{"id":363,"date":"2022-02-02T18:20:17","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T23:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/?post_type=chapter&p=363"},"modified":"2022-04-25T14:44:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T18:44:14","slug":"9-5-successful-appointment-making","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/chapter\/9-5-successful-appointment-making\/","title":{"raw":"9.5. Successful appointment making","rendered":"9.5. Successful appointment making"},"content":{"raw":"When Milton Hershey first opened his candy store in Philadelphia, he had to shut down after six years because he never made enough sales to get the business off the ground. After closing in Philadelphia, he moved to Chicago, then to New Orleans, then to New York, each time failing and starting over again. In fact, it took ten years of rejection and failure before Hershey\u2019s business succeeded. You already know how the story ended for Hershey (now a $5 billion company), but now you also know that the Hershey Chocolate Company wasn\u2019t an overnight success; the business only took off thanks to one salesman\u2019s persistence in the face of failure (Carmichael, 2009).\r\n

Rejection\u00a0 (fear of failure)<\/h2>\r\nRejection is a reality that all sales professionals have to deal with occasionally, no matter how experienced or skilled they are; it comes with the territory. Prospects will sometimes hang up on you or refuse to see you, and others will listen to your sales approach and then tell you that they aren\u2019t interested in what you have to offer. However, if you approach your sales call with confidence and refuse to take rejection personally, then the possibility of rejection doesn\u2019t have to be a barrier to your success. Recognize that it is the\u00a0fear\u00a0<\/em>of failure, more than anything else that creates a barrier between a salesperson and a successful sale.\u00a0 The best approach is to practice (Roque, 2017) so that you build your confidence which leads to a mindset for success (Girard, 2011).\r\n\r\nSuccessful selling is all about mastering your attitude, and this is especially true when it comes to facing rejection. \u00a0There are many reasons that a prospect may reject your offer\u2014very rarely is it personal. \u00a0The product may not be a good fit, they may not be ready to make a deal (no budget or commitment from the decision makers), or they like their current product or service (Brudner, 2016).\u00a0\u00a0 To overcome the fear of rejection, you can practice to increase your confidence and your ability to communicate (role play with other reps, do ride alongs, ask your manager for help), keep your office space very organized so that you can focus on the actual sales process, follow Nike\u2019s slogan and \u201cjust do it\u201d \u2013procrastination is a huge barrier in sales. Make sure you break your big tasks up into smaller chunks, call on prospects when you have the most energy, and make use of good time management (Sobczak, 2019)\r\n

Getting\u00a0Past\u00a0the Gatekeepers<\/h2>\r\nSo what do you do if you\u2019ve prepared your opening statement and done your research, but when you make your phone call, it isn\u2019t your prospect who picks up the phone; instead, it\u2019s their assistant, who wants to know who you are, why you are calling, and why you think your prospect should want to talk to you anyway? This is a likely scenario in B2B sales when your prospects are busy executives who don\u2019t have the time to handle every call that comes through their office. If you want to see your prospect, you may have to go through the gatekeeper first. Their title might be secretary, assistant, administrative assistant, or executive assistant (Richardson, 2005) but their role will be the same: keeping unwanted distractions from interrupting their boss\u2019s busy schedule. Salespeople often think of gatekeepers as road blocks\u2014something standing in the way of getting to see the prospect but\u00a0\u201c<\/em>it amazes me how often reps will bypass the one person in the organization that is paid to talk to everyone \u2013 and not only that, they have a list of the names of all the key players, their titles, direct numbers, and email addresses\u201d (Stanfill, n.d. para 12). Gatekeepers<\/em>\u00a0are human beings (not obstacles) whose jobs are important to the successful running of their organizations. Think of them as part of the selling relationship and treat them with the courtesy and respect with which you would treat your prospect.\r\n\r\nPut yourself in the gatekeeper\u2019s shoes for a minute. You have been answering the phone all day, responding to people who don\u2019t often treat you with much respect, and you get another call:\r\n

Salesperson:<\/em> Hello, this is Camille Martin. Is Maria Gonzalez in her office right now?<\/p>\r\n

