It's hard to believe that we're already at the end of December. A few weeks back I talked about the importance of continuing to prospect during this critical month and I'm hoping you listened to me.
In the event that you don't have much scheduled for January, I think it's fair to say that what you do have going on next month carries that much more importance.
The problem we often face is that folks we've set meetings with can be a bit elusive when they get back after the first of the year. From what I've seen, most of prospects can get into the habit of trying to push out or jam everything they weren't able to get to in December to the first week or second week of January. And all the while they're catching up on everything else and trying their best to knock off the rust from time off over the holidays.
Here are a few things that have worked here at AG Salesworks to minimize the likelihood that prospects will attempt to reschedule or cancel those important 2015 B2B sales calls:
1) Send a 24-hour reminder email.
I think we all can get in the bad habit of thinking that our sales calls are at the top of our prospects' minds first quarter. So I'm sorry it, but these calls can actually be the first thing that slips their mind. We tested this out over Q4 and we've seen a 15% decrease in no-shows by sending a reminder invite the day before a meeting.
2) Set a quick agenda / recap in the initial calendar invite to the meeting.
We want our prospects to really internalize the reasons why they wanted to meet with us in the first place. If you're booking a meeting in January from a discussion you had in early December, there is a good chance that providing a quick agenda to jog their memory will also help to prevent the chances of a no-show or cancellation.
3) Make sure there is a real alignment with a need.
If you're not addressing a real pain for the prospect, there is a chance they'll blow off the meeting if they have something better to do. I understand having a meeting with a prospect to get on their radar for "potential" initiatives, but from what I've seen, January has historically been a time when prospects are only willing to talk when "actual" initiatives exist.
What about on your end? Any ideas that have worked to better secure your January sales pipeline?
Craig Ferrara is the Vice President of Client Operations for AG Salesworks. He has extensive experience in the sales and teleprospecting process. Craig joined AG Salesworks in 2003 and has successfully managed several teams of high-performing Business Development Representatives. To read more of his articles, click here.
