How to Professionally Disengage from an unsuccessful appointment setting call
So, you’ve made the call, attempted your appropriate Counters to the “No thank you” you heard and still failed. What do you do now to grease the skids for next time around? And you will try them again in the future won’t you???
Our methodology, called The Appointment Making Formula™, includes the concept that prospecting works best as a process, consistently delivered over time. That means:
- In most cases, we recommend a pursuit plan consisting of calling four times, once every fifth business day;
- Leave a different voicemail message and send complementary email each time we call offering to share one of the reasons why our clients/customers love doing business with us;
- ‘Rinse and repeat’ (recycle) after an appropriate wait time, if we never get through; and
- If we do get them on the phone but don’t get the appointment, we ask for permission to call them again in the future.
Here’s the simple script for doing that:
“(Target first name), one of the things I’ve learned in life is that there is nothing more constant than change. Do you mind if I call you again in the future to see if anything has changed?”
We’ve been using this approach for years and no one says no. Why? Because very few sales professionals have a process and a system to actually do the target figures they’ve gotten rid of you, so they are happy.
If there is any logical selling reason for you to call back at a specific time, simply add:
“To help me call you back at a more appropriate time, would you please share with me when you review (your topic)?” and then finish with “Thanks for your time today. I’ve made a note to call you when it’s more top of mind.” If there isn’t a time when what you sell is generally considered, then you make the determination of when. Put it in your tickler system to remind you of when to make that next attempt.
Lastly, when you do call back, simply remind them of the fact they said it would be okay for you to call them back. It may not get you the appointment the next time through, but it will increase the odds of it happening over time. It may be the third or fourth pursuit plan that works. It beats making a pure cold call again…
If you’d like more information on why no team of sales professionals has ever failed to at least double the number of Initial Appointments they were setting after going through one of our web-based training Prospector’s Academies™, give us a call or drop us a line. We love talking about the challenges of appointment making!
Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the appointment setting solution called Coldcalling101™. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations—the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 817 224-9900 or at bcaponi@caponipg.com. You can also find answers to many of your challenges in our many published articles on LinkedIn and in our books: Contrary to Popular Belief, Cold Calling DOES Work! Volume I: Effectiveness, The Art of Appointment Making and Volume II: Efficiency, the Science of Appointment Making.
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