Making an appointment

Making An Appointment
Gopal Thapa
Nepal Commerce Campus

11/25/18 Gopal Thapa/Selling/Presentation2
Making An Appointment
 Many sales managers insist their salespeople
make appointments before calling on
prospects or customers.
 They have found from experience that
working by appointment saves valuable
selling time.
 One large sales organization estimates that
advance appointments increase the
effectiveness of their sales force by at least
one third.

Advantages of Making Appointments
 Appointments dignify the salesperson.
 The prospect or customer is more likely to be
open-minded toward the salesperson who
makes an appointment as compared to the one
who “just happened by”.
 Appointments get the sales process off to a
good start by putting the salesperson and the
prospect on the same level – equal participants
in a legitimate sales interview.
 Appointments also increase the chances of
seeing the right person.

How to Make Appointments
 Experienced sales representatives use
different methods to contact individual
customers
 They have found through trial and error that a
certain method of making an appointment
works well with a regular customer but may
be entirely ineffective with a new prospect.
 They have also found that knowledge of
many different methods and techniques of
making an appointment is extremely helpful in
obtaining sales interview.

How to Make Appointments
 Basic principles and techniques of making
appointments
1. Seeing the right person
2. Calling at the right time
3. Cultivating subordinates
4. Using the telephone

Seeing the Right Person
 Many salespeople complete an effective sales
presentation only to find they have been
talking to the wrong person – someone who
does not have the authority to make a
purchase.
 New sales representatives are prone to this
mistake.
 Often they are so enthusiastic about their
product and so eager to give their
presentation they do not use sufficient care to
see that their appointment is with the person
who has the authority to buy.

 Any salesperson whose product or service
fills a customer’s need should not hesitate to
request an appointment with the right person
– the person who has authority to say yes or
no.
 Frequently, however, no one person has the
sole authority to buy a product.
 The salesperson may first be required to
obtain the approval of representatives of the
line organization or of a purchase committee.

 In such case, the salesperson should try to
arrange a meeting with the entire group.
 Some companies that sell technical industrial
product have found it practical to have factory
experts periodically accompany salespeople.
 In advance of the expert’s visit to the
territory , the salesperson maps out a
schedule of interview with key prospects.
 It is usually easier to get an appointment with
these key people when they hear a factory
expert will be present to explain the new
technological changes in the product and the
industry.

Calling at the Right Time
 Much has been written about the best time of
day for sales interviews.
 Certain salespeople claim the best time to
see prospects is right after lunch, when they
are likely to be in a pleasant mood.
 Others try to get as many appointments as
they can during the early morning hours
because they believe the prospects or
customers will be in a better frame of mind
early in the morning.

 There is little agreement on this subject, for
obviously the most opportune time to call will
vary with customers and type of selling.
 The salesperson who calls on wholesale
grocers may find from experience that the
best time to call is from 9 am to 11am and
from 1:30 pm to 3: 30 pm.
 A life insurance agent, on the other hand,
may discover the most productive calls are
made in the evening between 7pm to 9pm,
when there is chance to meet both husband
and wife.

 Although the above mentioned hours may be
the most favorable, this does not mean a
salesperson should restrict appointments to
these hours.
 Each salesperson soon learns what hours
and what days most favorable for each
customer.

Cultivating Subordinates
 Busy executives usually have one or more
subordinates whose functions is to plan and
schedule interviews for their superiors.
 These “barriers” as they are sometimes
called by salespeople , often make it rather
difficult to see the boss.
 A secretary usually feels responsible for
conversing the superior’s time, therefore
he/she is eager to discover the true purpose
of each salesperson’s visit before granting an
interview with the boss.

Cultivating Subordinates
 A salesperson should go out of his or her way
to treat all subordinates with respect and
courtesy.
 A rule for success used by Bob Schiffman
 To do business with the boss, you must sell
yourself to everyone on his staff. I sincerely
like people – so it comes naturally to me.
 I treat secretaries and as equals and friends
chauffeurs. I regularly send small gifts to
them all. An outstanding investment.

Cultivating Subordinates:
A rule for success used by Bob Schiffman
 The little people are great allies.
 They can not buy the product.
 But they can kill the sale.
 Who needs influential enemies?
 The champ does not want anyone standing
back throwing rocks.
 In many cases, all you do is treat people
decently – an act that sets you apart from
70% of your competitors.

Using the Telephone to Make
Appointments
 Salespeople can save many hours by phoning
to make appointments.
 While all of us have used telephone since
childhood, many people have developed bad
habits that reduce their effectiveness when
talking over the phone.
 For example, the mouthpiece of the telephone
should always be held in front of the mouth,
not under the chin. Don’t put fingers over the
mouthpiece, and make an effort to talk
distinctly, not too loudly of too softly.

Appointments
 The goal of the telephone call is to set up an
appointment, not to sell the product.
 Therefore in addressing the objection, the
salesperson should use the objection itself as
a reason for granting an appointment.
 Frequently, when a salesperson calls for an
appointment, the prospect may ask certain
questions about the product or service.
 If this happens, the salesperson should refrain
from giving sales presentation over the
telephone.

Appointments
 Some salespeople have their secretaries
make telephone appointments for them.
 They believe this gives them greater prestige
in the mind of the prospect or customer.
 If the secretary is unable to obtain an
appointment , the salesperson may make a
second call using a different approach.
 The use of tricky subterfuges to obtain
appointments has no place in modern selling.

Appointments
 If the salesperson selects prospects carefully
in terms of their product needs , it should not
be necessary to conceal the purpose of the
visit.
 At times, the salesperson may have to use
determination, persistence, and ingenuity to
obtain interview, but he or she should never
resort to deceitful or dishonest tactics.

Making an appointment

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