What is a Playbook and why is it required for setting appointments?

The five ‘C’s of delivering the same message and techniques.

Many sales professionals will tell you they like to ‘wing it’ on appointment setting calls because they don’t want to sound ‘canned’ or like the proverbial telemarketer.

If you then role play a call with them (or listen in on a call) you’ll hear them fumble their way through the conversation and not get an appointment.

Continue reading “What is a Playbook and why is it required for setting appointments?”

How to Professionally Disengage from an unsuccessful appointment setting call

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??? Continue reading “How to Professionally Disengage from an unsuccessful appointment setting call”

Should we continue to prospect during the COVID-19 scare, or wait it out?

How to do it without coming across as tone-deaf and calloused.

Image courtesy of SlidePlayer.com

There are two reasons to keep prospecting during the COVID-19 scare:

Prospecting, particularly appointment setting is not something most sales professionals like to do. It is also a habit. When we stop for any reason, it has always been hard to get restarted.
If you stopped prospecting in March, continued while we’re all sequestered during April and while things are ‘getting restarted’ in May, you’ll have turned off the pipeline spigot for 90 days. If you’ve got a 90-day buying cycle, you’ve turned off new revenue for six months. That’s half the year. Need I say more?

Continue reading “Should we continue to prospect during the COVID-19 scare, or wait it out?”

How to handle “A family member handles our commercial insurance.”

This one is generally one of the most difficult negative responses for commercial insurance agents to handle. As with most responses, it is not always true because targets know it works, but if it is true, it is a difficult nut to crack. And like all of our Counters, it will work regardless of whether it is true or not. Continue reading “How to handle “A family member handles our commercial insurance.””

How to handle, “I only have 15 minutes.”

How to handle diminished time available for an Initial Appointment.

If you’ve been selling long enough, this has happened to you. The target informs you as they greet you that he or she only has 15 minutes instead of the normal hour set aside for an Initial Appointment. How should you handle the situation? Continue reading “How to handle, “I only have 15 minutes.””

Why using your Unique Selling Proposition in your opening script doesn’t work.

Can you really say something that your competitors aren’t?

Another reason we don’t believe in investing enormous amounts of time on making the ‘Opening Approach’ on an appointment making call ‘perfect’ is the fact that it is really difficult to differentiate oneself from the competition in a sentence or two. More importantly, it is impossible to create one that your target hasn’t heard before. Continue reading “Why using your Unique Selling Proposition in your opening script doesn’t work.”

How to create a killer opening script.

Or, at least an effective one. A step by step formula.

In a blog entitled, How important is it to ‘nail’ your opening statement? I suggested it just isn’t worth agonizing over the creation of a ‘killer’ opening script. I stand by that. What this blog attempts to do is give you a step by step process to build one that is effective in getting you into the conversation you want.

Regardless of how good you make that opening; your targets will still say no when you first ask for the appointment over 90% of the time. If you understand and accept that, then the process below will help be in a strong position to ‘Counter’ the no you get. Continue reading “How to create a killer opening script.”

How important is it to ‘nail’ your opening statement?

Hint: It’s not as important as you think.

Regardless of how good your opening is, over 90% of your targets still say no when you first ask them for an appointment, don’t they?

Many sales professionals and their managers who must set appointments with people they don’t know tell me they struggle getting to the ‘perfect’ opening that will get people to agree to an appointment with them. In my opinion, that is a waste of good time. Continue reading “How important is it to ‘nail’ your opening statement?”

How to handle, “Sure, call me next week” and actually have the conversation.

Some exact wording that works.

So, you think you’ve got someone interested. They tell you they can’t talk right now, but you can call them next week and they’ll take your call.

After a bunch of calls where all you heard was ‘no’ or you’ve just left voicemail after voicemail, this is a pleasant departure, right? Someone that is actually interested! Continue reading “How to handle, “Sure, call me next week” and actually have the conversation.”

Should I ask for voicemail or should I leave my message with the receptionist?

And, if I opt for the receptionist, what do I say?

The answer to the first question may seem pretty obvious when you think about it academically, but when you get into the ‘heat of battle’ and the receptionist asks if they can take a message, many just go with the flow and say “Sure!” Continue reading “Should I ask for voicemail or should I leave my message with the receptionist?”