Eight Things to Remember About a Senior Executive’s Secretary
To get in front of a senior executive, you often have to go through a secretary. When working with such a person always remember:
- Without her help, the chances of getting a meeting are slim.
- She is a lot more experienced with meeting-getting tactics than you are.
- She is smart and well paid. There is a good chance that she is at least as smart as you are.
- She knows more about the executive and his interests than almost anyone.
- Ditto about the company.
- She wants to help the right people get on the boss’s agenda. It’s your job to convince her that you are one of those people.
- Most are predisposed to be helpful in ways beyond getting a meeting with the boss, if you let them.
- She will likely keep her job longer than the boss does.
Of course, it isn’t necessarily a she.
There must be things to add to this list. Any suggestions?
November 17th, 2008 at 8:50 AM
9. Simply telling the assistant you have to talk to the boss to explain your offer isn’t likely to get you through: rarely does anyone get past an assistant unless his or her boss wants them to, and that means the boss will want to understand why they should spend even two minutes listening to you.
November 17th, 2008 at 2:01 PM
David:
Dead right.
Ford Harding
November 17th, 2008 at 5:23 PM
10. She/He gets 25-50 phone calls a day from people trying to sell the boss something. What is so unique about your call?
A. Were you referred by a company employee or executive?
B. Have you already met the executive you are trying to get to at meet and greet and are following up?
C. Have you had other contact with the executive such as email?
Anything that makes your request for a meeting more of a follow up rather than a cold call has a greater chance of her/him actually asking the boss if she/he should book the meeting.
November 17th, 2008 at 5:58 PM
2a – She’s heard every clever script in the book – using one will bracket you as yet another salesperson more interested in manipulating her than in truly helping her boss.
11 Pressure tactics to get her to put you through won’t work nowadays – if they ever did.
Ian
November 18th, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Blaine and Ian:
Thanks. These are all good comments. I particularly like point 10. We sometimes forget how much competition there is for that half hour with the executive.
Ford Harding
November 21st, 2008 at 5:33 PM
Quick note:
You refer to the person as a “secretary”. That term has not been used in major corporations for a decade or so.
The term is “administrative assistant”….not a big point, but if you are going to develop a strategy to work with this person effectively, we should probably get the title right, too.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Scott
Got it.
Ford Harding
November 25th, 2008 at 1:17 PM
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January 26th, 2009 at 6:05 PM
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