Action Tips: Making Calls That Will Make People Listen!

So you’ve chosen a company or maybe even the editor of a paper that you’re convinced can help you get your project off the ground. Great! Before you call them, check out these tips that may just make the difference between being hung up on and actually getting through.

Do Your Research

• Always do your research before you make a call. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to get serious.
• Know about latest press articles, blog posts, financial standings, events, etc. before you call somewhere. You may want to mention something interesting you read during your conversation. The more interest you show in them, the more interest they will show in you.
• Basic information about the company can probably be found on their website. Even an editor usually has a bio on their newspaper/magazine’s staff page. So don’t spend precious time (yours or your contact’s) asking questions you can get there!

Get A Name

• Don't make a call until you know who you're calling. Search online until you have a first and last name of someone.
• Saying your intent to the phone operator usually lands you with the wrong person, or just a hang up, so get a name first!

Don’t Give Up

• Call every number listed until you get someone useful on the phone.
• If there is an operator with many choices, always stay on the line or choose the option that gets you to a person.
• Don't get caught listening to a recording or leaving a message when you could have talked with a human being.
• Leave one message. If you don't hear back, call every day at varied times but do not leave messages. This allows you to call endlessly without their knowing.

Write A Phone Script

• If you reach someone (yay!) but don't know exactly what to say, you'll sound unprofessional so write out exactly what you want to say.
• Practice reading your script so you sound natural but well spoken.

Pick A Role

• Decide whether to be a "student doing research" or you.
• If you decide to be you, you must sound professional and have a tight pitch.
• If you are "a student doing research," you have more room for error, but you are not in a position to make any asks.
• One strategy that works well is to have someone else call as a "student doing research" and after they get a direct line to contact said special person and the information you/they wanted, you call as you and make your pitch.
• Try to get a feeling for the person you’re speaking to. They may not take you seriously if they know they’re speaking to a teenager so you might want to keep that to yourself at first. Then again, they might take you even more seriously once they realize. Try to figure out before you even declare it.

Be Brief and to the Point

• Keep it short and simple. Don’t be too aggressive!
• Be really specific with your concerns and requests. Tell him or her exactly what you want from them.

Stay Connected

• Get the name of the operator and anyone who helps transfer your call. This way, you can use their names when speaking to the contact you are trying to reach (Sarah referred me to you...) or if you get lost in a phone transfer torpedo, you can call back and retrace your steps before you got lost.
• Once you do reach a person, get their direct number and an email address. This is SO important, unless you enjoy the phone transfer nightmare and want to go through it again.

Be Memorable

• Do something remarkable or at least unusual on the phone so that they remember you when you call back to bug them three weeks later (after you leave a message and call everyday until they finally answer the phone).

Show Gratitude

• Say "thank you" before you hang up, even if you just wasted 15 minutes listening to them.

Follow Up

• Send an email with your contact information and a "thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me today." This will make you seem nice and professional (bonus points!).
• Consider a thank you card sent thru snail mail. These are unusual nowadays and will make you stand out from the pack!