I have become a huge Apprentice fan. Thursday evenings you’ll
find me glued to the television, excited, focused and wondering
who will be fired next. I’m willing to bet that many of my
readers share that obsession.

Whenever I talk about Getting Past the Palace Guard, the
secretaries, receptionists, assistants, voice mail, anyone and/or
anything that blocks access, I’ve taken to pointing to Donald
Trump. The question I ask: “If Donald Trump were to call your
prospect, and that prospect’s secretary were to say to him, ‘What
is this in reference to?’ what do you think Donald Trump would
say?”

This question always occasions much conversation. The general
consensus of opinion, however, is that Donald Trump would
probably say, “This is Donald Trump. Is she there?”

Another example: If Barbra Streisand calls Steven Spielberg at
DreamWorks and Steven’s secretary says to her, “What is this in
reference to?” here is what Barbra will not say: “I’m a singer
and an actress and a producer and maybe you’ve seen some of my
movies?” She would probably say, “This is Barbra Streisand. Is he
there?”

I know that many of you will now say to me, “But Wendy, I’m not
famous.” It doesn’t matter. I’m willing to bet that Donald Trump
and Barbra Streisand would have said exactly the same thing 30
years ago before they were famous. I’m willing to bet that 30
years ago they had almost the same self-confidence, assurance and
sense of entitlement that they have now. It was that self-
confidence, assurance and sense of entitlement that helped them
get to where they are now.

Let’s switch gears for a moment and talk about your prospects.
What type of people are they? They are bosses. What does it mean
to be a boss? How does a boss behave? First of all, bosses are
decision-makers. That’s what we call them and that’s what they
do. They are used to making decisions. They also have at least
some authority to be able to implement their decisions. They give
direction and expect the direction to be followed. More than
likely, at least in their business persona, they have self-
confidence and assurance. These are all traits that bosses or
leaders share and these traits influence how a boss or a leader
behaves.

There have been many, many books and articles written about the
art of creating rapport with prospects. Usually what it boils
down to is being as like the prospect as you can be without
mimicking or imitating them. When you are able to do this well,
your prospect will see you as being like them. That prospect is
then more likely to feel comfortable with you and want to spend
time with you and do business with you.

Let’s take that a step further and talk about secretaries and
assistants. If you behave like a boss, i.e., with authority,
self-confidence and assurance, the secretary will see you as
being a boss. Other bosses are peers with her boss. The secretary
will give more value, importance and urgency to your call when
she believes you to be a peer of her boss.

Here is my recommendation for speaking with the Palace Guard: Go
into Boss Mode. Speak with authority, self-confidence and
assurance. Give direction to that secretary, “Please tell (your
prospect) that (your name) from (your company) is on the line.”
And give direction as if you were speaking with your own
secretary. (It’s alright if you do not have a secretary or
assistant today. One day you very well might. Look at this as
practice.) Be polite and firm. Give your directions in a manner
that says you expect your direction to be followed. (How do you
think Donald Trump would say it?)

I know that I will get some e-mails here, from people who will
tell me this approach is rude. It’s not rude to speak with
confidence and self-assurance. And, if you use this approach, you
will find that your ability to reach prospects will rise
significantly.

If you find that you need more help Getting Past the Palace
Guard, please visit http://www.wendyweiss.com and buy the product
with the same name, Getting Past the Palace Guard.

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer,
author and sales coach. Her recently released program, Cold
Calling College, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be
ordered by visiting http://www.wendyweiss.com. Contact her at
wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free e-zine at
http://www.wendyweiss.com.

Last 5 posts by Wendy Weiss

• Finding Leads (for Free) for Your Cold Calling Campaign - July 8th, 2008
• I Just Called to See How Things are Going - April 17th, 2008
• Would you like to have customers return again and again to buy? - February 11th, 2008
• Repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results - December 5th, 2007
• Cold Calling: A Prep Pep Talk - October 22nd, 2007