PassingNotes.com

sweet news! i contacted debbie bardon of bardon on call research and she has kindly granted me direct permission to repost her award winning article about primary research right here on little ol’ passingnotes.com in its entirety…this piece ran in competitive intelligence magazine (V7, N2, Mar/Apr ‘04 from scip), so to date it has been available only in print…my hope is that you folks will a) give it the attention it deserves by telling a million people to read it and b) send debbie tons of business so that she can travel the world and spend more time writing great articles like this one!

Confessions of a Call Girl … or How to Give Good Phone
This article was the 2003 Fletcher winner for original writing in Competitive Intelligence (’CI’).

Lesson One: Be Nice.

As a longtime short person, I learned at an early age that you can either be tough or be nice. Being averse to pain, nice suited my personality better than tough and it has been helpful to my career as a CI primary research specialist. I’m nice to everyone - the receptionist who answers the phone, the executive assistant or secretary, the potential source. Even when they’re not particularly nice to me, I always thank them for their time and ask them if there’s anyone else who might be able to help me. When you’re nice to people, they feel like they have to be nice back. Some of my best contacts have come from people who just couldn’t help returning the favor of being nice.

This first person to be nice to is, of course, that scourge of all researchers - the client. It’s important to not only be nice, but to be truly interested in the client and their needs. This leads right into -

Lesson Two: What do clients really want?

Some researchers call this the “reference interview.� I call it getting to the nitty-gritty. Have you ever had a client tell you, “I just want you to find out everything you can about Enron.� Yikes!! That gives me a lot of direction that won’t get me anywhere. One of the ways I try to get a client to narrow the focus somewhat is by asking them, “If you could learn only three things about Enron*, what would they be?� They rarely narrow it down to only three things, but at least you get them thinking about general areas that they’re interested in; number of employees in each practice area, marketing efforts, incentives, new products or services. It’s really important to find out what your client really wants to know, and also how they are going to use the information. With this knowledge you can prepare yourself to talk to the right people to get the competitive information that will help your client make good business decisions.

Lesson Three: Smile, smile, smile.

In 1964 when I was a senior in high school, in the days before PC’s, CD’s, VCR’s, cell phones, and beepers, I worked at the phone company as a long distance operator. As Lily Tomlin’s Ernestine would say, “Is this the party to whom I am speaking.� This was back in the days when telephones had rotary dials, telephone numbers had prefixes like Thornhill, Beechwood, and Andover, and business people had operators like myself place their long distance calls for them. Back then, Ma Bell was really focused on customer service. What is really interesting to me, is that when they were a monopoly and didn’t have any competitors, they provided better customer service, than they have since the phone companies were deregulated.

One of the first things I was taught was to always have a smile on my face when talking to customers, because they can hear the smile in your voice. This is really true. If you need help with this, place a mirror in front of your telephone, and practice smiling at yourself whenever you pick up the phone to place a call. You may think you look like a grinning fool, but that smile will come through to your callers just as though you were standing in front of them with a friendly smile. And you know what happens when you smile at someone - they smile back.

Lesson Four: Butter up the gatekeeper.

Let’s face it. These people are paid to keep you from bothering the boss. So while I’m smiling, in my nicest way, I introduce myself and say, “I hope you can help me.� Often, I will tell them “I’m not sure if I’m calling the right person� and maybe they can direct me to the right person. Usually with an opening like this, they’ll ask what is it I want to know. Here’s the tricky part. It’s important to be as honest as possible, without giving away any ulterior motives. So I tell them I’m an independent consultant (true) and I’ve been asked to put together some information about their company (also true,) and as their company is a market leader, I’d like to talk to someone who can tell me about their products and services. If the boss isn’t available, the gatekeeper can often either give you a good time to call back or refer you to someone else that can give you the information you need. I always write down the gatekeeper’s name, so that when I call back I can greet her/him as an old friend. This basic technique has worked for me whether the project has to do with manufacturing, financial services, pharma-biotech, e-commerce, or whatever.

Lesson Five: Flattery will get you everywhere.

When I finally get to talk to someone who might be a good source for my CI project, I’ve learned that sincere flattery is a great way to get someone to open up. Who wouldn’t be flattered when I tell them that I saw their name mentioned in an article about their industry (from the secondary research that was done prior to my primary research.) Playing a little dumb can be a good thing, but you need to sound as though you’ve done your homework, and ask insightful questions. But it’s okay to admit to not being an expert in this person’s field of experience. At this point I can almost feel my eyelashes batting as I say, “I’m hoping you can spare me a few minutes, to educate me about your company� or “for a research project I’m working on.� If I’ve gotten their name from another source, I might say, “Harry Johnson told me that you’re the resident expert there on product development, and I was hoping you could explain to me how your product development process works.� Giving someone’s name as a referral source is very helpful. It’s as though you were almost a friend of the family. I’m always respectful of their time and ask them, “If this isn’t convenient now, when may I call you back.� It’s best to begin with general, open-ended questions. Once you get someone talking about a subject on which they are knowledgeable, it’s amazing the things they are willing to tell you.

