To Confirm Or Not To Confirm?
Do you confirm every prospect appointment before you head
Or…
Do you not confirm, believing that it gives your prospect
an "out?"
Far too many coaching clients, workshop participants and
readers have said to me, "If I confirm the appointment it
gives them a chance to get out of it." Let`s examine this
statement and the beliefs that go with it.
The above statement implies that the scheduled appointment
is something that, given a choice, your prospect would
avoid. This must mean, therefore, that you tricked or
manipulated your prospect into agreeing to the appointment
in the first place. Now on reflection, your prospect could
only want to bolt.
If you had to trick your prospect to schedule the meeting,
the meeting itself must not have any real value. It
logically follows then, that the agenda for the meeting,
your products or services, you and your time also have no
value!
Well, that`s demoralizing!
If, however, you truly believe that your product or service
has value, if you have done your homework, targeted your
market and are calling on qualified prospects then there is
no reason that a prospect should want to avoid meeting with
you. It is time to change some of your beliefs about the
meeting. If a prospect schedules an appointment with you,
that means they are interested in talking about what you
have to offer!
And here`s another thought: Do you really want to spend
your time racing around your territory to meetings with
prospects who don`t show?
I`ve had some sales professionals tell me that when a
prospect stands them up, they like it, because the prospect
then feels guilty and "owes them." These sales
professionals believe that their prospects will meet with
them because of that sense of guilt. And perhaps some do.
But barring a last minute emergency that takes a prospect
away unexpectedly, someone who stands you up once, will
more than likely have no qualms about standing you up
again. This "guilt" approach goes hand-in-hand with the
belief that prospects must be tricked or manipulated into
meetings.
So here`s a better approach: Change the way you think about
prospect meetings and confirm them! Call your prospect the
day before or early the morning of the appointment. Try to
reach the prospect directly. Say:
"I`m calling to confirm our brief meeting tomorrow (or
later today) at (fill in the time.)"
(The use of any of the following sentences is optional.)
"I`ve put together those samples we discussed."
"I`ve given a lot of thought to your situation."
"I have some very interesting ideas to share with you."
"I`m looking forward to meeting you."
If your prospect says the agreed upon meeting time no
longer works, reschedule immediately! Otherwise, you now
know that when you show up tomorrow your prospect will
actually be there! (Do make sure that your prospect has
your phone number so that they can reach you if something
unexpected does happen.)
If you are not able to reach your prospect directly, and if
your prospect has a secretary, ask her if she keeps the
prospect`s calendar. If she does, you can confirm with her.
If she does not, deputize her. Give her your name and phone
number and say: "I`m calling to confirm my brief meeting
tomorrow at (fill in the time) with Ms. Prospect." Ask her
to speak with the prospect for you and then call you back
to let you know that the meeting is on.
If you are not able to reach a human being leave the
following message on your prospect`s voice mail:
"Hello, Ms. Prospect. This is (fill in your name) from
(fill in your company name.) My phone number is (your phone
number goes here.)"
"I`m calling to confirm our brief meeting tomorrow at (fill
in the time.)"
(The use of any of the following sentences is optional.)
"I`ve put together those samples we discussed."
"I`ve given a lot of thought to your situation."
"I have some very interesting ideas to share with you."
"I`m looking forward to meeting you."
Please be good enough, to give me a call back and let me
know that tomorrow at (fill in the time.) still works for
you."
"And again, this is (fill in your name) from (fill in your
company name.) My phone number is (your phone number goes
here.)"
Most prospects will call you back, either to confirm or to
reschedule.
Over the past years, many, many coaching clients, workshop
participants and readers have asked me about
differentiating themselves from the competition. This is
one way to do it. By confirming your appointments you are
setting yourself up to be viewed by your prospects and
customers as an expert and a professional. You are a
consultant, like any consultant your time is valuable and
your prospects will see that if you conduct yourself in
that manner. Far too many sales professionals allow
themselves to be treated poorly, feeling perhaps, that it
comes with the territory. It doesn`t have to.
Confirming appointments is a far better use of your selling
time. A prospect who will not meet with you, is not a
qualified prospect! Those prospects who do cancel and are
unwilling, for whatever reason, to reschedule are doing you
a favor. They are saving you the time and energy you would
have spent going to see them, following up with them and
then not selling anything!
Wendy Weiss, "The Queen of Cold Calling," is a sales
trainer, author and sales coach. Her book, Cold Calling for
Women, and her interactive CD-ROM, Cold Calling for
Printers, can both be ordered by visiting
http://www.wendyweiss.com Contact her at
wendy@wendyweiss.com Get her free e-zine at