Assistant:<\/em> Yes, she\u2019s here, but she\u2019s busy at the moment. Can I ask what you\u2019re calling about?<\/p>\r\n

Salesperson:<\/em> I\u2019d like to schedule a meeting to see her. When would be a good time to call back?<\/p>\r\n

Assistant:<\/em> I\u2019m sorry, but Ms. Gonzalez doesn\u2019t take unsolicited calls.<\/p>\r\nNotice that the caller didn\u2019t give the name of their organization or the purpose of their call, even when the gatekeeper asked for more information. \u00a0The salesperson was abrupt with the gatekeeper, so the gatekeeper was abrupt in return. Remember that it\u2019s the gatekeeper\u2019s job to find out whether your call is worth their boss\u2019s time, so if you tell them the purpose of your call, you are helping them to see that your call may be valuable. Learn the gatekeeper\u2019s name and be friendly. Business writer Susan Ward suggests starting off the conversation by asking \u201cI wonder if you could help me?\u201d as a way to show respect and demonstrate that you see the gatekeeper as part of your selling relationship (Ward, 2010). \u00a0If you do this, you won\u2019t <\/span>need\u00a0<\/em>to get past the gatekeeper; they can often tell you everything you need to know\u2014the name of the right person to talk to or the best time to contact your prospect\u2014or even schedule a meeting for you before you ever interact with your prospect. Finally, when the gatekeeper does give you helpful information, remember to thank them. For extra helpful gatekeepers, you might even consider sending a note or small thank-you gift.\u00a0 Now, review the approach shown above using a referral as a way to work with the gatekeeper as an ally, rather than view them as a barrier:<\/span>\r\n

You:<\/em> Good morning. My name is Camille Martin and I\u2019m calling from Preston and Preston; we\u2019re a full-service digital photography studio here in Cleveland. I\u2019m following up on a conversation that Jason Kendrick, our company\u2019s CEO had with Maria Gonzalez. I understand she is looking for a partner in the digital photography area. May I speak with her?<\/p>\r\n

Assistant:<\/em> Let me check and see if she is available. Can you give me your name and company again?<\/p>\r\n

You:<\/em>\u00a0 Thank you. I appreciate your help. I\u2019m Camille Martin from Preston and Preston What\u2019s your name?<\/p>","rendered":"

When Milton Hershey first opened his candy store in Philadelphia, he had to shut down after six years because he never made enough sales to get the business off the ground. After closing in Philadelphia, he moved to Chicago, then to New Orleans, then to New York, each time failing and starting over again. In fact, it took ten years of rejection and failure before Hershey\u2019s business succeeded. You already know how the story ended for Hershey (now a $5 billion company), but now you also know that the Hershey Chocolate Company wasn\u2019t an overnight success; the business only took off thanks to one salesman\u2019s persistence in the face of failure (Carmichael, 2009).<\/p>\n

Rejection\u00a0 (fear of failure)<\/h2>\n

Rejection is a reality that all sales professionals have to deal with occasionally, no matter how experienced or skilled they are; it comes with the territory. Prospects will sometimes hang up on you or refuse to see you, and others will listen to your sales approach and then tell you that they aren\u2019t interested in what you have to offer. However, if you approach your sales call with confidence and refuse to take rejection personally, then the possibility of rejection doesn\u2019t have to be a barrier to your success. Recognize that it is the\u00a0fear\u00a0<\/em>of failure, more than anything else that creates a barrier between a salesperson and a successful sale.\u00a0 The best approach is to practice (Roque, 2017) so that you build your confidence which leads to a mindset for success (Girard, 2011).<\/p>\n

Successful selling is all about mastering your attitude, and this is especially true when it comes to facing rejection. \u00a0There are many reasons that a prospect may reject your offer\u2014very rarely is it personal. \u00a0The product may not be a good fit, they may not be ready to make a deal (no budget or commitment from the decision makers), or they like their current product or service (Brudner, 2016).\u00a0\u00a0 To overcome the fear of rejection, you can practice to increase your confidence and your ability to communicate (role play with other reps, do ride alongs, ask your manager for help), keep your office space very organized so that you can focus on the actual sales process, follow Nike\u2019s slogan and \u201cjust do it\u201d \u2013procrastination is a huge barrier in sales. Make sure you break your big tasks up into smaller chunks, call on prospects when you have the most energy, and make use of good time management (Sobczak, 2019)<\/p>\n

