7. Don’t give up.

On average, a person will tell you “no” seven times before they tell you “yes”. So, after you’ve learned how to incorporate the previous factors into your approach, practice being persistent! Keep asking in a pleasantly persistent fashion. Use a different medium or method each time you ask, but keep asking! If your message is compelling, you must continually try to earn the opportunity to share that message with your prospective customer.

Of course, you won’t be able to recreate your appointment setting approach overnight. Instead, you should consciously become more aware of the approaches YOU enjoy when YOU are the customer. These are the approaches that you will be most comfortable delivering yourself. Just as with any sales technique, you must be comfortable with it if you are going to deliver it successfully.

Write down these seven characteristics of an effective approach and post them on your desk and in your car. Let them turn in your mind as long as it takes. You will find yourself thinking of new and exciting ways to approach your prospects at

Well, stop! THERE’S the problem!

Why are you focusing so much on tricks, verbiage, and clever ways to get in front of those who count?

Answer: That is how you were taught. People told you that is the way to do it. Well, it’s time to unlearn all of that. You know in your heart that there must be a better way, and you are right!

Now, is there a magic wand that you can wave that will get you in front of more people overnight? NO; stop looking for one! There is, however, a certain set of principles that you can follow that will dramatically INCREASE the amount of quality people that you can see in any given week.

Understand Yourself

These principles aren’t quite the same for everyone; they should be unique to your personality. Your approach to setting appointments should be something that you are comfortable with; something that would make your mother proud. It should be a way that embodies all of the things that make you and your company wonderful. Sales utopia? Sure is, but it works!

The easiest way to understand and use these principles is to examine how YOU like to make a purchase. Do you enjoy receiving phone calls about the newest product on the market? NO! Do you enjoy when people show up at your place of business unannounced to “save you some money”? NO! Now, if you don’t like it when people do these things to you, WHY would you insist on doing this to your customers?

Understanding how YOU like to make a purchase will unlock the secret to developing the approach you should take to set more appointments.

Understand Your Customer

There’s no easy answer to how people like to make a purchase, because everybody is different. Before you begin to develop a new approach for getting appointments, you must realize that your customers buy for THEIR reasons, NOT yours. Your approach must speak to THEIR buying motives.

Despite our differences, there are certain factors that accompany every purchase. Knowing and using the following rules will make the process of setting appointments enjoyable and successful for you AND your customer! Incorporating them into your approach will increase the NUMBER and QUALITY of your appointments with prospective customers, and will lead to more sales!

The 7 Rules

1. Don’t use tricks.

Using tricks not only makes YOU look bad, it is insulting to your customer. You are insulting their intelligence and showing that you’re not truly interested in helping them with their problem. It creates an unpleasant atmosphere and will NOT lead to a sale.

2. Be sincere.

By definition, you CANNOT fake sincerity! If you sincerely desire to help the customer find solutions to their problems, your customer will know it. They will feel your sincerity in every word you speak and every action you take with them. This sincerity will lead to a relationship of trust, where your customer will feel confident bringing you their problems and their business.

3. Be honest.

Your customer understands that you need to make a living. You shouldn’t pretend you are giving a product away for free, making them a special deal, or giving them an offer that is only good for one day (just to name a few). Your approach needs to be honest and upfront. Honesty IS always the best policy—even in sales.

4. Do your research.

Never ask your prospect something that you could have found the answer to on their website.

Your level of preparation speaks volumes about yourself and your company. If you are able to demonstrate an understanding of the prospect’s business, your customer will see that you have already invested time and energy in doing what is best for them. Knowing this, they will take your words and solutions seriously.

Your prospect doesn’t want to hear about your company and your product; they want to talk about THEMSELVES. When you’re prepared, you’ll be able to speak intelligently about things that matter to THEM, and they will be more than willing to listen.

5. Make it personal.

Personalize everything! Every aspect of your approach should be custom tailored to the PROSPECT. In this age of technology, you have no excuse not to have the information and means of customizing everything. Personalizing your approach will show your prospect that you are willing to go the extra mile for them and will separate you from the competition.

6. Get creative.

There are many ways into a prospect’s office; get to know them all. You can and should use a combination of telephone calls, faxes, emails, snail mail, and personal visits. Be innovative, take risks, and have some fun!

7. Don’t give up.

On average, a person will tell you “no” seven times before they tell you “yes”. So, after you’ve learned how to incorporate the previous factors into your approach, practice being persistent! Keep asking in a pleasantly persistent fashion. Use a different medium or method each time you ask, but keep asking! If your message is compelling, you must continually try to earn the opportunity to share that message with your prospective customer.

