| I was spontaneously coaching a teenager the | | | | says, "No man is a prophet in his own land." |
| other day who is seeking his first job. | | | | By that time he was already onto his next call, |
| He was calling the restaurant where he wants to | | | | chatting with a pal about rollerblading. |
| become a bus boy for the summer. After | | | | Another quote applies to what I was feeling. It is |
| submitting an application, they told him to | | | | less famous, but dead on: |
| follow-up around the middle of the month. | | | | "Nobody is born effective!" |
| Right on time, he rang them up, but the general | | | | We all have to be trained and we have to learn. |
| manager, with whom he chatted, has been | | | | This applies to phone work as much as to being a |
| elusive. | | | | butcher, baker, or candlestick maker. |
| So, while he was phoning in again, possibly for the | | | | The teen, naturally, thinks he can impress all by |
| fourth time, I prompted him; or at least I tried. | | | | himself, and I admire him for trying, and then for |
| "Say, the general manager asked me to call," I | | | | trying again. He has gumption, which is no small |
| advised. | | | | thing. |
| My protégé was told the GM was | | | | But, like most, he doesn't know what he's missing. |
| on vacation. | | | | There are simple, honest, and powerful techniques |
| Sensing the call was heading straight to the | | | | for coming across better and being more |
| dumpster, I urged: "Ask when he's expected to | | | | influential by phone. |
| be back!" to no avail. | | | | But if you keep doing what you've always done |
| My stage directions were being ignored. | | | | you'll only get what you always got, as they say. |
| While this was happening, I was in pain, having | | | | For those of us who do training, and who invent |
| trained thousands, make that hundreds of | | | | new and better techniques for getting past call |
| thousands if you include my book readers, in the | | | | screeners and voice mail, it would be wise to |
| skills associated with penetrating screening and | | | | remember that in a sense, every trainee, |
| conquering voice mail. | | | | irrespective of age, is for practical purposes, a |
| After the call, to further my credibility and get his | | | | resistant, headstrong teenager. |
| attention, I tried to tell the teen, "I made a video | | | | They just don't know how much more effective |
| on the subject," but as the expression rightly | | | | they can be! |