When you’re in the sales industry, the most important goal for anyone is closing a sale. However, you cannot close a sale without speaking to a client, and you can’t speak to a client in depth without setting an appointment. Therefore, one of the most important steps in the world of sales to secure more clients is setting appointments successfully.
But how can you do this without appearing like you’re desperate or simply getting an immediate ‘no’? Well, there are a few tactics you can take to increase your chances of landing an appointment successfully. Below, we’ve outlined the top eight creative ways to get sales appointments, and if you follow them, you’re guaranteed to see your client list increase.
Learn about the prospective clients
The problem many businesses and salespeople make when trying to secure an appointment is seeming too robotic. They simply read off a script that has been around since the emergence of the company. Prospective clients can pick up on this and tell when they are being treated the same as everyone else, and it makes them want to say no even more.
This is why it’s always important to add a personal touch when you’re cold calling or approaching a prospective client for the first time. If you know you’re going to be talking to a particular person or business, you need to show that you’ve taken the time to learn about them. This is the same for any type of approach, whether it’s over the phone, email, or in person.
You might think it’s hard to find out enough about one person you don’t know, but there are some things you can do:
- Utilise social media – especially LinkedIn. Go through the prospect’s profile and identify job descriptions, endorsements, recent awards, and more to find ways to personalise the conversation.
- Just go on Google – sometimes finding information is as simple as going on Google and seeing if anything about the prospect comes up. However, ensure you’ve got the information about the right person and that you haven’t gotten names confused.
- Search the company website – you may find out more about the general company the prospect works at, or even just about the company in general if you’re working on B2B appointment setting.
Always start with a conversation
The worst thing you can do when talking to a prospective client is immediately try and schedule an appointment with them. It seems far too ‘salesy’ and they don’t like this. They want to feel more like a human and that you aren’t just using them for their business. That’s why it’s always good to start your interactions with a conversation.
You can choose what questions you ask the prospect to get the conversation started, but they should have the intention of qualifying the lead and engaging their curiosity. You also need to ensure you’re listening to their needs, not being pushy, and providing them with relevant information.
Include case studies on your website
Company websites are more important now than ever before. This is because everyone is going online now and searching for prospective vendors, seeing what they have to offer and the quality of what they offer. When you’re in negotiations to set up an appointment with a lead, they might head to your website first to find out some information, so you’ll want to add a case study on your site to reel them in.
A case study will give the prospect information and proof of what you can do. It should focus on the challenges of your previous clients and how you were able to help them. End the case study by encouraging other prospects to connect with you.
Utilise your calls-to-action
This may not be one of the out-of-the-box sales meeting ideas, but you can catch the eye of more prospects if you ensure you’re placing calls to action everywhere. And when we say everywhere, we mean EVERYWHERE! You don’t want your sales cycle to run long, so you want to close that appointment setting to make a sale as soon as possible.
For every piece of marketing you have out there, ensure that there is a call to action attached to it. That means every online or paper advertisement, blog article, brochure, or event needs to state how the potential client can get in touch with you and how.
Similarly, ensure your call to action isn’t simple and boring. Instead of just ‘Contact us’, you want to put something more catchy down that will entice them in. For example ‘Get in touch for a free trial today’ will make the prospect want to get in touch and potentially set an appointment to try out your product or service.
Set up a presentation at a major industry event
In any industry, businesses and prospective clients attend a wide range of public events. The best way to get noticed at one of these and to grab the attention of others is by becoming a speaker and setting up a presentation. It gives your leads a closer look into what you offer and increases the chances of them approaching you to set an appointment.
The presentation can be in-person or online but try to see if you can secure a slot. You also need to ensure you are selling yourself in the best possible way, which you can ensure by following some of the other tips in this article.
Remain confident at all times
When you’re in the sales industry, confidence is always key. No prospect is going to want to set an appointment with a salesperson who doesn’t know what they’re talking about or doesn’t seem confident about what they’re selling. Whether you’re talking directly or over an email or message, you need to use phrases that ensure you’re exuding a level of confidence that will attract them.
A few phrases that are off putting to prospective clients include ‘I know you’re probably quite busy right now’ or ‘Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me’. Not only are you appearing a bit desperate, but you’re giving the client all the power. It makes it a lot easier for them to say no to you.
Instead, you need to focus on how you’re taking the time out of the day to speak to the prospective client and that you have 100% confidence in everything you’re saying to them. You need to show them that you truly believe what you’re selling will fix one of their pain points, and if you do this well, you’ll no doubt receive an appointment.
Simply ask for the appointment
While we’ve said you should never start an interaction with a prospective client by asking for the appointment, there will come a time when you’ve positioned yourself to secure it. When you get to this point, there are two approaches you can take. You can either directly ask them for a meeting, or get them to ask you for a meeting.
We think it’s best not to waste time, and if you think you’ve got the lead where you want them, you should go for it and set up the appointment. Remain confident when asking and don’t seem desperate, and you should most likely get a yes in response.
Always follow up
Just because you’ve set an appointment with a prospect doesn’t mean all the hard work is done. Sometimes, they might forget or simply not turn up to it. If this ever happens, you shouldn’t just give up and move on to the next one. Instead, you should always follow up and see if there’s a chance you can set another appointment.
Most of the time, there’s a reason behind why a lead was a no-show. But when you reach out to them, ensure you position yourself as a partner instead of a vendor. Don’t write or call them to ‘check up’, but rather just offer them new information, something interesting to share, or an important question that could lead to another booking.
Book a call with Novus today to learn more about appointment setting services
If you are still not feeling too confident about setting appointments with potential clients, then you don’t have to worry. Novus has all the tools and skills to help you do it. You can outsource the work to Novus, and we’ll guarantee you see an increase in appointments and secured clients. Contact one of our experts today to find out more about what we can do for you.
