give me your name and... No, I said I dont know what time hell be back..
. Yes, Ill tell him you called.
As Sylvia returned to the patio, I could she was annoyed by the call.
Always on the lookout for a good phone story, I ventured a questioning
look.
242
How to Get What You Want on the Phone from Big Shots 243
Picking up on my curiosity, she said, That fool thinks hes going to get a
contribution from Ed. Ha! she laughed wryly. Her candor emboldened me
to ask her more. It turns out the caller, a Mr. Creighton, was a fund-raiser
for a major charity Ed was cosidering contributing to. My hostess said
Creighton had called twice in the past two weeks when Ed was out. And not
once did he greet me, ask how I was, or apologize for the disturbance. This
did not please Mrs. Big Cat.
Was it a major irritation for Mrs. Big Cat? No, only minor. But did it
mean a major loss for the little cat who called? It sure did. In Ed and Sylvia
Big Cats household, subtleties count. At the dinner table, Mrs. Big Cat
could say to her husband, A very nice man named Creighton called for you
today, dear. Or she might say, A rather irritating chap named Creighton
called for you today. One comment or the other could mean millions won or
lost by Creightons charity. And all because little cat Creighton mildly
ruffled Mrs. Big Cats whiskers.
Home advice: Salute the Spouse. Office advice: Salute the Secretary.
A surprising number of Big Cat spousesand secretaries have deep claws
into important business decisions. When it comes
Technique #64
Salute the Spouse
Whenever you are calling someones home, always identify and greet the
person who answers. Whenever you call someones office more than once or
twice, make friends with the secretary. Anybody who is close enough to
answer the phone is close enough to sway the VIPs opinion of you.
hiring time, firing time, promoting time, or buying time, many spouses
have a say. When it comes to whose calls get through, whose proposals get
put on the top of the bosss desk, who gets luncheon appointments made,
secretaries opinions count!
Only foolish callers dont realize all spouses and secretaries have names.
All spouses and secretaries have lives. All spouses and secretaries have