Set sales appointments

To really be successful at generating new business, it’s all about getting out there and meeting people and building those relationships. In fact, it is very important that my personal goal is to meet with at least two potential clients per day to talk about my product/service. In this article, I am going to explain how I do this and what the most common obstacles are.

I found scheduling to be incredibly difficult at first and requires a LOT of persistence and you will get a lot of rejections. The important thing to remember is not to take it personally!

You have to call the phones. There are so many arguments to the contrary and there have been massive advances in social media, but nothing beats picking up the phone and reaching out to the people you need to talk to. There are a number of techniques I’ve learned on how to avoid secretaries, receptionists, and personal assistants, etc., which I’ll cover at another time.

Assuming you’ve answered the phone, dialed your prospect’s number, and they answered…

Sell ​​the quote, not your product/service

After all, this may sound silly at first, it’s a sales call!

By doing this, you accomplish a number of things.

• Avoid getting into an argument about whether your product/service fits their requirements. There will always be objections to your offer and it is best to overcome them in person.
• People will always be on their guard on a sales call and will most likely be looking for a reason to say “I’m not interested.” Don’t give them a reason to hang up the phone.
• People do business with people they have met before. It’s a trust thing. Would you rather buy a widget from a guy who emails you every month or a salesperson who took the time to drive to your office to sit with you for half an hour to explain exactly what your company does?

One way to do this can be like this:

“Hello, is this Mike?”

“Speech”

“Hi Mike, my name is Bob Smith at ABC Widget Company. I understand you are the person responsible for widgets.”

“Yes, that is correct”

“This is just a very short call, Mike. I work with several organizations in the area that provide our world-class widgets to you, organizations similar to yours. I appreciate that you’re already getting your widgets elsewhere, but I’m in the area [insert date] and I hoped I could show up for 5 minutes to [put a face to the name, drop off my card, drop off some literature]It would be good?”

• You’ll get a mixed response ranging from “GREAT! I just ran out of widgets!” to “Actually, I’ve been with my widget provider for 50 years, so I don’t need to know you.” The art of scheduling is overcoming these initial objections.

“Thanks Bob, but we are very happy with the widget provider we have”

“That’s good to hear, Mike, and I also value the relationships I have with my providers. I do appreciate these things changing though, so would it be okay to leave my card in case your current situation changes?”

This is a nice comeback as things ALWAYS change! Companies close, requirements change, relationships break for many reasons!

People will almost always say YES!

Another cheat sounds like..

“Hi Bob, we’re actually looking for new widgets, how much are yours?”

• You don’t want to get into price negotiations over the phone as you don’t want to sell your widgets on the basis that it’s the cheapest. Most of the time, you are not the cheapest and you need your prospect to see how your widgets are better.

“Well Mike, we have a variety of widgets. Some may be right for you and some may not. It wouldn’t take long to go through them with you. When is best for you? Thursday or Friday?”

You see here everyone is talking about how great your widget is and what it can do is avoided and you have a meeting!