No-Shows hmmm...
What to do when people schedule time to meet/speak with you, yet are no-shows? Learn what to say to avoid this from happening and review a script format (found below) that will increase
in-person/phone appointments kept and increase your closing percentage.
The one thing you must do to avoid no-shows. By Scott Channell
It happens to all of us. We schedule a phone appointment or time to meet someone at their office and they cancel or worse yet... are no-shows.
What do you do? Particularly if this happens with a decision-maker at a very desired account?
A coaching client related that she had scheduled two phone appointments with a top dog... only to have them no-show on her.
The objective is to close a deal. People who blow you off obviously don't "get" your value. Particularly if they don't practice common courtesy and contact you to cancel the meeting... or call you to apologize profusely for the circumstances under which they could not keep their commitment.
If people blow you off like that it is because they think you are a schlepper and probably aren't worth much. That being so, what are the odds they will buy from you at fair value? Once people have a certain impression of you they don't change their minds easily.
Let's start with what you DON'T DO.
Do not call them immediately.
Do not let them off the hook easily with a "that's all right" and a cheery smile.
People buy from peers.
People treat peers they respect decently.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
One immediate option - You avoid the situation altogether.
In this case I knew a lot about the results that this salesperson had achieved for organizations. She had a stellar record of achievement helping companies solve common and costly problems.
Prior to her consulting career she had been in the field and had consistently ranked within the top three of a 15,000+ sales organization.
Did the person she scheduled the phone appointments with know anything about the RESULTS she had achieved for other organizations?
No.
Did the person she scheduled the phone appointments with know anything about her extraordinary record of personal achievement in the industry before she started consulting?
No.
Should we really be surprised that this top decision-maker was a no-show for those phone appointments?
No.
Going Forward - Are you communicating these things when obtaining commitments for appointments?
I asked Edie, my coaching client, to replay the conversation with that CEO scheduling the phone appointments.
A very general introduction. A non-specific description of what she does. That she wants to speak to him... that she has a program...generalities, non-specifics and no references to specific results.
Goal or Objective - What you want to do is to leave them panting for that phone appointment.
Have them intrigued... curious about how you might help them. Leave them in a state of expectation, looking forward to your time together and what they might get.
Get them into a state of anticipation.
Don't you think the odds of that decision-maker keeping that appointment and ultimately buying from Edie would shoot up if she had structured her initial intro conversation something like this....
Hi this is Edie from Mega Industries. We help companies to
_____________ and those that have worked with us have achieved
major benefit A, monster result B and significant achievement C.
Before I started consulting I was a top performer in this industry
achieving stellar result A, Super result B and unbelievable result
C. If you have needs in these areas I would like to schedule a time
to share information about your goals and my capabilities. Would
you like to do that?
Something like that... specific and result laden is likely to have a top decision-maker looking forward to that phone appointment. They perceive you as a peer and an expert and treat you accordingly... and pay you accordingly.
If you find yourself in low-probability land being treated like some schlepper... it is probably due to your own actions. You can change very quickly, get more appointments and convert more of them to closed sales.
Edie also asked about how to handle that phone conversation...but that will be the topic for another day.
in-person/phone appointments kept and increase your closing percentage.
The one thing you must do to avoid no-shows. By Scott Channell
It happens to all of us. We schedule a phone appointment or time to meet someone at their office and they cancel or worse yet... are no-shows.
What do you do? Particularly if this happens with a decision-maker at a very desired account?
A coaching client related that she had scheduled two phone appointments with a top dog... only to have them no-show on her.
The objective is to close a deal. People who blow you off obviously don't "get" your value. Particularly if they don't practice common courtesy and contact you to cancel the meeting... or call you to apologize profusely for the circumstances under which they could not keep their commitment.
If people blow you off like that it is because they think you are a schlepper and probably aren't worth much. That being so, what are the odds they will buy from you at fair value? Once people have a certain impression of you they don't change their minds easily.
Let's start with what you DON'T DO.
Do not call them immediately.
Do not let them off the hook easily with a "that's all right" and a cheery smile.
People buy from peers.
People treat peers they respect decently.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
One immediate option - You avoid the situation altogether.
In this case I knew a lot about the results that this salesperson had achieved for organizations. She had a stellar record of achievement helping companies solve common and costly problems.
Prior to her consulting career she had been in the field and had consistently ranked within the top three of a 15,000+ sales organization.
Did the person she scheduled the phone appointments with know anything about the RESULTS she had achieved for other organizations?
No.
Did the person she scheduled the phone appointments with know anything about her extraordinary record of personal achievement in the industry before she started consulting?
No.
Should we really be surprised that this top decision-maker was a no-show for those phone appointments?
No.
Going Forward - Are you communicating these things when obtaining commitments for appointments?
I asked Edie, my coaching client, to replay the conversation with that CEO scheduling the phone appointments.
A very general introduction. A non-specific description of what she does. That she wants to speak to him... that she has a program...generalities, non-specifics and no references to specific results.
Goal or Objective - What you want to do is to leave them panting for that phone appointment.
Have them intrigued... curious about how you might help them. Leave them in a state of expectation, looking forward to your time together and what they might get.
Get them into a state of anticipation.
Don't you think the odds of that decision-maker keeping that appointment and ultimately buying from Edie would shoot up if she had structured her initial intro conversation something like this....
Hi this is Edie from Mega Industries. We help companies to
_____________ and those that have worked with us have achieved
major benefit A, monster result B and significant achievement C.
Before I started consulting I was a top performer in this industry
achieving stellar result A, Super result B and unbelievable result
C. If you have needs in these areas I would like to schedule a time
to share information about your goals and my capabilities. Would
you like to do that?
Something like that... specific and result laden is likely to have a top decision-maker looking forward to that phone appointment. They perceive you as a peer and an expert and treat you accordingly... and pay you accordingly.
If you find yourself in low-probability land being treated like some schlepper... it is probably due to your own actions. You can change very quickly, get more appointments and convert more of them to closed sales.
Edie also asked about how to handle that phone conversation...but that will be the topic for another day.
Comments