Are you in sales and regularly calling prospects and setting appointments? Would you like to double or triple the number of appointments you are getting each week?

How to Get More Appointments

Give a Very Short Introduction

When you call a prospect, your introduction should be very short and simple. If you aren’t asking for a day and time to meet within 20 seconds, you have talked for too long.

Back in my early 20’s I made sales calls for Arthur Anderson – one of the world’s largest accounting firms at that time. I got paid based on the number of solid appointments I booked for the sales reps each week. I tripled the number of appointments people twice my age were getting.

One day the director came to me and said “How are you getting so many appointments?”. I said, “The script you gave everyone is terrible. It’s too long and goes into way too much detail. It’s creating a lot of objections on the other end of the phone.”

I asked her to watch and listen to my sales calls.

She then put me in charge of re-writing the entire sales approach and training the Los Angeles team. 🙂

This is what I say word-for-word:

(without a referral)

Hi, is this Bob? Hey Bob, we’ve never had the chance to meet yet. But I’m Kate Raidt – I’m the one talking to all of the (doctors, attorneys, moms, HR Directors) about a/that (product sexy description) that (product emotional purpose). I’m going to be in your building tomorrow morning and also Thursday afternoon. Which of those could I catch you for a few minutes?

(with a referral)

Hi, is this Bob? Hey Bob, your friend/colleague Frank Smith gave me your phone number and suggested I call and introduce myself to you. I’m the one talking to all of the (doctors, attorneys, moms, HR Directors) about a/that (product sexy description) that (product emotional purpose). Frank thought you would appreciate knowing more about it. I’m going to be in your building tomorrow morning and also Thursday afternoon. Which of those could I catch you for a few minutes?

What Is ‘Product Sexy Description’ and ‘Product Emotional Purpose’? 

I have sold educational books and cancer insurance. But I never said when I approached a prospect ‘I’m selling cancer insurance’. How unsexy, right?

My sexy product description for cancer insurance was “I’m talking to all of the families about a program that protects your family financially when you go through cancer.” Now that got their attention.

(‘A program’ was the sexy product and ‘protects your family financially when you go through cancer’ was the emotional purpose)

When I sold educational books, I didn’t say “I’m selling educational books”. My sexy product description was “I’m showing all of the moms an educational system to help save time with homework in the fall.”

(‘an educational system‘ was the sexy product description and ‘to help save time on homework in the fall‘ was the emotional purpose)

Does this make sense? What is your product or service’s sexy description and emotional purpose? Write down the approach I gave you above word-for-word and insert the language relevant to your business. Stick with this. Don’t add anything extra. It works!!

Work Referrals

By getting good at referral selling, you will automatically book more appointments.

Referrals are a game-changer.

Go See More People In Person

It’s really easy for someone to hang up the phone. It’s not so easy for them to ask you to leave in person. In my 27 years of sales, I went directly to my prospects 90% of the time. Why? Because it is 1000% more effective than calling or emailing.

Reference the introduction above. Use the exact same language, but instead of asking for a day or time to meet, ask to sit down immediately.

Example: Hi, are you Bob? Hey Bob, your friend/colleague Frank Smith suggested I introduce myself to you. I’m the one talking to all of the (doctors, attorneys, moms, HR Directors) about a/that (product sexy description) that (product emotional purpose). Frank thought you would appreciate knowing more about it. I just have a few minutes. Do you have a place we could sit down?

If they say they are busy, don’t be pushy. Simply grab your calendar and find a time that works better for them. If you give a short, simple introduction, you should find that over half of the people you approach in person will sit down with you immediately.

If you are in direct sales, MLM or peer-to-peer sales, avoid hosting home parties (the hardest way to make sales) or blasting your friends on social media (you will lose friends).

Pick up the phone or drive directly to their house.

Hey, is this Susan? Hey Susan, your friend Jennifer White suggested I introduce myself to you. I’m the one talking to all of the moms in Smithville about that skin care program that helps reduce aging. Jennifer thought you might appreciate knowing more about it. I am in your neighborhood right now – and I’ll also be over there later in the week. Which is better for you?

What to say when they try to blow you off

If you are trying to book an appointment over the phone and the response you get is “Can you just email me the information” or “How much is it?”, I give a response that insinuates the importance and value of them meeting with me in person.

I say something like “The reason everyone has been really thankful that I am meeting with them for a few minutes in person is because once I learn a few important things about your company, I can customize a package just for you.”

Or if they say they are already doing business with a competitor, you can say “The reason everyone has been really thankful that I have been meeting with them in person is because I can do a side-by-side comparison of what you are already using. If I can provide better service and pricing, then you will want to know that. If we see that what you already have in place is better than what I can offer you, then you will want peace of mind of that as well. So it’s a win/win for us to get together whether you do business with me or not.”

If you aren’t getting the number of appointments you hope to be getting, it is because of 1 of 3 things (or maybe all of them)

1. Your introduction is too long and you aren’t getting to the appointment time quick enough
2. You aren’t working referrals
3. You aren’t seeing people face-to-face

Small adjustments make a huge impact. So adjust one of these and your appointments should skyrocket!

I love good news, so post in the comment box below a testimonial how this is working for you!!

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