For sales professionals, an appointment is an opportunity to sell. No appointments mean no possibilities of closing sales – and no income. Using an answering service to schedule sales calls can support sales team needs.
A full schedule results in a full day of selling opportunities; an open schedule means downtime and fewer chances to sell. How are you managing your online appointment scheduling? Are you using appointment scheduling software? Here are common options to keep a sales schedule full:
Do It Yourself: Some salespeople set aside time each day to schedule appointments for the next day. Not only does this reduce the amount of time they’re able to meet with people, it’s also hard to reach contacts to set appointments in the first place. Between voicemail and email, busy people seldom have time to talk when a salesperson calls. Some have even tried setting an appointment to call for an appointment. That works about as well as it sounds.
Let Them Call You: An option is to schedule the appointment at the discretion of the prospect. When they are ready to meet, schedule an appointment then. But what if the salesperson is in the middle of another appointment? What if you’re not working, spending time with family, eating, or sleeping? Then those calls go unanswered. At best the caller leaves a message. Then you play phone tag. An appointment may never happen.
Hire an Admin: As a response, these harried salespeople hire an administrative assistant to schedule appointments for them. This helps some but not enough. When the admin assistant is at lunch, on breaks, or done working for the day no appointments can be scheduled. Plus administrate assistants work best in a reactive mode. If no one calls, then there are no appointments for an assistant to set. But instead of hiring an administrative assistant and adding to your payroll, just hire a telephone answering service to do this for you instead. Since they’re available 24/7, you’ll achieve better results and save money, too.
Seek a Proactive Solution: Instead of taking a reactive approach, you ideally need someone who will proactively reach out to your list of leads and prospects. An answering service can do this for you. You provide your schedule availability and your contact list. They will take the initiative to contact your prospects and schedule sales appointments with those who are ready for the next step.
Verify Appointments: Not only can your answering service set sales meetings for you, but they can confirm them as well. A carefully timed phone call or email the day before helps ensure the prospect is available and ready for your appointment. Plus a text message an hour or so prior to the meeting can serve as a timely preparatory reminder.
Your answering service’s professionalism in setting the sales call and then confirming it will carry over to you when you meet with your prospects. While not every answering service has the ability and willingness to proactively set sales appointments, many of the best can. They will provide you with an easy solution to the challenging problem of keeping your schedule booked. With your answering service at your side, you can’t miss it. Contact us now to learn more!
