How to Handle No-Show Phone Meetings
My good friend Larry Jacobs (aka Webeneezer Scrooge) just sent me yet another email complaining about how prospects frequently fail to show up for phone appointments. He writes:
I love when they set these up and then break them. It's a unique stall since they usually send you an e-mail calendar appointment. Then the big day time comes and they aren't there, having been called into a meeting.The way Larry handles it is "immediately call their boss, tell them what happened and tell them that is no way to run a business." He claims that this "usually works," but I suspect that's only because Larry is so personable.
I can't remember who told me this, but there is another way of looking at this kind of thing.
Whenever somebody misses an appointment, it creates a debt of obligation. Therefore, the next time you call or contact them, you can ask for a favor, like a face-to-face appointment, a bit more quickly than usual.
READERS: Got any better suggestions to deal with this common problem?