Why Appointments Cancel, Part 1
Ever wonder why prospects or customers cancel appointments? Cancellations further complicate your outbound sales and marketing prospecting efforts. It is hard work to secure an appointment, so a cancellation is a disappointment to say the least.
A Lesson from an Appointment Kept
My visit to the dentist makes an excellent case study of what motivates a person to keep an appointment. Recently, I had noticed a small dot on my gum. I thought nothing of it and mentioned it to my dentist during a routine check up about a week later. Being the cautious, thorough experienced dentist that she is, she took an x-ray. I was stunned to find out that beneath this innocent-looking dot on my gum was a problem on the brink of causing me unprecedented pain.
My dentist immediately got me on my periodontist’s schedule for the afternoon. She emphasized the importance and urgency of keeping that scheduled appointment, clearly pointing out the dire potential consequences if I did not keep the appointment. Who could argue?
My dentist presented a compelling and urgent reason for me to keep my periodontal appointment – to avoid excruciating pain and prevent needless expense. Who in their right mind would cancel this appointment? Needless to say, I rearranged my entire schedule that day to accommodate this critical appointment.
The Real Reasons Why Sales Appointments Cancel
This situation got me asking: why do appointments cancel? Think about your sales appointments or any other appointment for that matter. We cancel appointments because:
- the reason we made the appointment while outbound prospecting is no longer compelling or as urgent as it was when we made the appointment
- a more urgent compelling reason causes us to keep another appointment and cancel the one scheduled earlier
- the reason we made the appointment was never compelling or urgent
- the reason we made the appointment was never a priority
The reasons are as simple as that.
Check out Part 2 to find out how to prevent prospects and customers from canceling appointments you’ve made in your outbound sales and marketing prospecting efforts.