How to get a customer to book an appointment over the phone

When a potential customer calls, your main goal is to get them to book an appointment or get into your location. After all, that’s where the money is made. Let’s discuss some great tactics to get the customer to take the next step over the phone.

It all starts with a standard greeting that includes your Unique Selling Proposition

“Thanks for calling Joe’s Carpet cleaning, home of the 6-month no-spill worry guarantee. My name is Joe and I can help you today.” Here are a few things to notice about that script.

1. I said our business name. I want to make sure they’re getting the right place they’re calling for. If your customer used Google or saw an ad, they’ll want to know if they got the right place.
2. I told the customer my name to let them know who they’re talking to, establishing a personal connection.
3. I explained my unique selling proposition (USP). “home of the 6-month no-spill worry guarantee ” differentiates my business from the others. This nails down what makes us different from the competition, right from the first call.
4. I didn’t say “how can I help you” but rather “I can help you.” What I am doing here is taking away doubt the customer has on if I can help them or not. I am reassuring them that I can help them. Even if for some reason I can’t serve them, I can still help them by pointing them in the right direction. Always be helpful.

Get customers to book an appointment without giving a price

This is important if you provide a service that fixes issues that are urgent, like a mechanic or plumber. Many times you don’t know what it’s going to cost to fix the issue until you see it. The problem is that most potential customers want to get some sort of price.

Here’s a great way to get them to book an appointment without getting too much into the price.

“Many customers think they have a bigger problem than what they actually have. After we inspect the issue, we often find that it’s not that big of a problem.”

Then suggest “Would you like us to look at it today or tomorrow?”

People in stressful situations, like a plumbing issue or a broken vehicle, want simple solutions. By saying “today or tomorrow” their brain thinks it’s either one or the other. There’s no ambiguity. There are no easy solutions outside of the options you’re giving them. It’s not a yes or no answer, it’s a today or tomorrow answer they need to consider.

 

Here are some great books to help you gain more sales with your phone calls.