This has happened to me often enough to bear repeating for your benefit. How many times have you gotten a response like this: “Go ahead and email me your information, I’ll forward it to the person in charge, and if he’s interested, he’ll get back to you”? Myself, I’ve heard that countless times. The other day, my assistant was being stonewalled by a woman while pitching an appointment for a mover. He knew they were moving, and this woman is giving him this classic runaround. He asked her for the boss’s name so that he could follow up but she wouldn’t give it to him and replied, “Bob is super busy, I’ll forward your information and he’ll be in touch if he’s interested.” Gee, I’ll be sitting here waiting! So Lou, sharp guy that he is, makes a note of Bob’s name (which missy has now revealed without intending to) and calls back an hour later and asks for Bob and—surprise!—gets right through to him. Bob is as nice as can be and confirms that they are soliciting bids and is more than happy to schedule a job walk, which Lou does. So lesson learned: don’t be put off by people with no decision-making power whose only purpose is to deflect, dissuade, and otherwise blow you off. Keep the hammer down!
