secretary from an appointment setting service. It cements the appointment and lessens the chance of
a “no show.” However, it has its risks. It gives the executive a chance to cancel the appointment thereby
wasting all the hard work and man-hours devoted by the staff of the telemarketing company who is
involved in the project.
So how do you confirm the appointment and yet reduce the risk of a cancellation?
First, as an appointment setting service agent, you must gauge if the executive is enthusiastic or is only
lukewarm regarding telemarketing services and the products and services of its client. For enthusiastic
executives, there will no problem about confirming the appointment. The challenge is dealing with the
hesitant ones.
There are several ways to go about it:
1. Confirm the appointment a day before the scheduled meeting, just within the last hour of the
working day.
A busy executive’s appointments are rarely changed a full day before so there will be less possibility of a
cancellation.
2.Do not call. Send an email.
When the phone rings, the person on the other end of the line will have the chance to immediately
decide whether to keep the appointment or to cancel it. And a phone is 99% answered during office
hours. On the other hand, there is usually an interval in checking emails and replying to them. So do not
call attention to yourself and give the chance for the other party to cancel the appointment. Send an
email.
3. Send a voice mail.
I know, this is a sneaky way of confirming an appointment you are really hesitant to confirm, but
remember that your goal here is to lessen the chance of a cancellation. So use this sparingly and only
during desperate times. Call the office after office hours to confirm the appointment. Chances are,
nobody will pick up the phone and you can leave a voice mail.
In some cases it is best to take advantage of the common business etiquette of standing firm on
appointments unless it is cancelled.
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