“Hi, Sam, I’m just checking in to bore the heck out of your busy day to see if you have magically found some money laying around and you don’t know how to spend it so you were waiting for this call so I could tell you how.”

               Have you ever started a phone call like this? Think not? How about saying the same exact thing using these words.

               “Hi, Sam, how are you doing?” (pause) “Yeah, me, too, but watcha going to do? I’m just calling to check in and see how things are going. I know the last time we spoke 3 weeks ago you didn’t have money in the budget.”

               Same thing.

               In addition to being a sales person I’m a business owner. Granted, I’m more critical of sales people who call me, but every time someone says, “How’re you doin’” I want to scream.

               If that’s all you have to say, here’s a tip on how to improve your relationship with Sam. Don’t make that call.

               Call when you have a reason to call, in a way that improves Sam’s day. Better yet, if you can do it with an email or (if it’s short) text.

               I like emailing with the promise of a phone call. It could be the promise of a new product, the promise of a delayed billing opportunity, but make it a promise of something important to Sam. Just because it’s important to you doesn’t mean it’s important to him. But perhaps you can take something that’s important to you and make it important to Sam.

               Close your email with a promise to “call you Tuesday with details of how this can work for you.” Then, make darn sure you call Tuesday. Not Monday, not Wednesday. Tuesday. When the gatekeeper asks you if Sam is expecting your call, you say “I sent him an email and promised to call today with details.”

               Just don’t blow it by forgetting to call Tuesday.

               Remember in the rain. Remember on a train. It’s Tuesday. Who ya gonna call?

               Sam.