Post by guest blogger Amy Jurden, Business Development Associate, PointClear.

When I get a new list the first thing I keep in mind is that, like a deck of cards, every list has some aces. A lot of people get frustrated early on when they are rejected on the first few contacts into a new list. Business development people naturally complain about new lists early on—mostly because it is early on that the low cards fall out.

I like to look at any new list as a newly opened deck of cards. I know that the deck has four aces, but as I'm shuffling them out on the table it may take me flipping through all forty-eight non-aces before I get to the four aces. Eventually, if you keep flipping you'll get there—but isn't there a better way to identify aces earlier in the process? Yes.

One of the differentiators between PointClear and other lead generation firms is our multi-touch marketing approach. But the purpose of sending prospects e-mails or leaving voicemails isn't to leave them information in hopes that they will call or email back (though that does happen). Ultimately, the materials give me a reason to call back. I want to make the most of every phone call by gathering information so that my calls back in are more akin to counting cards in blackjack than pulls on a slot machine. Three steps help me to create more conversations, and thus generate more leads by targeting more aces.

1. Before being transferred ask the receptionist if your contact is even in the office today—you don't want to be chasing down a prospect who is out of town on vacation or at a conference—the likelihood of your messages being discarded, ignored, or lost is exponential.
2. If you go to the prospects' voicemail, before leaving a message zero out to reach their Executive Assistant and try to utilize them to target a time to call back—(i.e. Jack's in a meeting? Do you know when the meeting will be out?). Let them know you will be calling back and then do it—you'll be amazed at how many more conversations you will have. And while you have an admin, don't be afraid to clarify why it is that you're calling, a quick conversation may get you a referral to the right executive if you're in the wrong place and save you a lot of wasted time.
3. And finally, try to get a scheduled call on the aces calendar. Ask if the Executive Assistant has the power to put you on the calendar for five minutes—if not you have lost nothing, but if they can and will, you get uninterrupted time with the decision-maker.

Unless "you're playing solitaire to dawn with a deck of fifty-one", you will find your share of aces if you make every connection count.