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Roll With the Punches and Come Up Smiling by Tom Callos Choosing the Best Membership for Success Martial Arts Is About Expression by John Graden Ten Ways To Appreciate Your Staff by Rob Colasanti Extraordinary Marketing Newsletter Classics by Stephen Oliver Five Ways To Compensate a Program Director by Rob Colasanti Self-Defense Myths by Bill Kipp What To Do When You Need the Phone to Ring by Tom Callos Why Should You Use A Billing Company Do You Over Deliver? by Rob Colasanti Improve Your Retention With These Professionally Written Articles For Your School Newsletter- What you should know before you sign a lease! What To Do If Your Prospect Appointment Does Not Show! |
You look at the clock and its half past four on a Wednesday afternoon and your 4 o'clock appointment didn't show. What went wrong? Prospect appointments don't show for a variety of reasons. Some reasons you have control over and others you don't. It is important that you follow the right procedure to ensure that a high percentage of appointments that show and when they don't, you have a plan of action, too. At 4:15 PM, get on the phone and call the person who at this time is only late. It will be easier to speak with the student or parent when they are just late, rather than after they don't show. Your initial call should be of concern that the person had a 4 o'clock appointment and they haven't showed yet. You are calling to make sure they aren't lost or a more serious problem did not come up that prevented them from keeping their appointment. At this time you are giving the person an opportunity (truth or not) to give you a reason why they aren't there yet. This is when you want to let the person know that you were looking forward to meeting them today and that you waited for 15 minutes for them to come and that you are sorry they couldn't make it. They will probably feel a little guilty for not having at least called you to cancel or reschedule themselves. This is the best time to reschedule the appointment, and you should do so by actually picking up your appointment book and giving them the choice of 2 days for a reschedule date. If you fail to reschedule the appointment, then you know they had no intention of coming in the first place or something happened to change their mind. This means that the appointment really wasn't that strong from the beginning. You can't always prevent this from happening, but there are tactics you can employ to minimize it from happening. Here are some suggestions: When you are setting up the appointment, make sure the student knows that you are writing it down in your appointment book. Let them know that you, or the name of the staff person who will be greeting them, will be waiting for them at the appointment time. By doing this you strengthen the appointment. Call them the day before to remind them, as a courtesy. If time allows, immediately send them an appointment post card in the mail. Stamps for post cards are only 20 cents. What if the person you called is not home. Our suggestion is to try 1 to 2 times more that day and again the next day. You can leave a message on their answering machine on the first and last call, but don't bother in between. If you still can't make telephone contact, send this sample letter, your brochure, and your student newsletter immediately. Wait 1 week before trying by telephone again. SAMPLE LETTER Date Dear _______________ Thank you for your recent inquiry about our school. An appointment was scheduled for you by our staff last Wednesday at 4 o'clock and we were disappointed that we didn't get to meet. We would be delighted to reschedule your introductory appointment, if you would call us at 123-4567 at your earliest convenience. We have an opening this Wednesday at 4 o'clock that we will hold for you, but another time can be arranged as well. In the meantime, we have enclosed some materials for you to read at your leisure. We are currently offering a special promotion of XXXXXX to all new students that expires next Friday. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Master Instructor Copyright 2001 Professional Payment Systems (PPS) |
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