How to Make Those All Important Sales Appointments, Improving Your Sales Results

The most important part of the sales process by far, for any business that deals with direct selling is to arrange a sales appointment. Direct sales companies need this appointment so that the company can explain and display their outstanding sales skills to the receiving end. This can, however result in rejection by the receiving end as most receiving parties will not give you an opportunity!

Here are some top tips to achieving these sales appointments, therefore improving your sales results;

Top Tip One:

Motivate yourself!

Who likes arranging sales appointments??? No one? I think that would be the case for the majority of direct sales companies. You can set yourself some objectives you want to overcome for each session, (time slot of allocated calls to be made) once you have overcome these objections, reward yourself! Set yourself a different reward for each set of objectives you overcome, set yourself a higher reward, the harder the objectives the bigger the reward! Think to yourself, how many calls to you want to make by the end of the day? How many of these calls would you want to have arranged a sales appointment? Each of these could be a different reward.

Top Tip two:

Your aim at this time is to arrange an appointment and nothing else!!

When you make the call, you are not selling your product, all you are asking for is just 30 minutes of their time so you can explain your product in person. Don't bombard the person on the other end with questions, just keep it plain and simple! You could plan what benefits are involved from the prospective client meeting with you, what they can gain etc. Catorgorise your call list into different categories and for each category list the benefits that particular client will have from meeting with you. These will be different for each category. By doing this you will come across much more confident on the phone as you will believe in what you are doing and how it can benefit the prospective client.

Top Tip three:

Keep it short and sweet

Just remember these key areas; Who are you? (State your name), and you are calling from???....(State your company's name and a one line promotion statement), and you are calling today because?....(any new promotions? a new, better pricing schedule?)

Top Tip four:

Get the prospective client interacting.

Make a conversation with the prospective client, you have done all the talking! Get them involved a little! Ask a question, but one that is specific to your line of business. Do you currently use this type of service? How do you currently manage your.....? Make sure the type of question that you decide to use does not enable the prospective client to end the call, the call always needs to be in your hands!

Top Tip Five:

The Benefits!!

Tell the prospective client about the benefits that you would have already listed from top tip one and ask that all important question (The aim of your call!) The fact that you want 30 minutes of their time.

Top Tip Six:

Make the move!!

Name a place, time and day immediately, you can offer them a choice of these, which ever is the most convenient for the prospective client.

Top Tip Seven:

Reward Time!

What I find useful is to practice, practice, practice what you are going to say to the prospective client, once you have it spot on, record it, listen to yourself, and keep doing this until you are happy with what you are saying and how you are saying it. Once you are happy, get dialing!

Remember to categorise the prospective clients into different lists and list all the benefits for each category.

Stacey Howells is the Operations Director at WagTap Contact Solutions which provides a number of first class telephone answering services that are designed to save clients time and money, reduce stress and staffing levels and improve customer satisfaction and retention.

WagTap specialises in virtual assistant services, out of hours and overflow call handling, sales order processing, information request lines, media response lines, customer service support, outbound telemarketing and market research services. Click here to try our services for FREE!