Even then, always ask the person you are calling if this is an appropriate time to talk. Nothing's worse than for someone's mind to be on something else when you are having a conversation. If you're asked to call them back, ask for a specific day and time. Setting a telephone appointment is sometimes the best way to reach someone, and most people will work well with this request. When you finally do get to talk with the person, it is critical to develop a telephone relationship.
People tend to respond better and do more business with people they know and trust.
Loyalty can be built even during a simple form of communication such as a telephone conversation. Let me give you a perfect example. Every time I talk to a client, whether I call them or they call me, I listen for certain things they say that will help me build a stronger relationship between us. You better believe that the next time I talk with this client, the first thing I'm going to ask about is the progress on that daughter's knee. If there's one lesson I've learned about relationship building, it's to get sincerely interested in the things that mean the most to people - their kids, spouse, other family members, or whoever.