STOP BY NEXT WEEK

No, the title isn’t a statement asking you to skip today’s post and come back Monday. (But PLEASE do stop back Monday, and Tuesday, and Wedn..OH you get the message) The title of this post is what most sales reps consider an APPOINTMENT!

I was on the phone with a rep today and he was telling me about the great cold call he made. He was giving me a blow by blow description of exactly how he saw the shop, had to turn around to get back to it, everything from the parking spot he used (this will be a topic on another post soon) to the elevator speech he used to get the owners attention. (Another post very soon) As we were entering the 19^th minute of the call according to my cell phone, he told me he had an appointment set to go back and demo his product.

I was getting as excited as the rep was about this call. It sounded like he had done everything right. I asked him if he wanted to run through his demo with me before his appointment. He was glad I asked and I said, “OK when is your appointment for?” This is where I almost got sick to my stomach. He said, “I can go back anytime next week”. I asked again, “I am sure you can but what day did you set the appointment for?” Once again he said, “Any time next week”.

So I simply asked him, “So are you telling me that you didn’t set a day and time for the appointment?” He nodded and said, “He told me to come back any time next week”.

How many of you have heard that same statement from a prospect or customer? Come back next week!

THIS IS NOT AN APPOINTMENT! Never was never will be. Yes, sometimes if you stop by they will see you just as they promised, some people are like that, but in most cases “COME BACK NEXT WEEK” is the customer’s way of getting rid of you.

I have found that customers and prospects are generally very nice people. I don’t buy the old stories that New Yorkers are hard to deal with, and Southerners are easy to deal with, and West Coasters are laid back, Chicagoites are short tempered. PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE and most people don’t want to be rude and will go out of their way not to be confrontational. Telling you to “Come back next week” is a non-confrontational way to get rid of you and not hurt your feelings. It isn’t an appointment.

Now that we know what an appointment isn’t, we need to find out what an appointment is. All appointment should have a few common features:

1)      A set time

2)      A set day and date

3)      A reason for the appointment (This can be loose but it needs to be set. For instance, “We are going to talk about my product” (loose) or “We are going to cover how my product speed up your sales process” (specific))

4)      You can also set the place and who will be present during the appointment

The more specific you get the better your chance of actually meeting with the customer when you return.

Just like selling, making an appointment is an art. It is something that can be practiced and improved upon by each of us. We need to get in the habit of not accepting “come back next week” as an appointment and start making FIRM appointments with our prospects and customers.

When was the last time you called your doctor and they said, “come in next week”?

Lorin