Sales 101 - Confirming Face-To-Face Appointments "Consider Not Doing It"

Sales 101 - Tip number 390230509534543 - If you are in outside sales, the last thing you ever want to do is confirm a meeting. Yes, it may be tempting to ensure that your prospect/customer is aware the meeting is on the calendar... especially if you have long drive or a flight is involved. Step back and think about it for a second. By confirming the meeting (by phone, email or text) you are simply inviting the prospect/customer to re-consider and re-evaluate their day. Too easy to say no. "It sounded like a good idea when I set up the meeting with you Glen, but now I am a bit swamped". You are better off showing up for the scheduled meeting in which case one of the following would happen:

1) The meeting goes off perfectly without a hitch as the prospect/customer is engaged, has the meeting on his/her calendar and is ready to roll.

2) The prospect/customer really does not have the time or bandwidth for the meeting and is disengaged. He or she will know this and, if you are any kind of salesperson, so will you. Take this as an opportunity to consult/learn as much as you can after which point you make sure to re-schedule a meeting and preface it with the fact that "you can spend more time and focus" in the next meeting. This will pay off and the customer/prospect will both appreciate this and remember you for it.

3) the prospect/customer forgets about the meeting (very rare) and is MIA in which case they may be somewhat embarrassed and will pay closer attention during the next meeting. Who knows? You may end up with more new business than you anticipated.

Remember, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Happy selling!