Larry Chiang writes about hacking business and school. After a Harvard Business School keynote, they wrote: “What They Don’t Teach You at Stanford Business School“. If you read his scandalously awesome “What They STILL Don’t Teach You at Stanford About Getting Revenge” and, “What They STILL Don’t Teach at GSB About Public Speaking” you will like his latest post that he didn’t even write… It’s written by a rising star named Lorene Moore. It’s called, “Making Magic: How To Use Google Maps To Find Any Executive’s Phone Number”
by Lorene Moore
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By Larry Chiang
Austin, TX, May, 2010
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My mentor, Larry Chiang is SCARY GOOD on the phone. He gets what he wants from people on the phone when he wants it and listening in leaves me feeling excited and in a rush to get started on the next action items.
Listening in while witnessing a master on the phone creates a thrilling combination of feelings that include fear, confusion, anxiety and excitement. Using Google Maps to find and call the direct lines of industry “hitters”, also known as Executives, is an adventure sport!
Mr. Larry’s teaching me how to be ‘legendary’ on the phone (not just ‘pretty good’) by teaching me how to use Google Maps to find Executives’ phone numbers and dialing them at the same time.
In my very first practice session on how to use Google Maps to find an executive phone number, Mr. Larry shared his secret strategy which I’ve outlined below in ten easy steps.
Larry Chiang is not exaggerating when he says,”Put me and my two phones with full charges in any city in the U.S. of A, and I will outflank a team of MBAs with a three month head-start. Business is about contacting people for money. Read and use this column so a phone in your hand will be more deadly than a Jedi with their lightsabre.”-Larry Chiang, author of “How to Give Good Phone”
In fact, I think an extremely valuable seminar to hold would be one where a roomful of MBA’s/Entrepreneurs/Founders practice live calling Executive Hitters while simultaneously using Google Maps, Gmail IM and iPhone 3-way conference calling under the tutelage of my amazing mentor, Larry Chiang.
Here’s Larry Chiang’s secret method of how to Use Google Maps to find an Executive’s phone number:
1. Start with general search terms in Google Maps
and keep adding terms and digits up to TWELVE TOTAL SEARCH TERMS in the GOOGLE MAPS search box.
2. Keep adding key words and parts of the phone number as you find them up to a total of TWELVE SEARCH TERMS in the Google maps search box.
A ‘term’ is a string of characters, i.e. 650= One search ‘term’= area code=3 digits of a number
3. Enter the first, most general key words then hit
i.e. “duck9.com” then hit
4. ADD the name of the Executive you want to the END of the search box then hit
i.e. “duck9.com larry chiang” then hit
5. Now ADD the area code that shows up in the results to the end of the search box then hit
i.e. “duck9.com larry chiang 650″ then hit
6. Next ADD the first three digits that came back as a result of step 5. above to the end of the string in the search box then hit
i.e. “duck9.com larry chiang 650 566″ then hit
7. By now you’ve found at least the main switchboard number for the Executive you are trying to reach and probably more than one complete phone number related to this executive. GREAT! You now have the FIRST SIX NUMBERS TO HIS/HER DIRECT LINE!
i.e. “650-566-9600…My direct line is 650-566-9696″
8. Continue building off the main number until you find the DIRECT LINE suffix(x9696) for the Executive’s desk/assistant or until you get into the internal switchboard.
“Bounce around in the voice mail system. Stay internal. You want an attendant to help you, a live person who can transfer you internally so that your call is routed as an INTERNAL call within the company! Everyone picks up internal calls.”
-Larry Chiang
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SCARY GOOD, right?
9. Even if you access the internal directory by LAST NAME and you choose a random person to call, THEY can transfer you to the desk of the Executive you REALLY want!
It’s genius. It’s surreptitious. It’s stealthy. It WORKS!
10. To sum up…start in Google Maps with the GENERAL SEARCH TERMS and work your way towards the SPECIFIC NUMBER you are looking for.
Once you get the area code (the first 3 digits), then add the next 3 digits which is the main 3 digit prefix for the company and dial the main number/switchboard or ANY number that shows up in the results with those first six digits.
Also try +-1 digit off the main switchboard number to ring an internal person’s desk. Try +- 10 digits and see who you get. Try nice, even, alliterate-sounding number suffixes such as ’4545′ too.
Once SOMEONE answers, ask for the executive you want then act confused, ask for a transfer and VOILA´ you’re IN!
11. Now read Larry Chiang’s article: “The Art of Cold Calling” so you know what to say when you get the Executive on the phone!
Final thoughts:
‘Knowing how’ does not equal mastery…not even close.
‘Knowing how’ something is done basically just opens up the gates for successive failures which, upon accumulation and via the principle of compounding experience and perseverance, eventually leads to success and mastery of the task at hand.
I’m still failing upwards towards mastery but my mentor,Larry Chiang, inspires and encourages me every day through conference calls on our iPhones where we put the method to use on real life Executives and HPPs (High Profile Persons).
I now mute myself on the 3-way calls though because Mr. Larry said he could hear me breathing in the background which can’t be good for any call. I think my breathing was the result of the: thrill+fear+confusion+anxiety I always feel during these calls. It’s all good though now as I always hit the ‘mute’ button on my iPhone to listen in.
Usually I’m using Google maps to find an executive’s name and phone number WHILE Mr. Larry is ON THE LINE WITH AN EXECUTIVE/HITTER.
Mr. Larry is also usually IM’ing me at the SAME TIME typing things like, ‘i need a name NOW’ and ‘you better have effen got that email’…haha…and I love it because he’s challenging me, pushing me out of my comfort zone and demonstrating mastery over the very thing he’s trying to teach me ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
Someday I hope Mr. Larry will autograph one of his power ties for me so I can frame it along with with a photo of him on a business call with an Executive Hitter he’s closing.
“You can’t close if you don’t call.” – Larry Chiang
Thanks, Mr. Larry, for everything. Really.
My mentor on this topic is Larry Chiang, author of “What They Dont Teach You At Stanford Business School”. This book definitely teaches stuff they don’t teach in B-school.
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Larry founded http:/www.duck9.com, which educates college students on how to establish and maintain a FICO score over 750. He testified before Congress http://www.creditcard.org/testimony.htm and World Bank in Beijing on credit http://www.ucms.com/Larry-Chiang-World-Bank-Beijing-Presentation.htm
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