. So for instance:
• Don’t ask, “What’s a better time for you, Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon?”
• Instead, ask , “Can we get together Friday morning at 10:00?” This allows the prospect to do something we call “righting”. They can tell me in a non-confrontational way the “right” time to meet. We find that prospects love to “right” salespeople, so let them!
A salesperson’s calling script must also feature a concise reason for the call and a benefit statement that will capture the listener’s attention. Once you have delivered these—and turned around any initial negative response that arises—you should always ask directly for the appointment … by specifying a single date and time, as in the second example above.
As it happens, that’s exactly what we train people to do during our Appointment Making training program, In fact, I personally go one step further than this when asking for an appointment over the phone. I always try to specify a date and time for the proposed meeting that is exactly one week in advance of the day that I am calling, and at approximately the same time.
There are several reasons for this.
First, if I’m calling the person’s office line, it seems reasonable to assume that if the person is available to take my call today at this time, he or she will be likely to be in the office at the same time next week. What better time to suggest a meeting? If it’s Tuesday at 10:00 am, and the person usually spends Tuesdays in the office, then I will be more likely to get a “Yes” answer when I say:
“Why don’t we get together this coming Tuesday, at 10:00? Is that a good time?” (If this is not a good time, the person will correct me, which is fine, too.)
Secondly, if I get an objection (like “I’m really not interested,”) I can turn it around and then propose the same time for our meeting, using slightly different wording. Here’s what the turnaround might sound like:
“You know, a lot of the people I talk to say that at first – until they see how we’re able to reduce their sales cycle and increase their average deal size, like we did for ABC Company. “
I’ve just turned around the objection. Now, I don’t want to sound like a broken record, so instead of saying “Tuesday at 10:00” again, I can say:
“I’d love to show you what we did for ABC. How about a week from today at 10:00?
If I have to counter again and turn around another objection – my third and final attempt to set the appointment during the call -- I can then say:
“I’m just curious, is next Tuesday at about this time good for you?
I have now asked three times for a meeting at the same date and time … but it sounded slightly different every time. This sounds like a minor point, but believe me, it helps the call. After all, I don’t want my prospecting call to sound repetitive. That annoys people!
Another benefit to asking for a date and time that’s exactly one week away is that I don’t get mixed up with my own dates. Whenever possible, I am working a week in advance … so I know exactly what hole I’m trying to fill my schedule. This slot will not always be available, of course … but my experience is that, when it is available, asking for the appointment like this is very effective.
Focusing on a day and time one week in the future reduces the amount of calendar-shuffling I have to do … and keeps the call from becoming too repetitive once I turn around a negative response.
It works! Try it!
How to Ask for an Appointment - To learn more about this author, visit Don Mersereau's Website.
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Don Mersereau
(Visit Don's Website)
Don Mersereau is an expert sales training
consultant who has over 30 years of
experience. In the last 3 years alone Don
has worked with clients in 5 countries and
23 US States. No wonder his business is
booming! Your company can naturally
benefit from his wisdom and his
experience. Mr Mersereau continues to work
with clients from all over the world
coming from various industries. If you or
your sales team are beginning to plateau
or just can't seem to shake bad habits,
give us a call. DEI Ottawa wants to help
you stay ahead of competition with highly
efficient selling techniques taught by
experienced sales training consultants.
See how efficient sales techniques can
increase your company’s productivity!
Visit us on line at www.
powerfulsalestraining.com or call toll
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