Okay. When you first call on a prospect in order to set up a meeting and he says to you, “I’m too busy. I can’t talk right now,” we’ve already learned how to handle that response properly and ask for the appointment.
But suppose the prospect insists, saying, “Listen, I’m really busy right now, and this is just not a good time. You’ll have to call me back in a month or so.”
In this case, how do you make an effective follow-up call?
Well, before we answer that, it’s helpful to keep in mind that since the prospect said that you’ll need to call him back, you’re now working from the mindset that when you do call back, you’re going to speak with the prospect with the intent to set up the appointment.
In other words, you’re not going to call back because you have nothing better to do with your time. You’re making a follow-up call because he asked you to call him back when you first called him to set the appointment.
After all, you originally said, “The reason I’m calling you today specifically is to set an appointment.” Then he responded, “I’m busy right now. You’ll have to call me back.” So, unless you hear differently from him, you’re under the impression that you should call back to set the appointment.
That’s what you asked for, and that’s what he’s responding to. So that’s what you build the follow-up call on.
And with that said, here’s an example of what your call will sound like:
“Good morning, Chad, this is Bill Stevens from XYZ Training Company. The reason I’m calling you today specifically is that, when we spoke last month about setting up an appointment, you suggested that I give you a call in July. Does this Thursday at 2 pm work for you?”
Notice how different this approach is from the following:
“Good morning, Chad, this is Bill Stevens from XYZ Training Company. When I called you last month, I mentioned our proven sales training programs and how they can boost the results of your sales force. You were interested, but you said it wasn’t a good time. So I’m calling you today to see if you’d like to hear more about us.”
Or, if you appealed to a third party when calling to schedule the meeting, notice how different the approach is from the following:
“Good morning, Chad, this is Bill Stevens from XYZ Training Company. When I called you last month, I mentioned that we completed an effective training program with the 321 Company. You expressed some interest, but you said it wasn’t a good time. So I’m calling you today to see if now is a better time.”
You see, the problem with these two openings is that they’re just begging for a response such as, “Sorry, I’m not interested,” or “No, I’m still too busy,” or “No, it’s not a better time.”
But on the other hand, once again, this is what an effective follow-up call will sound like:
“Good afternoon, Chad, this is Bill Stevens from XYZ Training Company. The reason I’m calling you today specifically is that, when we spoke in June about setting up an appointment, you suggested that I give you a call this week. Would this Wednesday at 10 am be okay?”
Now, after you’ve delivered these opening words, the person must respond to you. In fact, you’re even anticipating that response. And not only that, you’re also prepared to turn around the most common responses so that you get the appointment.
Leave a Reply