Network marketing appointment cancellations are the among the top frustrations with network marketers.
Getting an appointment can be tough as it is, but when someone cancels on you, it can leave you disappointed and frustrated. It can also distract you from your income goals if you let it get to you.
Cancelled appointments also cost time and money, no matter what industry you’re in. Think of the travel time spent to have someone no-show or cancel at the last minute. What else could you do with that time?
If you want to minimize the number of network marketing appointment cancellations, keep reading for the top tips to set yourself up for success.
Confirm, Confirm, Confirm
Are you the type of person who doesn’t confirm appointments because you assume everyone will keep their word and show up? Maybe you think that by confirming an appointment, you’re opening the door for them to cancel.
You’re not alone. A large number of reps don’t confirm their appointments, to their detriment.
A confirmation different from a reminder. With a confirmation, you’re setting the prospect up to make a commitment and stick with it.
A reminder is a very passive way to tell someone that there’s a scheduled meeting. There’s no purpose or commitment to the call. It doesn’t give the prospect much of a reason to make it a priority in their day.
When you confirm your appointment, tell the prospect why you’re calling, what the purpose is of the meeting and an overview of the agenda. Then you close with “I’m looking forward to seeing you there.”
By giving the meeting purpose and a set agenda, the prospect knows that it’s not a waste of time.
When You Set the Appointment, Set the Expectations
In our article on getting prospects to commit, we talked about how you can set the appointment and take the fear out of the process at the same time.
It’s as simple as setting the agenda in advance. Tell the prospect that you’re there to help them make a decision and what’s going to happen during the appointment.
This will put your prospect at ease and they feel like they have the freedom to make a decision.
Take Control of Scheduling the Appointment
If you really want to reduce network marketing appointment cancellations, take control.
Have you ever set an appointment by saying to a prospect “What’s your schedule like over the next couple of weeks?”
It makes you sound like you don’t have too much going on, so it doesn’t matter when the prospect schedules.
Instead, give your prospect two to three available times to connect. You can say to your prospect, “I have Tuesday at 3:30 available and Wednesday at 1:00 available. What works best for you?”
This makes you seem like you’re not only busy, but your time is important and should be respected.
Anytime Is a Good Time for Business
A lot of network marketers avoid scheduling appointments during the holidays, on Friday afternoons, or first thing on Monday mornings.
They assume that business doesn’t happen during these times or their prospects might be mentally checked out.
That’s not always the case. You might find that on Friday afternoons, people are more willing to meet and they’ll be more relaxed because they know it’s the weekend.
The bottom line is that don’t make assumptions when you’re scheduling appointments. You might find most of your success comes at times when you least expect it.
Schedule Within 14 Days
When you set your schedule, you might be tempted to schedule a month out or beyond. Some situations, such as travel might necessitate that. However, most people don’t know what is going to happen next week, let alone in the next month.
When you have a prospect that’s excited enough to meet with you, get them to the next step in the process as soon as possible.
That means that you’ll want to wait a month before you meet with them again. By that time, the excitement and fire have died down. They might not even remember why they set an appointment with you.
That leaves you with the hard work of re-establishing why they agreed to meet and getting them excited again.
Have an Easy to Use Scheduling Tool
There are a number of inexpensive and easy to use online scheduling tools that can automatically handle appointment reminders and invites.
While a prospect is on the phone, you can schedule right there and add the appointment to your online calendar.
That will send an invite to the prospect and add the appointment in their calendar. You can then set up appointment reminders and personalize them. Note
One last note, the name of your appointment matters. It’s a way to maintain the excitement of the meeting.
Would you be more excited to attend a meeting that’s titled “Demo with John Smith” or “Are You Ready to Change Your Income?”
It’s a minor detail, but one that can make the difference between an excited prospect and one that thinks the meeting isn’t worth their time.
Always Have a Plan B
Taking these points into consideration and implementing them will lessen the number of cancellations. That being said, you can’t completely eliminate cancellations. You never know when a prospect will get sick, have an emergency, or have to drop everything for their kids.
To prepare yourself for those instances, you want to make sure you have a plan B to make sure you’re not losing time or opportunities.
A few things you can do is always carry your call list with you, or even better, have a CRM that you can access from anywhere.
You can also be sure to follow up with your prospect. Statistics show that almost half of salespeople give up after one follow up. Don’t be that person!
That will reduce your downtime and keep you active if you have a last-minute cancellation.
Network Marketing Appointment Cancellations Don’t Have to Bring You Down
Many people say that network marketing appointment cancellations are apart f the game. Yet, you don’t have to play that game. With the tips outlined here, you can make up your own game with your own rules.
The key is to set yourself up for success even before you set the appointment, you set the expectations and get your prospect excited.
It’s also important to have the right technology partner to automate some of these tasks and keep you on track with your prospects. The average salesperson uses six different tools to sell. What if you can narrow that down?
The team at Yoobly is committed to making network marketers succeed in their business by providing marketing automation tools, CRM, and resources to make you a 6-figure network marketer.
Interested in learning how you can grow your business? Sign up for a demo today.