Dave – One of the tactics you can use is to tell the person that you are in the middle of working on a project (or in a meeting, or some other reason of your choice) and that you’d like to be able to call them back at a more convenient time. If they balk at giving you a phone number, then they are probably not really ready to talk in depth (maybe just price shopping, or doing some initial research). However, if you get their name and number, then you can set up a time when you are at your desk and can talk more comfortably.
This also has the advantage of increasing the number of “touches”; it’s a subtle thing, but you are then becoming a bit more “familiar” to them, each time there is a call, email or other contact; this gradually raises the trust factor and the likelihood that you will be chosen for the project.
Eric
