Why Trying to "Get Appointment" Can be a Recipe for Dis-Appoinment Last week, this e-mail from Jack arrived in my inbox:
To: Ari Galper From: Jack Subj.: Help! I need to get more appointments Dear Ari,
I've just coined a new disease for medical books, and I'm hoping you can help me cure it.
Have you ever heard of "freezing-up-on-the-first-call paralysis"? It's brought on by stress of selling!
I'm new to sales, and, as I've been starting out, I've studied all programs from all "sales masters."
They all insist that, when I call new prospects, I should be laser-focused on getting appointments.
The problem is, when I make that first call and lead conversation toward goal of getting an appointment, I hit a "wall."
I know that if I can just get face-to-face with prospects, they'll see value of my solution -- but I can't even get there because they shut me down.
When they tell me "I'm not interested" or "I'm busy now" or "We already have a vendor," I'm left with nowhere to go.
What's worse, I can't even come up with what to say next.
Can you recommend some "medicine" that will help?
Always open-minded,
Jack
"Whew!" I thought when I read this. "That's an intense e-mail!" Jack's e-mail started me thinking about hundreds of conversations I've had with many of you who are out there selling your solutions day in and day out.
I realized that his "disease" is so pervasive that those of you who are suffering from it could probably use a "prescription" from Unlock The Game™ pharmacy.
This was my response to Jack:
To: Jack From: Ari Galper Subj.: RE: Help? I need to make more appointments
Dear Jack,
First of all, thank you so much for being open to sharing your painful selling challenge.
You articulated so beautifully what so many other people are experiencing, and I hope you won't mind if I share your e-mail and this response with my newsletter subscribers.
Here's why you've been afflicted with this "disease"-- and what you can do to cure it.
The "wall" you hit when you try to get appointment is prospect's reaction to you putting your own objectives ahead of crucial trust-building process that would actually allow an appointment to emerge.
By laser-focusing on getting appointment, you're sabotaging three factors that are vital if you're going to build trust.