Best Time to Call a Hard-To-Reach Person: Top of the Hour

5 pm clockWithout a doubt, the best time to get a hold of the hard-to-reach person is between :58 and :02 each hour.

The reason this is ideal is because it is the one time when a busy person is most likely to be between meetings.

If the person also is one who spends a lot of time on conference calls, then they are likely to answer the phone at the top of the hour in anticipation of a conference call scheduled to start at that time.

Does the strategy work?

Yes! I’ve used it for years and have found it be extremely successful in being able to connect with C-Level people in some rather large companies.

There is a caution that needs to be exhibited and that is understanding the person who answered the phone may have taken the call thinking it was the call scheduled for that time.

If this is the case, be aware that your call needs to be short. Your objective might be to merely get a time later in the day when you can call and have time to talk.

Yes, calling before 8 AM or after 5 PM is without a doubt a great time to connect with the super busy businessperson, but what makes the “top of the hour” technique work is it gives you more opportunities over the course of the day to connect with people.

If you are one who makes numerous phone calls each day, schedule them accordingly with this simple rule:  Save the time from :55 to :05 of each hour for making calls to people who you believe spend much of their time in meetings.

The time you are most likely to not reach them is from :10 –  :25 minutes after the hour. Why?  It’s simple — this is the time when people are the most likely to be in meetings.

Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.

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