Of course, you won’t be able to recreate your appointment setting approach overnight. Instead, you should consciously become more aware of the approaches YOU enjoy when YOU are the customer. These are the approaches that you will be most comfortable delivering yourself. Just as with any sales technique, you must be comfortable with it if you are going to deliver it successfully.

Write down these seven characteristics of an effective approach and post them on your desk and in your car. Let them turn in your mind as long as it takes. You will find yourself thinking of new and exciting ways to approach your prospects at

The easiest way to understand and use these principles is to examine how YOU like to make a purchase. Do you enjoy receiving phone calls about the newest product on the market? NO! Do you enjoy when people show up at your place of business unannounced to “save you some money”? NO! Now, if you don’t like it when people do these things to you, WHY would you insist on doing this to your customers?

Understanding how YOU like to make a purchase will unlock the secret to developing the approach you should take to set more appointments.

Understand Your Customer

There’s no easy answer to how people like to make a purchase, because everybody is different. Before you begin to develop a new approach for getting appointments, you must realize that your customers buy for THEIR reasons, NOT yours. Your approach must speak to THEIR buying motives.

Despite our differences, there are certain factors that accompany every purchase. Knowing and using the following rules will make the process of setting appointments enjoyable and successful for you AND your customer! Incorporating them into your approach will increase the NUMBER and QUALITY of your appointments with prospective customers, and will lead to more sales!

The 7 Rules

1. Don’t use tricks.

Using tricks not only makes YOU look bad, it is insulting to your customer. You are insulting their intelligence and showing that you’re not truly interested in helping them with their problem. It creates an unpleasant atmosphere and will NOT lead to a sale.

2. Be sincere.

By definition, you CANNOT fake sincerity! If you sincerely desire to help the customer find solutions to their problems, your customer will know it. They will feel your sincerity in every word you speak and every action you take with them. This sincerity will lead to a relationship of trust, where your customer will feel confident bringing you their problems and their business.

3. Be honest.

Your customer understands that you need to make a living. You shouldn’t pretend you are giving a product away for free, making them a special deal, or giving them an offer that is only good for one day (just to name a few). Your approach needs to be honest and upfront. Honesty IS always the best policy—even in sales.

4. Do your research.

Never ask your prospect something that you could have found the answer to on their website.

Your level of preparation speaks volumes about yourself and your company. If you are able to demonstrate an understanding of the prospect’s business, your customer will see that you have already invested time and energy in doing what is best for them. Knowing this, they will take your words and solutions seriously.

Your prospect doesn’t want to hear about your company and your product; they want to talk about THEMSELVES. When you’re prepared, you’ll be able to speak intelligently about things that matter to THEM, and they will be more than willing to listen.

5. Make it personal.

Personalize everything! Every aspect of your approach should be custom tailored to the PROSPECT. In this age of technology, you have no excuse not to have the information and means of customizing everything. Personalizing your approach will show your prospect that you are willing to go the extra mile for them and will separate you from the competition.

6. Get creative.

There are many ways into a prospect’s office; get to know them all. You can and should use a combination of telephone calls, faxes, emails, snail mail, and personal visits. Be innovative, take risks, and have some fun!

7. Don’t give up.

On average, a person will tell you “no” seven times before they tell you “yes”. So, after you’ve learned how to incorporate the previous factors into your approach, practice being persistent! Keep asking in a pleasantly persistent fashion. Use a different medium or method each time you ask, but keep asking! If your message is compelling, you must continually try to earn the opportunity to share that message with your prospective customer.

Of course, you won’t be able to recreate your appointment setting approach overnight. Instead, you should consciously become more aware of the approaches YOU enjoy when YOU are the customer. These are the approaches that you will be most comfortable delivering yourself. Just as with any sales technique, you must be comfortable with it if you are going to deliver it successfully.

Write down these seven characteristics of an effective approach and post them on your desk and in your car. Let them turn in your mind as long as it takes. You will find yourself thinking of new and exciting ways to approach your prospects at

The 7 Rules

1. Don’t use tricks.

Using tricks not only makes YOU look bad, it is insulting to your customer. You are insulting their intelligence and showing that you’re not truly interested in helping them with their problem. It creates an unpleasant atmosphere and will NOT lead to a sale.

2. Be sincere.

By definition, you CANNOT fake sincerity! If you sincerely desire to help the customer find solutions to their problems, your customer will know it. They will feel your sincerity in every word you speak and every action you take with them. This sincerity will lead to a relationship of trust, where your customer will feel confident bringing you their problems and their business.

3. Be honest.

Your customer understands that you need to make a living. You shouldn’t pretend you are giving a product away for free, making them a special deal, or giving them an offer that is only good for one day (just to name a few). Your approach needs to be honest and upfront. Honesty IS always the best policy—even in sales.

