There’s one sales approach more effective than a phone call.

Photo by Viacheslav Iakobchuk

Not long ago I told the story of my attempts to book a hotel room near the airport in Lexington, Kentucky. You can read the full tale here, and you should. 

The sales lesson of the story was that a phone call is often much more effective than an online effort when you want to get a target’s attention and compel action.

After I put up the post, I heard from fellow road warrior and consultant Don Davis of Gabriel Media. Don is Senior Market Manager at Gabriel and a subscriber to this blog. 

He pointed out that when a phone call fails, there’s an even more effective option:

Many years ago I was stuck in a small airport in Alexandria, LA after delays then cancellation of a flight. This was before being able to book a room via internet.

I made some calls to the few local hotels and was told they were full. I decided I might have a better shot if I stood in front of them asking for a room.

I took a taxi to the biggest hotel and went in and told them of my plight and asked if they had anything available. Somehow they found me a room even though they were “full” when I called.

In each case, there’s a trade-off: efficiency for effectiveness.

It’s faster and easier to look up hotel vacancies online than it is to call each hotel on the phone. But my phone call got results when online attempts failed.

It’s faster and easier to make phone calls than it is to take a taxi to one hotel. Don Davis found that an in-person attempt got him the room.

When you consider your prospecting options, you’ve got the same choices: the efficiency of a social media post versus the enhanced effectiveness of a series of phone calls.

And when the phone and keyboard aren’t getting it done, remember this:

There’s nothing more effective in getting a target’s attention than a human body on the other side of the desk.