Appointment Setting - An Introduction, Not a Lifetime Commitment!

Many of you are chilled calling--or introductory calling, as I prefer to think about it--to set new business appointments with prospects. In order to effectively set new business appointments, it is important to select the objective of your preliminary phone call. Plenty of of you would say that your objective is to close the sale. And that is true--closing is your final objective. Closing, however, is not the objective of your first phone call. This is an important distinction! When making introductory calls, your objective is to set the appointment and only to set the appointment.

Every business has its own sales cycle. Getting in the door is step. If your prospect does not know you, your company, your product or service, then he will seldom buy from you. So, how do you accomplish step and get in the door?

Approaching your calls this way changes the whole conversation. Suppose your prospect tells you that he already has a seller. So what! You are not asking her to alter vendors, you are asking her to meet with you so that you can introduce yourself, your company, product or service, and that way, in the future, if her situation changes, she'll know you, she'll know the company, product or service. Definitely, it seldom hurts to have a backup source! This is entirely reasonable! (Incidentally, if your prospect already has a seller, that makes her a qualified prospect--she buys what you sell!)

On an introductory call, you are not selling your product or service, you are selling a gathering. You require your prospect to give you ten to 15 minutes of their time, so that you can introduce yourself, your company, your product or your service. And that is it! At this point, you are not asking the prospect to do anything but give you time. You are not asking her to buy anything, alter vendors, commit to or alter anything that he normally does.

Keep in mind: This is an introduction, an introductory meeting, not a lifetime dedication!

If you think about introductory calling in this manner, the whole tenor of your conversation together with your prospect changes. There is less pressure, both on you & on your prospect. It makes your manner more relaxed, & it relaxes your prospect & allows them be open to what you are saying. This works. One time you are in the door, the sales cycle can move forward.