Good morning!

What percentage of the time when you call someone do you speak to a live person? My guess is you’d be happy with a 10% success rate. That is, get one person out of 10 tries and you’d be clicking your heels with joy.

I’ve been making follow up sales calls this afternoon. What if I told you— and this is going to sound like an infomercial— I just got nine people on the phone and made 10 phone calls? What if this week’s sales tip was about replicating that success?

First of all, it’s completely true. I am sitting here creating this Short Attention Span sales tip after having had nine live conversations in 10 tries.

Do I have a magic phone? No.

Did I call the same person 10 times? Of course not.

Then what’s the secret?

The secret, if you can call it that, is making prospecting calls on what everyone else considers to be the worst sales time slot of the week: Friday afternoons.

I have put this question to live audiences for years: “What’s the worst day of the week to make a sales call to a new customer?” The answer comes back in unison: “Friday!” I continue, “and why is that?” Response: “Because no one wants to hear from a sales rep on a Friday, especially Friday afternoons. People are busy getting ready to leave for the weekend or perhaps they’re gone already. Why bother?”

Why bother, indeed.

Listen, I’m going to use an economy of words here. It’s been a long week, one that included a phone call from my 17-year-old stepdaughter telling me she was hit while driving my car. A well-deserved cold beer awaits.

The lesson here is this: Don’t assume no one will want to speak with you on a Friday afternoon. Don’t believe what you hear when other sales reps say it’s a waste of time.

Make calls on Friday afternoons and see the magic happen for yourself.