•If you’re calling from an international destination, say “Hello there, please put me through to Joe Smith, and let him know it’s Tom from Italy.” As a result of time zone difference and cost of call, an international phone call immediately gives impression that call is very important. The gatekeeper is likely to put you through without asking why you’re calling.

•Send a letter first. In letter, ask potential partner to expect your call on a certain date. This way you can say “He’s expecting my call,” when gatekeeper asks what your call is regarding.

•Another approach is to email your potential partner to check if they’ve received your letter, and then ask for best time to call them. In this instance, it’s likely that your potential partner will let their gatekeeper know that your phone call is expected.

•If a voicemail is gatekeeper, it’s best to send in a letter first, and then follow up by leaving a voicemail message. However, if you choose not to send a letter first, then simply introduce yourself and let your potential partner know why you’re calling. Don’t go into detail about your proposal - just give sufficient information to get them curious enough to return your call, or email you.

Copyright © 2005 by Habiba Abubakar and Emprez. All rights reserved.

Note: You are welcome to republish this article as long as resource box at end is included fully and unaltered.

DO IT YOURSELF Another great way to cut down on cost of promotional items is to do it yourself. Many times when placing an order, you will have to pay a set-up fee for printing (usually a one-time fee), then pay for actual printing and of course items. But perhaps you can do part of this yourself. If you are working with a local printer, you could possibly provide items yourself to be printed. For example, if you see a great close-out deal on t-shirts or plain coffee mugs at one of those warehouse stores, you could get a great bargain- much cheaper than buying them from printer. So, you will only have to pay printer for cost of printing and not for items.

BE LOYAL One of ideas we listed above was to put promotional companies against one another to drive down your cost. However, staying with same company can also save you money. Many times there is a one-time set-up cost, especially with making screens for t-shirts. If you keep changing companies, that fee will always be added. As long as your logo stays same, you will never have to pay that fee again at same company, which could have you hundreds. In addition, many companies will throw their loyal customers a bone every now and then. Keep that in mind.