(By Rick Fink) Here’s the scenario. You have an appointment that you set up a week ago and it’s a healthy distance away from your office. Do you call them to confirm the appointment prior to leaving or do you not call and take a chance?
Knowing how busy business owners and managers can be, there is no question that if you choose to call to confirm there is a decent chance that they will reschedule. That’s the chance you take.
An aggressive sales trainer would tell you to take the chance, show up, and work your way in. Their logic is that it’s much harder to tell someone “no” in person than it is over the phone, and you may not get another chance.
The professional media rep who not only respects the time of others, but their own, would call to confirm. In this situation where travel time is an issue, we suggest that when you first set the appointment, inform them that you will contact them the morning of or the day before to confirm.
There are five primary reasons why confirming appointments makes sense:
- Time management – Don’t waste your time.
- It helps establish you as a professional.
- It shows that you respect their time.
- It helps prepare the client and puts them in the right frame of mind, ready for your appointment.
- If in fact they do cancel, they will be more obligated to reschedule.
Professional media sales are built on long-term relationships and being respectful of your client’s time is a good way to ensure they will say “yes” to future appointments.
This little point may seem obvious, but I can assure you that it happens on a regular basis. Before it happens to you or one of your reps, do the right thing and make the call to confirm the appointment.
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Rick Fink from ENS Media can be reached at 605-310-2062 or at [email protected]. Read Rick’s Radio Ink archives here.