Sales calls – the receiving end

Last week I did something I usually don’t do—I answered the phone for a number I didn’t recognize.

The conversation was interesting and taught me a couple of things.

The woman on the other end said she was Person X’s personal assistant (PA) and he wanted to set up an appointment for the next day. She said he was looking for an entrepreneur business coach.

I ask: What is he does he need help with?
PA: He’s looking for a business coach (she is vague and says more but, that’s the gist of it).
Me: What business is he in?
PA: He’s interviewing business coaches right now (she says more)
Me: So, he’s a coach too??
PA: Well, no, he’s interviewing for a business coach (she says more)
Me: Let’s do this, send me an email and I’ll email you back with my intake form so I have a better understanding of what he’s looking for.
PA: Oh… Well, let’s do it this way. I’m overstepping my bounds here, but I don’t like being so vague…

She goes on to tell me that she works for a division of NBC that is interviewing coaches (and she names the people doing the interviews, one name I think I recognize).

She tells me they brought in BIG COACH (who I do recognize, he spoke at ICF Chicago last year) for several episodes and now he charges 5 figures per speaking engagement.

I thank her for the opportunity, decline and hang up.

A couple of things to note here:

  1. I’m pretty sure BIG COACH was charging 5 or more figures per speaking engagement long before he was on their show 🙂 AND the fees they probably charge to be on the show was probably a good investment for him and his business.
  2. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need to be comfortable with the situation.
  3. If I wouldn’t have had a system, I would have shown up for the “interview” and been blindsided.

This got me thinking about the systems I have in my business and the systems that I don’t yet have, but want to.

So, for this week’s Wednesday Live with Evie, I’m sharing about systems for your business.

Systems might sound boring, but they help your business run smoother. I bet you already have systems in place, you just don’t realize it and they might be able to be streamlined.

At home you probably have some systems that are engrained in how your house runs—things like: when the dishwasher is full, empty it, and put all dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher. Yes, that’s a system!

We’ve talked about one business system last month: to-do lists. Yep, that’s a system, a system for keeping track of the things you want to do.

What systems do you have (or wish you had) in your business? What systems do you want to streamline? Comment below and let me know!

Also, you can watch the Wednesday Live with Evie I did on this topic here.

Don’t forget to like my Facebook page here to get a notification when I go live next.