Are you trying to get your foot in the door with new selling opportunities, but the door gets slammed in your face when your prospects don’t honor the meeting time you both agreed to? It’s frustrating when this happens, and unfortunately, it happens to all sales people. You might find yourself wondering if there’s a trick is to increase the number of appointments honored by prospects? The good news is the solution is simple – calendar invites.
Calendar invites are an easy, yet effective way to increase the number of appointments honored by prospects. There are a few keys to being successful with calendar invites.
- Timely follow up
- Jog your prospect’s memory
- Be on time
- Attempt to reschedule when necessary
Timely Follow Up
Timely follow up is a fundamental aspect of the sales cycle. With calendar invites, timely follow up achieves two things:
- It earns you trust from your prospects
- It gives you the best chance at your prospect remembering why they committed to meeting with you
Remind Your Prospect Why They Committed To Meeting
Although you will follow up timely, it’s important to remember that your prospect has 100 other things on his/her plate. In your calendar invite, it’s helpful to mention something to jog their memory. It can be as simple as:
“Thank you for speaking with me today. I’m looking forward to discussing your interest in {product/service your company offers} and how {your company’s name} can be an asset to you and your team.”
Be On Time
For a phone meeting, if the prospect either confirms or does not respond to your calendar invite, make sure you are on time for the appointment. It’s important to show your prospect you respect their time and appreciate their willingness to accept an appointment.
For a face-to-face meeting, if the prospect does not respond to your calendar invite, you have a few options, depending on how important the opportunity is to you. If the opportunity is of high importance, show up on time for the appointment. However, if it’s a less important opportunity or a lot of travel is required, attempt to reconnect via phone or email before attending the appointment.
Attempt To Reschedule If Prospect Declines Invite
If your prospect declines the calendar invite, don’t worry. Respect the fact that something unexpected might have come up on their end and send them a message suggesting a few dates/times for rescheduling the appointment.
At the end of the day, calendar invites are a simple way to increase the number of appointments honored by prospects. Not only does it remind them of their commitment, but it also shows them that you are on the ball.
For more information, contact Mike (miked@dunlapmarketing.com) or Kaitlin (kaitlind@dunlapmarketing.com).