Getting\u00a0Past\u00a0the Gatekeepers<\/h2>\n

So what do you do if you\u2019ve prepared your opening statement and done your research, but when you make your phone call, it isn\u2019t your prospect who picks up the phone; instead, it\u2019s their assistant, who wants to know who you are, why you are calling, and why you think your prospect should want to talk to you anyway? This is a likely scenario in B2B sales when your prospects are busy executives who don\u2019t have the time to handle every call that comes through their office. If you want to see your prospect, you may have to go through the gatekeeper first. Their title might be secretary, assistant, administrative assistant, or executive assistant (Richardson, 2005) but their role will be the same: keeping unwanted distractions from interrupting their boss\u2019s busy schedule. Salespeople often think of gatekeepers as road blocks\u2014something standing in the way of getting to see the prospect but\u00a0\u201c<\/em>it amazes me how often reps will bypass the one person in the organization that is paid to talk to everyone \u2013 and not only that, they have a list of the names of all the key players, their titles, direct numbers, and email addresses\u201d (Stanfill, n.d. para 12). Gatekeepers<\/em>\u00a0are human beings (not obstacles) whose jobs are important to the successful running of their organizations. Think of them as part of the selling relationship and treat them with the courtesy and respect with which you would treat your prospect.<\/p>\n

Put yourself in the gatekeeper\u2019s shoes for a minute. You have been answering the phone all day, responding to people who don\u2019t often treat you with much respect, and you get another call:<\/p>\n

Salesperson:<\/em> Hello, this is Camille Martin. Is Maria Gonzalez in her office right now?<\/p>\n

Assistant:<\/em> Yes, she\u2019s here, but she\u2019s busy at the moment. Can I ask what you\u2019re calling about?<\/p>\n

Salesperson:<\/em> I\u2019d like to schedule a meeting to see her. When would be a good time to call back?<\/p>\n

Assistant:<\/em> I\u2019m sorry, but Ms. Gonzalez doesn\u2019t take unsolicited calls.<\/p>\n

Notice that the caller didn\u2019t give the name of their organization or the purpose of their call, even when the gatekeeper asked for more information. \u00a0The salesperson was abrupt with the gatekeeper, so the gatekeeper was abrupt in return. Remember that it\u2019s the gatekeeper\u2019s job to find out whether your call is worth their boss\u2019s time, so if you tell them the purpose of your call, you are helping them to see that your call may be valuable. Learn the gatekeeper\u2019s name and be friendly. Business writer Susan Ward suggests starting off the conversation by asking \u201cI wonder if you could help me?\u201d as a way to show respect and demonstrate that you see the gatekeeper as part of your selling relationship (Ward, 2010). \u00a0If you do this, you won\u2019t <\/span>need\u00a0<\/em>to get past the gatekeeper; they can often tell you everything you need to know\u2014the name of the right person to talk to or the best time to contact your prospect\u2014or even schedule a meeting for you before you ever interact with your prospect. Finally, when the gatekeeper does give you helpful information, remember to thank them. For extra helpful gatekeepers, you might even consider sending a note or small thank-you gift.\u00a0 Now, review the approach shown above using a referral as a way to work with the gatekeeper as an ally, rather than view them as a barrier:<\/span><\/p>\n

You:<\/em> Good morning. My name is Camille Martin and I\u2019m calling from Preston and Preston; we\u2019re a full-service digital photography studio here in Cleveland. I\u2019m following up on a conversation that Jason Kendrick, our company\u2019s CEO had with Maria Gonzalez. I understand she is looking for a partner in the digital photography area. May I speak with her?<\/p>\n

Assistant:<\/em> Let me check and see if she is available. Can you give me your name and company again?<\/p>\n

You:<\/em>\u00a0 Thank you. I appreciate your help. I\u2019m Camille Martin from Preston and Preston What\u2019s your name?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[49],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-363","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":186,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/284"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":568,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/363\/revisions\/568"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/186"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/363\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=363"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=363"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/thepowerofselling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}