7 Tips to Reduce No-Shows for Demos and Appointments

You've got a warm prospect. Maybe they signed up for a demo on your site. Or you connected with them on LinkedIn. Or perhaps you called them and piqued their interest for a follow-up meeting.

So, you agree on a date and put a meeting on the books. When the day of the meeting arrives, you're excited. You feel like a sale might be just around the corner.

Except... they never show up.

How often does this happen to you?

No-shows are a painful reality that takes a real toll on your sales numbers. Frankly, there's no way to avoid them completely. But there are actions you can take to dramatically reduce the number of no-shows and cancellations you encounter. It all starts by improving your connection with your prospects.

With that in mind, here are 7 surefire tips to reduce no-shows and compel prospects to show up.

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How PhoneBurner Can Help You Keep More Appointments

All of the tips on the list below have one thing in common: they’re all based on creating deeper and more meaningful relationships with prospects so that they feel compelled to show up for the demos and appointments they book.

We designed our power dialing platform to help sales reps have more productive and successful conversations with prospects. Here are some of the features that can help you build the kinds of relationships that make people want to honor their commitments:

• Improved call deliverability that reduces spam/scam likely flags and leads to more live conversations
• 200+ CRM integrations to collect prospect data for better call preparation
• Post-call workflow automations to streamline follow-up emails, text messages, and more

We’ll show you how to use these features (and others) when employing the tips below. Now, onto the list!

1. Establish a Clear Plan & Real Value for the Appointment

People show up for sales meetings when they know what's in store, and when it's something they want to do or discuss.

This may sound obvious, but people often agree to a meeting without a clear picture of what that next step is. When that happens, it’s easier for the prospect to forget that the meeting is important by the time it’s scheduled to take place.

To avoid that, be crystal clear what the plan is (ie. here's what we'll cover) and make sure that there's value in the meeting for your prospect. The more value, and the more compelling the subject of the meeting—the more of a priority it will be for them to show up.

Gathering data about each prospect in your CRM can help you understand their pain points and offer compelling solutions when booking your meeting, which incentivizes them to follow through.

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2. Give Them a Say In the Meeting Time

Ideally, you could schedule meetings so they fit perfectly into your schedule. But as a salesperson you'll have much better attendance if you work with your prospects' schedules.

So rather than, "how's Thursday at 3pm," keep it open-ended. Start with a question like "are mornings or afternoons generally better for you", or "what day of the week is best for you?" You're more likely to get an open time slot than sandwiched between other appointments that way.

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3. Make the Meeting as Convenient as Possible

You can set up in-person meetings, phone meetings, screen-shares, or video conferences. Of course, the more convenient the place, the more likely your prospect is to show up.

So, consider when a face-to-face sales meeting is truly necessary.

If you do need to speak face-to-face, a virtual meeting may work—we love using Zoom so we can demo our software. But if you do virtual meetings, always make sure the software you use is user-friendly and reliable. Clunky software installs and bad connections are a surefire way to drive up cancellations.

4. Get on Their Calendar

People are busy. We have all kinds of responsibilities both professional and personal that compete for our time. That's why so many of us use a calendar (i.e. Google Calendar) to manage our schedules.

Make sure your appointment gets into your contact's calendar. Otherwise, you'll end up with people who forget, or double-book the time you've agreed to. Both will drive up your no-shows.

After you agree on a time, send out a calendar invite that they can accept with a click. Including a calendar link in your post-call follow-up email is a great way to do this.

Learn more about sending follow-up emails after sales calls here.

5. Remind & Remind Again

Getting on the calendar is a start. But reminders are key to keeping your scheduled appointment visible and top of mind.

It's wise to send multiple reminders, and if possible, use more than one medium—including email, text, or phone.

Learn more about B2bB sales follow-up strategies here.

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6. Reinforce the Value You Offer

What's more effective than simply reminding someone you have an upcoming meeting? Reminding them why they wanted that meeting in the first place!

It’s okay to contact a prospect again after the appointment is set. You don’t want to oversell, but you do want to reinforce the value you can bring them.

There are all kinds of ways to do this. Invitations and email reminders can feature a short bullet list of topics, value propositions, or incentives. You can create a web page that lets people know what to expect and why to get excited about their meeting. (PhoneBurner shares this page, for example, after someone books a demo with us.)

Have you ever registered for a webinar and got taken to a confirmation page with a video from the host? These videos are great ways to increase engagement, which in turn can drive up attendance. Why not do the same or similar for your meetings?

7. Build Stronger Relationships with Prospects

The colder the outreach, the more likely someone is to cancel or no-show. The inverse is true for warmer leads and referrals. The better a relationship you have with your prospect before booking the demo, the more likely they’ll be to show up for it.

Take the time to connect authentically with prospects during calls, as well as seek out referrals and leverage shared contacts. The more positive points of contact you have with your prospect, the more emotionally involved they will be in showing up to the meeting they booked.

Learn more about relationship selling here.

Use These Tips to Reduce No-Shows

Whether you're setting appointments for clients or for your own sales pipeline, getting an appointment on the calendar is hard-earned. And it feels good. That's why no-shows are so deflating.

While some level of cancels and missed appointments is to be expected, you actually have a lot of control over how many prospects show up. Use the tips above to reduce your no-show rate by putting your demos front and center in your prospects’ minds.

Finally, make sure you’re using tools that set you up for success when communicating with your prospects. PhoneBurner’s call deliverability features, CRM integrations, and automated follow-up sequences can all help you forge and nurture connections that lead to demos and deals.

New to our power dialing platform? Start a free PhoneBurner trial today.