There's No Such Thing as a Wrong Number

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Once he has identified a lead, Rosen generally spends a few more minutes on the Internet in search of potentially helpful information about the person, insights that might also help him take even more of the chill off a cold call. Tracking an individual to his or her place of business often supplies not only a job title and office phone number but in many cases a photograph that suggests the person's age and perhaps demeanor. You don't want to stalk a prospect, but the more you know, the better.

Consider Rosen's first phone conversation with John Brinzo, in August 2003. It was anything but cold. Rosen had already qualified Brinzo as a wine drinker: He had read in the home section of the Cleveland Plain Dealer about the wine room that Brinzo and his wife had added when they remodeled their home. Rosen found the home number and dialed it. Brinzo's wife answered.

"It was very uncharacteristic of my wife, Marlene, to do that," says Brinzo. "We have caller ID. If we don't know the party's name, we don't generally pick up the phone, and normally, on cold sales calls like that, they get nowhere. David comes across as a rather honest, charming, and engaging individual. He's certainly not a pushy guy. He must have charmed my wife, because she gave him my work number. She told me he'd be calling: 'You're not going to believe this guy; he's very engaging.' "

Marlene Brinzo had told Rosen that her husband worked at a company called Cleveland-Cliffs (now Cliffs Natural Resources). Before calling, Rosen Googled the company and learned it was the nation's leading supplier of iron ore. He also discovered John Brinzo didn't just work at Cleveland-Cliffs. He was chairman and CEO. Rosen smiled, surmising these were not stuffy, pretentious folks. In other words, perfect for his anti-wine-snob sales MO. To date, John Brinzo, who has since retired, has placed 33 orders with Rosen.

3. Gatekeepers Are to Be Respected

Rosen's first commandment for cold callers: "Don't feel the need to get past the gatekeeper the first time." Usually the gatekeeper is an assistant or, if contact is being attempted at home, a protective spouse -- or one who might not want to encourage a mate's wine jones. Start out too aggressive with either, and the gate will probably stay shut. So don't push on the first call, Rosen advises. Use it to collect information that will prove helpful later.

Take note of the assistant's name so you can use it the next time you call. Take special note of the first name used for the Mr. Smith you asked for. Is it William? Or Will? Or Bill? Ask: "When do you think is a good time to catch him?" Rosen generally doesn't like to leave a message on a first or even second call. He has found persistence often pays, for it demonstrates what many deem a desirable trait. In fact, if Rosen realizes after several unsuccessful tries that he must leave a message, he may even highlight his perseverance, introducing himself as that "persistently optimistic wine guy" before briefly explaining his service as a wine broker and providing his memorable toll-free number: 877-CAL-WINE.

Rosen does confess to one off-the-wall gimmick almost guaranteed to get you past even the most protective gatekeeper. "This was an idea from somewhere in my salesman's DNA," he says. "I Googled doctors and lawyers and professionals named David Rosen. You know they'll always take my call." He sold a bit of wine thanks to this Abbott and Costello -- like "Who's on First?" stunt, but he has only one David Rosen, a music-store owner, among his current clients. And he was a referral. Rosen says the name trick is perhaps best used like batting practice, to warm up and get energized for the real game.

4. The Customers Know They Are Customers

Theater people talk of breaking the fourth wall -- stepping out of character and speaking directly to the audience. Rosen, who has acted in community theater, has discovered this technique helps grease the sales skids, at least when the product is wine. What he does is fairly uncommon and not for those lacking confidence or chutzpah. Quite often, he openly makes fun of the sales process.

"I acknowledge that I recognize this dance we're doing," Rosen says. "Yes, these wines are better than you're going to find locally, and yes, I am picking them specifically for you, and they're just freaking wonderful. But it's not health care. It's not a mandatory thing in their lives. I also want them to appreciate and respect the fact that if they don't spend money with me, I'm not making a living.

"I can drive the conversation, and it's my job to drive the conversation, but I also want them to know that I understand that ultimately, they're in charge here. So I make fun of the fact that I'm on the phone trying to get them to spend money. I'll say, 'This is just the wine salesman in me, so be careful.' "

When Rosen is using e-mail, he tears down the fourth wall with a self-deprecating but transparently self-serving ploy in search of new business: his occasional Pester My Clients for Referrals Campaign^®©. What kind of a salesman jokes that he has registered and copyrighted such a bald-faced favor-seeking mass e-mailing? The same kind whose clients respond, "Why do I yield to this kind of temptation? But…send me a mixed case." Which provokes Rosen to sign off, Yours in voodoo.

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