In honor of Thanksgiving I’m thankful for you being part of the Canvass King movement and joining me here each month to sharpen your axe and get better at canvassing.
This article will pick up after you’ve captured the lead and set an appointment. I call this part of the presentation the ‘wrap up’. It’s intended to make sure the appointment sticks or stays on track to the actual appointment.
Usually most companies have someone do a follow up with a confirmation call 24-48 hours before the appointment to confirm it; making sure it’s a product or service they offer and that everyone will be present for the appointment. What I’m sharing today takes place at the door immediately after the appointment is set.
Keep in mind that we went to them; they didn’t call us and in a few minutes have them scheduled for an appointment. It happens so fast that some prospects may have regret and once we leave their front door they’re looking for a way to avoid the appointment. A lot can happen between the end of the canvass call and when the sales rep shows up for a presentation. There’s a lot that can run through their minds and they can create all kinds of excuses and reasons why they don’t want to keep the commitment they made with you.
My wrap up is proactively attacking their tendency to want to cancel. You have to keep the lead warm all the way to the appointment.
Let me start with a question.
If you had to make your best guess why your leads are falling out what would it be?
Here are the top 3 I’ve found:
1. They forget about the appointment (They forget to tell the spouse)
2. They didn’t expect it to be a formal presentation
3. They can’t afford it (they want to avoid a sales situation)
In my wrap up with the prospect I use an Appointment Reminder sheet, a leave behind I give them so they can share all the key information with their spouse. They can’t remember all the details so it’s your responsibility to give them a tool to remember the appointment.
(Gold and Platinum level members have access to my Appointment Reminder template)
The customer has to know what will happen and when.
If you’ve followed me you know I’ve created a revolutionary approach for canvassers using an information guide to close prospects to an appointment. Using my guides or information takes the fear out of it for prospects because they think you’re going to send them a guide or information packet so it completely lowers their guard. They think this ‘packet’ will include all the information they’ll need to know about our product or service, including pricing, etc. There can be some confusion for the prospect as to how the guide will be delivered to them.
In the appointment reminder I’m very clear this information will be delivered by email or we’re going to deliver it to them in person.
I’ll also make sure they know to expect a phone call from us 24-48 hours prior to the appointment to confirm. They need to have the visual that someone will come into their home to show them, measure and show samples and examples and options so you can create a custom price for them. They need to know what to expect. This may seem very basic from your standpoint, but the prospect doesn’t know what you know and you have to make sure you clarify everything. If the prospect ever finds themselves confused or pressured they’ll likely jump to a defensive mode and cancel their appointment with you. The more communication you have with the prospect the better your chances are to keep the appointment to stick.
Once I’ve gone through the front side of the reminder with all our information, credentials, appointment times and timeline to the appointment I then show the flip side of the reminder.
So far I’ve addressed the first 2 key reasons people fall out of an appointment:
1. They forget about the appointment (They forget to tell the spouse)
2. They didn’t expect it to be a formal presentation
That leaves the last reason, people thinking they can’t afford your product or service. This one gets worse and worse the more they get to think about it. As their bills cross their dining room table and they write out the checks for them they convince themselves they won’t be able to afford you. They’re looking for a way out of your appointment and this is it.
3. They can’t afford it (they want to avoid a sales situation)
You have to show them how they can potentially be able to afford your product or service. That’s where the backside of my flier comes in. There are 2 sides to the reminder and up to this point I’ve only used one side. Use the second side to show programs you have available to make your products or services affordable. It may be deferred payment plans, low interest rates, same as cash offers, 12-month no interest payment, partial programs, etc. Whatever you can do to solidify the appointment and get them past their fear of money. Never underestimate the power of payment options. You don’t know your prospect’s financial situation and can’t anticipate what their hot buttons will be with regard to spending money. If you don’t use every tool in your arsenal you run the risk of losing the appointment and possible sale.
“People don’t change their mind, they make new decisions based on new information.” Zig Ziglar
That’s your responsibility; to provide them with new information to help them make a new decision.
Complete details are available on the live Silver Level Telecoaching call with members. If you’d like to get a copy of the recording, go to Silver Level Program.
If you have questions, feel free to go to www.AskTheCanvassKing.com and post your question. I get and respond to all questions personally.