Phone habits of highly effective people

Want to get your broker on the phone? Unless you're his or her mother, you might want to pose as a certain NBA coach known for wearing excellent suits.

That's one of the findings of a quirky new survey of 400 professionals - 50 from eight occupations - by DiMassimo Brand Advertising in New York.

The poll (298 of the respondents were men) asked professionals to rank the Top 5 phone calls for which they would interrupt their respective work days. They chose from a menu of nine options, with one write-in. A sample of the rankings:

Stockbrokers: mother, [Miami Heat coach] Pat Riley, kids, Alan Greenspan, spouse

Lawyers: broker, golf pro, mother, doctor, parking attendant

Doctors: lawyer, broker, golf pro, travel agent, mother

Football coaches: wife, kids (no other caller was named by more than 1 percent)