Phone Numbers

Hey, Scott from The Sales Mastermind here. Today’s edition only takes 3 minutes.

Story Time

Imagine you have been working with a client for 2 years.

And they tell you they want to double their business with you.

They're easy to work with; your client schedules meetings via the calendar link you send, and they have never canceled a Teams/Google Meet/zoom call in two years.

You and they are responsive via email whenever they need something between meetings.

In fact, they're one of your lighthouse clients. You have them on your website, and the whole team tells prospective buyers about their success story.

Partway through negotiating their upgrade, your client suddenly cancels the scheduled meeting and stops responding to emails.

You're dumbfounded.

They haven't canceled a meeting in 2 years.

You're worried about the upgrade, and also, are they still a happy client?

It's time to be proactive.

You want to call for an update only to find that no one on your team has any direct phone numbers for the client.

You try calling their general inquiries number, but it always goes to voicemail.

So you're stuck with no way to reach out.

Weeks go past, and it turns out that something happened. They stop working with you and start working with your direct competitor.

Phone Numbers Matter

In modern businesses, where every touchpoint is via video conferencing or email, the above scenario is all too common.

And it's made worse when the contact people at your clients regularly change.

For example, if you have 100 corporate clients, I'd guestimate 50 primary contacts would change every year. The change could be caused by anything from promotion to retirement, internal reshuffle, etc.

Therefore, it is vital to collect phone numbers up front and regularly (every half year or so) review top clients to ensure you still have direct dials for everyone.

And make sure you store the numbers so that everyone on your team who needs access can easily find the correct phone number. I suggest a CRM.

Three Tactics for Direct Phone Numbers

There are a few ways to collect numbers. In descending order, I recommend:

• Ask
• Add a field to your booking link
• Have access to a B2B database service

Ask

It can be as simple as asking your buyers and clients at your next touchpoint. This works best if they're already a client or it's your first conversation.

In your next touchpoint, try this:

"For record keeping, we normally have a direct dial on file in case we urgently need to reach you. What's the best direct number at which to reach you?"

Add a Field to your Booking Link

Another easy change is to modify the booking link you send out.

Every link has required questions for the person booking to fill in. Here is an example from my Calendly:

Ensure you link your booking tool to your CRM and store the answers correctly.

Have access to a B2B database service

Lastly, and sometimes not ideal, is access to a database of phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact information.

I use Lusha because I get free monthly credits (I forget why) and never use more than the free amount.

Another free alternative is Apollo, assuming you have a low volume.

Lastly, the data isn't always 100% accurate or complete, so I recommend Firmable to my Australian clients (where I am based these days). It's not free, but it is the best down under.

There will be local equivalents where you are.

To show you how easy it is, pick a service, follow the prompts to sign up, and then search for the person you want.

I searched for myself in Lusha; the email is accurate, and the phone number is my UK number.

I was surprised they didn't have my Australian number. I imagine Firmable would.

Do you do anything special to ensure you always have direct dials for your buyers and customers?

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