What’s the No. 1 activity truly needed in the business? A scheduling process! Be it yourself or someone else making the calls, calls need to be made daily to keep your calendar full. When you have the right number and type of appointments you want, the business will grow. However, it doesn’t matter if you want three or 23 appointments per week; a routine system makes it happen.
However, in most offices, this is usually not the case. Some of the obstacles include the following:
- Advisors feel they should make the calls
- Cherry-picking the client base
- Scheduler doesn’t know the importance of phoning
- Procrastination
- Dealing with rejection
- Giving up too easily if calls aren’t returned
My presentation is about a systematic scheduling solution to turn prospects into clients and clients into referrers.
How do you make that happen? Delegate all scheduling! The advisor needs to be in front of prospects and clients — not trying to get them scheduled. When delegating the calls, your scheduler can do the following:
- Make daily outbound calls
- Be available when someone calls back
- Continue to call the person until he or she is reached
- Keep your calendar consistent
I know what you may be thinking: The scheduler will not be as effective as you. However, with proven experience as a scheduler, and now as a trainer, I find the reverse to be true. Being consistent on the phone, the scheduler can form a relationship with referrals, prospects and/or clients. They won’t look at the scheduler as a salesperson, even though they are selling the most important thing, an appointment! Do doctors or dentists call you to schedule your appointment? Absolutely not! They focus on being in front of their patients just as an advisor should be in front of people.
As a scheduler for 17 years, I learned the importance and impact that scheduling has on the business. When I first started making the calls, I only called the existing clients. In a short amount of time, I was making all the appointments: clients, referrals and prospects. Why? It makes sense that the scheduler is attached to the phone, not you.
Here are some ideas to create a systematic scheduling solution:
Delegate all scheduling
I get it. Most advisors feel they need to make the calls, especially to referrals. Yes, you work hard to get them, yet the call is about scheduling an appointment, not having a sales discussion. If someone else is making the calls, they have more time to make the calls. Be available when someone calls back and form a relationship beyond you.
Have a routine system to work the client base
To eliminate cherry-picking, a routine system to work the client base is crucial. Ideally, the prospects and clients will pop up regularly. With the Granum One Card System, everyone in the system is called at least twice a year: once on their birthday and again six months later. This will prevent the prospects from falling through the cracks and build a deeper connection with the clients on a regular basis. Everyone on the list, client or prospect, will be called for an appointment or to touch base. No cherry-picking!
Scheduling becomes the No. 1 priority
For the calendar to be consistent, calls need to be made daily, first thing in the morning. With daily calls, the scheduler will only need about one hour a day. Yes, client service, interruptions, answering incoming calls, etc. are important. However, if calls aren’t made, all the other work wouldn’t be there.
Shift the mindset
We all procrastinate on the tasks we don’t like to do, or we may not like dealing with rejection. For successful scheduling, we need to shift the mindset. Forming a habit to be on the phone by 9 a.m. every day will increase results. Look at each call as a new challenge to build a relationship and easily overcome any objections thrown your way.
Increase returned calls
Leave a short message to drive someone to call you back. If they don’t call back, call again three days later to create a sense of urgency, and don’t give up. I’m a firm believer in a process to call every three days, and after three messages, sending an email or a text. Again, a consistent process to connect with people is as important as creating a list of names to call.
Have accountability
Since scheduling is so important, it becomes one of the key areas for accountability in the office. And believe me, phoning accountability will equal results. The schedulers should be tracking their dials daily: calls, reaches and appointments. It doesn’t take much time to make the calls. As an example, if the schedulers average about 23 calls per day, they will make 20 appointments per week, excluding any type of cold calls. They also need to know the impact scheduling makes to the business. There have been countless times that I’ve heard a scheduler say, “I don’t have time to make the calls.” My response has been, “I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but appointments drive the business. If the calendar is empty, you won’t have anything else to do.”
With accountability every week, you’ll know the calls are being made. If the calls aren’t being made daily, your calendar will remain inconsistent. When tracking, you can make the appropriate changes to get results. The three things to review are:
- The number of dials per week
- The percentage of reaches
- The conversion of reaches to appointments
The average is usually 35 percent reached and 50 percent + of reaches to appointments. If reaches are low, the schedulers might need to increase their dials until they reach more people. And if the appointment percentage is low, they probably need more training to creatively overcome the objections to get the appointment.
Here are some key strategies our training and scheduling service follow regularly:
- When leaving a message, be brief. The goal is to drive the person to call you back.
- Hello, ____, this is Gina with John Jones. Please call me at ____.
- Hello, ____, this is Gina; ____ is a client of ours and suggested we connect. I am with John Jones at ____.
- Call every three days to create a sense of urgency, mixing up the message.
- Hello, ____, this is Gina again. I know you’re really busy. However, I need a couple minutes of your time. Please call me at ____.
- Track the dials, reaches and appointments.
- When overcoming objections, let them know they’ve been heard by overcoming the objection with words of compassion: “We didn’t assume.” “I understand.” “I can appreciate that.”
- Ask open-ended questions: “How does your schedule look?” “When would be a good time for you?” “What time of day is best for you?”
Many years ago, when I started with my agent, he was only in the business for one and a half years. Within five years, he quickly became a top producer in our agency because he let go of the scheduling and trusted in my abilities. So, let go of scheduling so you can be in front of people, close new business and ask for new referrals.
Now that’s business growth!
Gina Pellegrini has been in the industry for more than 40 years. She started as an assistant to a producer out of Chicago, where she developed systems and language to effectively schedule all of his appointments. After 17 years, she saw a niche to start her own business to help advisors and their team. Today, she focuses on training individuals to become rock-star schedulers and consulting about office efficiencies. Pellegrini is the author of six books about hiring, communication, scheduling and teamwork.
