HOW
TO GET THE APPOINTMENT
There’s 3 main considerations to begin the process to get
the appointment with the decision maker.
- Prequalify through research to establish an
understanding of the client situation and problem you can solve.
- Open the relationship and begin to establish
trust with the gatekeeper and the decision maker.
- Earn
the opportunity to set up an executive briefing where you can ask preliminary
questions to determine if there’s a natural fit between your prospects business
opportunity and your consulting specialty.
Answer your own pre-qualifying questions:
Does this prospect have problems that my consulting can
solve?
Is this company in a growth pattern?
Are there multiple locations in my territory?
Is this a market leader or prestige client who will help me
sell others in the category?
Are they doing business with other consultants?
Can I reach the ultimate decision maker?
Is this prospect business cost-effective to pursue?
Do I have a referral?
Is there a chance for a long term relationship?
Do your research.
Can you find someone who can introduce you or that you can
reference as a referral?
Learn about the person who is the economic buyer. Start at the top and work down.
Get to know and build a relationship with the gatekeeper to
the decision maker.
Confirm who the decision maker is. It can change.
Send letter #1: The
first letter of introduction about you, your company, your purpose and who you
help.
Include why you’re contacting them?
What’s your purpose for the letter? Why are you interested in speaking with me?
What’s your reason for contacting the company?
What are you hoping to communicate?
What problem does your service solve?
How is your solution different than the others?
What’s the benefit to meeting with you?
What is your prospects company passionate about?
What are your prospects competitors doing to solve the same
problem?
Send letter #2(within 3 days of letter #1): Noting a recent
article about the prospects company, their competitor or their industry. Demonstrate you have insight into the
prospects issues.
Send letter #3(within 3 days of letter #2): Note a recent
story about a triggering event in the industry that could have implications for
your prospects company, which you determined through your pre-meeting research.
Send letter #4(within 3 days of letter #3): Research your
prospects customer. Demonstrate you are
a critical thinker in touch with their industry, company and challenges.
Prepare your follow up voice mail scripts. Call after each
letter politely to ask if they’ve received it and if you can meet with them for
15 minutes to exchange information to see if their might be a fit between your
two companies. Your only goal is to get
the meeting, not to sell. It’s not about
you at this point.
Don’t email.
Can you physically walk into the business to meet just the
gatekeeper?
“GOOD MORNING SUSAN, MY NAME IS JOHN RUSSELL. IS MARY JONES THE PERSON I SHOULD SPEAK WITH
ABOUT SALES TRAINING? I WOULD LIKE TO
SCHEDULE A SHORT MEETING WITH HER. CAN
YOU SHARE WITH ME THE BEST TIME TO REACH MARY DURING THE WEEK?
MY PLAN IS TO FOLLOW UP WITH A LETTER OF INTRODUCTION. SHOULD I SEND IT TO THIS OFFICE?
I’LL BE SENDING OUT MY LETTER OF INTRODUCTION ON
FRIDAY. THEN I’LL FOLLOW UP WITH A PHONE
CALL AFTER THAT TO ASK IF I CAN SCHEDULE A SHORT MEETING WITH MARY TO INTRODUCE
MYSELF.
From Jill Konrath – Selling To Big Companies
Getting meetings with
C-level execs or their senior designate isn’t hard. In fact, it’s often much,
much quicker to get an appointment with (or referral from) the CEO than getting
a meeting with a mid-ranking exec who is vested in the status quo. This applies
in all B2B sales – even if the CEO isn’t the main buyer for the product,
service, or solution you sell.
#1: Make sure your value proposition focuses
on the outcomes and impact your client can expect – and that other clients get
– because of working with you. Rather than saying, “We help companies to…” (which is how most
value props start, and why they sound the same) demonstrate immediate
credibility and social proof by saying, “Clients like ABC and XYZ say they get
(results/outcome/impact) because they choose to work with [name of your
company].” “Choose to work with [name of your company]” is actually an embedded
suggestion that pre-conditions your potential customer to choose to work with
you.
#2: Go high! Once your messaging is more client
focused, just switching your attention on getting meetings with more senior
executives will mean you get meetings with more senior executives – as senior
executives are always on the lookout for new initiatives that will accelerate
time to market, increase revenue, decrease costs, improve efficiencies, and
more. They’re wired that way. And research shows they appreciate salespeople
who bring new ideas to them.
#3: Write several
different opening scripts. Try
each repeatedly and identify which emails/letters that generate the most
meetings. Tweak them to appeal to senior execs’ motivations.
9 Tips to Get Prospects to Call You Back
- Get down to business right away.
- Reference any referrals up front and state
your referrals name.
- Show you’ve done your homework and prepared for
the meeting.
- Mention a recent newsworthy event related to
your prospects industry or business.
- Can you share a strong value proposition?
- Share a fresh perspective.
- Eliminate any self-serving language.
- Sound like a trusted partner.
- Use a series of scripts for voice mails.
One you get the appointment, prepare, send and
follow up with a pre-meeting agenda.
When you confirm your meeting via phone say,
“In preparation for this meeting, I’ve sent you a pre-meeting agenda. Is there
anything you’d like to add to the agenda or questions you have that we can
prepare for in advance?”
This demonstrates that the meeting time will
be used efficiently and will be focused on the prospects situation.
