Serving and Selling: Appointment Scheduling for Salespeople

Do you ever get that feeling that you can’t trust the person on the other side of the checkout counter, or on the other end of the phone? Even when you call your mobile phone company for a service call, the salesperson is prompted to offer you the latest upgrades. It’s just one another quick up-selling technique – even when you didn’t call for that! Consumers are desperate for positive interactions with salespeople who are service oriented. As salespeople we need to restore the word “sales” back to its Norwegian roots selje, meaning to serve.

To guarantee your customers’ and clients’ trust in your salespeople, you must obtain proper training. A heart of service in a sales representative is cultivated with careful professional training. Let me offer some insight. For a sales process with a goal of setting appointments, envision with me a similar scenario where you might also be scheduling an appointment to pitch a sale to someone. Imagine you have a small business, and you’re trying to meet a referred venture capitalist company to obtain funding. You feel that meeting for coffee or lunch would be the best first step.

You call your VC contact, and after a brief introduction, you pitch your idea.

YOU: “Well, Mr. Johnson, I know that you have a busy schedule, but if you would give me an hour of your time, it would be my pleasure to meet with you for coffee or lunch – on me – to discuss whether my idea would be a good fit for your interests.”

Mr. Johnson: “I would be pleased to learn more about your company. Let’s schedule to meet for coffee. I’m a big fan of Starbucks, and there is a location very close to my office.”

YOU: “That’s perfect. Would you be available on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week? What time would be most convenient for you?”

Mr. Johnson: “Let’s do Wednesday at 10:00am. I’ll send you the address by email. See you then.”

YOU: “Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it.

Notice the courteousness in your tone. You compose yourself as a professional who has the interest of your customer/client in mind over your own interest, in your interactions. You’ve successfully set the appointment, and you have an opportunity to present your dynamic idea. You might even send a brief confirmation email to Mr. Johnson the day before for his convenience. The mindset is on making every step one of ease and comfort for your prospect.

Amazingly, this is not always how the sales process goes. I’m dumbfounded when I’m dining out and the waiter says something like, “You wouldn’t want dessert, would you?” instead of, “If you would allow me, I’d love to show you our award winning dessert tray – no commitment necessary!” How does it make you feel when you go to a retail store to try on suits and the customer service staff barely acknowledges you to say, “We have a sale on all jackets; they’re buy one get one 50% off.” A much more successful approach would have been to ask questions to see what jackets the customer is looking for, help them locate the one they’re envisioning and then entice with the discount.

What’s the difference? It’s all about a service mindset. In the above dialogue, you would never have said, “Well, the local coffee shop closer to my office would be more convenient for me.” And you certainly would not have requested that they listen to your pitch over the phone, with no incentive of free coffee or lunch for their time. No. You have the client’s convenience and needs in the forefront of your thoughts, words and actions. Yet, your confidence in your product, service and sales pitch does not waver with that graciousness. You’re there to make a sale, but you know how to make the prospect comfortable in that process. That’s the winning sales mindset that gains loyal customers. To learn more, visit us at www.thelinklater.com.