In a recent post for The Customer Collective, Kelley Robertson offers “7 Reasons Decision Makers Won’t Take Your Calls.” It’s a good list. Robertson introduces the perils of sounding like everyone else, using manipulative tactics and mistreating the executive’s assistant (never, ever do by the way!).

But let me offer one very good reason why an executive will take your call:

You provide valued guidance.

It’s true that executives are busy people, drawn in many different directions by many different demands. They are difficult to reach and engage.

However, executives are also looking for new ways to drive up revenues and drive out costs. They have thorny business challenges they are struggling to address. With this in mind, they value new insights and perspectives that can help them approach these challenges in new and compelling ways.

In my experience, one perspective that executive buyers particularly value is an overview of how their peers are addressing particular problems.

  • What investments have they made?
  • What solutions did they adopt?
  • What hurdles did they confront when rolling out new solutions?
  • What results did they achieve?

If you can share this type of information, it goes a long way towards earning confidence.

But perhaps even more valuable is the perspective that a trusted advisor can provide regarding the implications of the executive’s current situation:

  • What are the costs of doing nothing?
  • What are the risks associated with the current course?

While such insights are generally gathered through deeper diagnosis and research, it’s your promise of gathering and presenting such insights that will encourage executives to take your calls in the first place.

Companies have fewer resources available these days to research and evaluate challenges that are increasingly complex and risk-laden. That is your opening and opportunity.

One sure way of not getting a returned call is pitching your services and sounding like a self-serving salesperson. Provide valued and reliable guidance, and you not only differentiate yourself , executives will welcome your calls.