist doesn’t hurt. Perlmuter was interviewed by freelance writer Karen E. Klein.

When you make a sales call to a company, you never know who you’re talking to right away. It may be a receptionist or it may be the head honcho. You need to consider that everyone can potentially help or hurt your business. This attitude helps so much in cold calling, especially if you have to do a lot of it.

How many of us get called throughout the day and at home and now even get pitched over e-mail? If you get a cold sales pitch, you’re not going to take the time. People get so many different calls asking them to buy this or try that, it’s a constant barrage. At the bigger companies, the decision makers won’t even come to the phone--they pay people to stop all those calls.

I’ve always tended to be very nice to people on the phone. There are lots of instances where I call up and want to talk to a buyer, and the receptionist tells me she can’t connect me and can’t give out any names. What I do is try to build up a rapport. I ask how long they’ve been with the company and what they do. I ask how they got the job, I ask about their families.

Boom--you’d be amazed at how different the conversation goes. I tell them about my products and say I really want to make sure that the right person gets my materials. One woman told me to put her name on my materials and told me she’d look at them and show them to her boss.

I sent off the information to her even though she said she couldn’t guarantee anything. When she got my packet, she got excited about some of the ideas I had. I knew having her take it to the right person would make a big difference in how they viewed the packet, instead of just sending it blindly and having it tossed into the trash.

A lot of times, a lower-level person has more influence than you realize. When I call back to follow up with the boss, if I can get through, I’ll mention that their receptionist or assistant recommended that I call. When you say the name of somebody they work with, people are more apt to talk to you. People respect their colleagues, they want to create a nice environment. If you can be recommended to somebody in any way, shape or form, it’s always best.

Being friendly and open to business contacts goes beyond cold calling. I went to a pool party, and, lo and behold, I met a gentleman there and we started talking about our jobs. He said his company often bought the kinds of promotional products I sell. I called him a couple days later and he hooked me up with the woman who plans all the events and buys all the products for the company. I’ve since done all the work for her events, and she’s been buying products from me regularly.

Similarly, I went to a fund-raising event and met a guy who told me who to talk to at his company. I called the person he recommended and told her I knew her colleague. I couldn’t believe how different her reaction was compared to if I’d just called her up cold. She was so excited, before I knew it she and I were like best friends. The company is a nonprofit and they do a lot of gift-giving, so they’ve been a great account.

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Another contact I made through a networking group led to a nice account and then a referral several months later to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in West Virginia. I couldn’t believe it when this woman called me and said, “I was referred to you and you come highly recommended. I wanted to find out if you could work with us.” I did one account for them, and I’m bidding on another one now.

You have to find a happy medium. You can’t spend all your time with people who are not the end decision-makers, however those people can help you get your foot in the door more often than you might realize.

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If your business can provide a lesson to other entrepreneurs, contact Karen E. Klein at the Los Angeles Times, 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., Suite 100, Monrovia, CA 91016 or at kklein6349@aol.com. Include your name, address and telephone number.

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AT A GLANCE

* Company: You Name It Promotions

* Sales Executive: Steven Perlmuter

* Nature of Business: Sales of promotional and gift items.

* Location: 911 Havenhurst Drive, No. 4, West Hollywood 90046.

* Web site: https://www.ynip.com

* E-mail address: promoguy@hotmail.com

* Founded: 1987

* Employees: 8

* Annual revenue: $ 2 million