Lesson Six: Persistence pays.

Sometimes you just have to wear them down before they’ll talk to you. Before I started my career as a primary research specialist, I spent twenty-five years doing sales and marketing in broadcast and print media. An important lesson I learned is that you never give up. Sometimes it takes many call attempts before you reach your target. I don’t know if they just get tired of getting messages from you, or if they finally get curious about why you want to talk to them. But most of the time, if you keep your messages brief, they will eventually respond in some way - even if it’s not positive.

Here’s another little tip. Whenever dealing with a company that has branches all over the country, call the ones in the Southern States. Southern courtesy is not a myth, and many times they will talk to me when the major market East and West Coast offices will not.

Lesson Seven: Don’t take it personal.

No one likes to be rejected. But when you do primary research, you have to develop a thick skin for rejection. Even if you think you’ve done everything right, there are many times when the person you’ve tried so valiantly to connect with, won’t give you the time of day. Either there’s a corporate culture of paranoia, or they’re personally suspicious of your motives, or they just don’t have the time or inclination to talk to someone from whom they don’t see any benefit to them or their company. When this happens, it’s best to just thank them for their time and move on.

Lesson Eight: Script it.

Some clients seem to think that when you do primary research for competitive intelligence, all you have to do is pick up the telephone and make a few calls. All I can say to that is “HAH!� Once you’ve figured out what it is that the client really wants to know, not only do you have to find out who to call, but you need to read whatever secondary research is available. Sometimes the secondary research is supplied by the client, but you still have to familiarize yourself with the industry and its buzzwords. Then you have to find names of appropriate people within the industry (or companies) who might be able to provide you with the information your client wants.

I always feel that the most challenging part of my job is developing my character and writing my script - sometimes a different script for each person, or category of person to be interviewed. It’s not quite the Marlon Brando “Method,� but I need to know who I am, and why I’m asking for this information, without breaking the code of ethical business practices to which I adhere. This includes no fibbing (well at least no blatant lies.) In all cases I use my real name and identify myself as an independent consultant or independent research consultant. After that, depending on the project, I explain that I am doing market research, or I’m trying to understand “Best Practices,� or I’ve been asked to prepare an industry overview. I tell the source that I don’t want them to give me any proprietary information, but because they are an industry leader, I would like to include them in my report.

One of the most difficult questions to answer is when a source wants to know, for whom I am working. Depending on the situation, I might say that my client wishes to remain anonymous at this time, but has asked me to give them an overview and analysis of a number of different companies within the industry, and I reiterate that I do not expect them to share any proprietary information. Other times I might say that my clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturers, pharma-biotech, and entrepreneurs. If appropriate, I tell them that I am subcontracting for another research firm, and am only doing the primary research with industry experts. In all cases, my statements are truthful. Sometimes, if a client is willing, I can offer to share a (sanitized) summary of my findings. In other cases, I will ask a source only to tell me, or confirm facts about their competitors, and will share information with them about their competitors. Developing this kind of relationship can be invaluable for future research. No matter which opening I have scripted for a particular source, I always keep a list of the questions at hand, so that I can help steer the conversation around to the information that is most important or relevant to my client. If they insist on having me identify my client before they will talk to me, I have to respect my client’s confidentiality, and will end the interview, and move on to the next possible source.

Lesson Nine: Momma taught me good manners.

Although it may seem obvious, always be respectful and say please and thank you. Just as I know that my time is valuable, I never forget that the time people spend talking to me is valuable. I always ask if this is a convenient time for them, and if not, try to make a telephone appointment at their convenience. Once an appointment is made, I always make the call promptly on time. When someone gives me the benefit of their time and knowledge, I show my gratitude by sincerely thanking them.

Lesson Ten: Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.

Before I end any interview, I always ask my source, if I may call them again if I need clarification or can’t decipher my notes. I don’t remember anyone ever turning me down. Now I have a contact who will answer my calls in the future and perhaps refer me to other sources.

In summary: Your parents were right

I thought of a myriad of trite, overworked clichés to end this lesson plan for successful primary research calls. “You can attract more flies with honey than vinegar� came to mind, and may be appropriate.

But the main point I’m trying to convey is, when asking strangers for information, treat them well. You will probably find that they are more likely to treat you well in return. As much as some of us hate admitting it, our parents were right when they told us to treat others as we would like to be treated.
—

Debbie Bardon is an independent research consultant and sole proprietor of Bardon On Call Research. Bardon has had over twenty years experience in sales and marketing prior to opening her consulting business in 1997. Bardon applies the skills acquired in her extensive sales and marketing career to the art of conducting incisive, customer, competitor and industry research and analysis. Bardon is a member of The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP,) and has served on the Board of Directors as Director of Marketing & Communications, and Conference Coordinator. She is also a member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP.) In addition she serves as President of the Board of Directors for Street Tech, a non-profit organization providing life skills and computer training to disadvantaged and at risk adults in the San Francisco Bay Area. Debbie can be reached at dbardon@aol.com .

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