| Truths? Nobody important answers the phone. You can't get by gatekeepers. Voicemail is never answered. Calling is boring. No one agrees to meet with a stranger. I would rather eat glass than prospect. All "true" statements - almost all the time. EXACTLY WHO IS CONSISTENTLY SETTING SALES APPOINTMENTS? By Scott Channell But not... all the time. Those who are consistently successful seem to fall into two distinct groups. There are lessons to be learned here. Group one: In startup or launch mode. Group two: Very disciplined about their sales process. If you are a startup or launching something new it is often... meet and sell or die. Clients in this category have included: 1) home based business gasping for air which set up 65 quality appointments within months and quadrupled revenues, and 2) a mammoth energy utility which setup 200 sales appointments to launch a new division. In both cases, these businesses were under extreme pressure to deliver revenue. More time was not an option. Meet and sell or die. The second group is not responding to extreme short-term financial pressures and is very disciplined about their sales process. Clients in this category include a $100 million technology equipment supplier that improved their closing ratio 25% by setting more and better quality appointments, and the international relocation company that infused their sales pipeline with 500 new appointments in a year. In the second category, these companies had sales discipline. They collected and studied their numbers and made changes accordingly. How many appointments to close a sale? What is the average new account worth? What does it cost to get an appointment? What scripts work best? What call process works best? They know all this and more. They know their numbers. They do things to move their numbers. The startups set sales appointments despite the "truths" listed at the top of this article because boredom and frustration pale next to financial ruin. The disciplined group acknowledges and works within the "truths" to keep a steady stream of new revenue flowing. Their measuring systems, attention to process, and desired financial results overcome the "truths." Those in the middle, without a financial gun to their heads or sufficiently on top of sales process detail, let the "truths" be more powerful than their desire for improved sales results. Where are you? Best wishes with your prospecting, Scott Channell copyright Scott Channell 2006 |
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