In previous posts, Seven Things to Remember About a Senior Executive’s Secretary and Getting Help from Executives’ Assistants, I described how to get help from a client’s administrative assistant. In simple terms, I described how to develop a relationship with her that benefits her boss, her and you.

Some rainmakers delegate this responsibility to their own assistants, and so obtain several benefits. First and foremost, it frees up their own time for other marketing and sales activities. Second, it allows a peer-to-peer relationship between the assistants, which is often stronger than one you can create. Third, it results in a higher and better use their time. Many will recognize this and take pride in the contribution they are making.

As one executive recruiter who has started up several new offices for his firm puts it, “The assistant is fifty percent of your productivity. I am a little disorganized and chaotic, so I need an assistant who is organized and disciplined. I expect her to develop a relationship with the assistants of my key contacts, even though they never meet.”

If you choose to try this approach:

• Review the two posts with her. (There is more on developing relationships with admins in Chapter 7 of my book, Rain Making-2nd Edition.)
• Help her practice by role playing several calls with her. Do it over the phone, sitting in different rooms. First, have her play the role of the client’s assistant, while you demonstrate how you would obtain her help in scheduling a meeting with her (fictitious) boss. Then, you play the client’s assistant and let her practice on you several times.
• Select some low risk targets in the market you sell to and have her try what she has learned with them.
• Give her some targets and goals and get her started.
• Give her a small budget for an occasional lunch with the clients’ assistants or to buy them flowers on special occasions.
• When you come back from a meeting she scheduled for you, always let her know how it went. Always do this. She needs the information and it is also a courtesy to a valued team member whom you want to keep motivated. And if a meeting results in a win, make sure she participates in the celebration.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 7:05 am and is filed under Business Development, Finesses, Professionalism, Rain making, Time Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.