Why aren’t we getting more meetings?

Meetings are a natural byproduct of consistent commitment to the process. If you know whom you want to target (because you can solve a problem for them), what message and offer resonate with that audience, where they are reachable, and when they’re in a buying motion or primed for discovery motion, you just need to pour on the gas and go.

But that’s assuming a lot.

Target

Target matters more than anything else. Value is relative, so your offer will only resonate with certain people. Pitching a dentist your optometry equipment, no matter what a great price it’s at, will never work. So start with target.

If you don’t know your Ideal Client Profile, start with this free builder from Hubspot.

You should be able to answer basic questions about your target market, or you’re definitely not ready to worry about getting sales meetings.

Messaging

Messaging is critical, but secondary to Target. The way we say things matters almost as much as what we say, so be sure to fine tune your messaging. Our favorite way to do this is by starting with a script and identifying any areas where we get stuck in our intro, then replacing that language and testing again. As we continue to make progress, we get further into the conversation and can leverage an offer (like a meeting). 

*Fair warning: a meeting is only appealing to people who (a) take meetings to learn new things (b) are in the top ~10% of your market currently reviewing/buying solutions. Try offering something of value on the meeting besides learning about your product (that’s not as exciting as you think it is).

Channel

Channel refers to the way in which you reach your target audience. If you’re making 100 dials and have 0 conversations, you should consider another channel. There isn’t much of a lever you can pull there (except validating your data in advance). We’re big fans of the phone, but we’re not insane. If you can’t reach someone, you can’t convert them, and all channels work for some people some of the time. Don’t get so stuck in your preferred channel that you forget about your prospect’s preferred channel.

Timing

Timing is rarely something you can guess in advance, though modern data practices do provide some insights like DiscoverOrg’s scoops. Most often you’re going to find that the large majority of your market is not actively buying, so you’ll need to follow up at the right time or find a way to convince them that now is the right time. Either way, this is the final component to earning meetings, and without recognizing this, you’ll feel very frustrated, not realizing that you’re building a pipeline for follow up.

If you have all of this nailed (few companies truly do so be honest with yourself), then look at your sales team to make sure they’re doing enough activity to hit their goals and that they’re being properly coached to success.

If you have additional questions as to why you’re not getting enough sales meetings, we’d be happy to offer some advice. Contact us here.