4. Do your research.

Never ask your prospect something that you could have found the answer to on their website.

Your level of preparation speaks volumes about yourself and your company. If you are able to demonstrate an understanding of the prospect’s business, your customer will see that you have already invested time and energy in doing what is best for them. Knowing this, they will take your words and solutions seriously.

Your prospect doesn’t want to hear about your company and your product; they want to talk about THEMSELVES. When you’re prepared, you’ll be able to speak intelligently about things that matter to THEM, and they will be more than willing to listen.

5. Make it personal.

Personalize everything! Every aspect of your approach should be custom tailored to the PROSPECT. In this age of technology, you have no excuse not to have the information and means of customizing everything. Personalizing your approach will show your prospect that you are willing to go the extra mile for them and will separate you from the competition.

6. Get creative.

There are many ways into a prospect’s office; get to know them all. You can and should use a combination of telephone calls, faxes, emails, snail mail, and personal visits. Be innovative, take risks, and have some fun!

7. Don’t give up.

On average, a person will tell you “no” seven times before they tell you “yes”. So, after you’ve learned how to incorporate the previous factors into your approach, practice being persistent! Keep asking in a pleasantly persistent fashion. Use a different medium or method each time you ask, but keep asking! If your message is compelling, you must continually try to earn the opportunity to share that message with your prospective customer.

Of course, you won’t be able to recreate your appointment setting approach overnight. Instead, you should consciously become more aware of the approaches YOU enjoy when YOU are the customer. These are the approaches that you will be most comfortable delivering yourself. Just as with any sales technique, you must be comfortable with it if you are going to deliver it successfully.

Write down these seven characteristics of an effective approach and post them on your desk and in your car. Let them turn in your mind as long as it takes. You will find yourself thinking of new and exciting ways to approach your prospects at

Your level of preparation speaks volumes about yourself and your company. If you are able to demonstrate an understanding of the prospect’s business, your customer will see that you have already invested time and energy in doing what is best for them. Knowing this, they will take your words and solutions seriously.

Your prospect doesn’t want to hear about your company and your product; they want to talk about THEMSELVES. When you’re prepared, you’ll be able to speak intelligently about things that matter to THEM, and they will be more than willing to listen.

5. Make it personal.

Personalize everything! Every aspect of your approach should be custom tailored to the PROSPECT. In this age of technology, you have no excuse not to have the information and means of customizing everything. Personalizing your approach will show your prospect that you are willing to go the extra mile for them and will separate you from the competition.

6. Get creative.

There are many ways into a prospect’s office; get to know them all. You can and should use a combination of telephone calls, faxes, emails, snail mail, and personal visits. Be innovative, take risks, and have some fun!

7. Don’t give up.

On average, a person will tell you “no” seven times before they tell you “yes”. So, after you’ve learned how to incorporate the previous factors into your approach, practice being persistent! Keep asking in a pleasantly persistent fashion. Use a different medium or method each time you ask, but keep asking! If your message is compelling, you must continually try to earn the opportunity to share that message with your prospective customer.

Of course, you won’t be able to recreate your appointment setting approach overnight. Instead, you should consciously become more aware of the approaches YOU enjoy when YOU are the customer. These are the approaches that you will be most comfortable delivering yourself. Just as with any sales technique, you must be comfortable with it if you are going to deliver it successfully.

Write down these seven characteristics of an effective approach and post them on your desk and in your car. Let them turn in your mind as long as it takes. You will find yourself thinking of new and exciting ways to approach your prospects at

7. Don’t give up.

On average, a person will tell you “no” seven times before they tell you “yes”. So, after you’ve learned how to incorporate the previous factors into your approach, practice being persistent! Keep asking in a pleasantly persistent fashion. Use a different medium or method each time you ask, but keep asking! If your message is compelling, you must continually try to earn the opportunity to share that message with your prospective customer.

Of course, you won’t be able to recreate your appointment setting approach overnight. Instead, you should consciously become more aware of the approaches YOU enjoy when YOU are the customer. These are the approaches that you will be most comfortable delivering yourself. Just as with any sales technique, you must be comfortable with it if you are going to deliver it successfully.

Write down these seven characteristics of an effective approach and post them on your desk and in your car. Let them turn in your mind as long as it takes. You will find yourself thinking of new and exciting ways to approach your prospects at times that you least expect it. Grab these ideas and trust in them. Have confidence to try them out. Have FUN with them!

Gradually you’ll notice that your frustration with trying to set appointments will diminish and you’ll find yourself one step closer to becoming a master of your craft in the most honorable of all professions—sales!