How to schedule your appointments online
Once you have built the prospect’s Web site, you are ready to schedule your walk-through using the Online Sales Calendar.  From your WebCenter or Mini-WebCenter, simply click on the calendar button to open up the appointment form.  Type in the contact information, agreed-upon date and time and any other relevant data that will help your Product Specialist sell the site.  To complete the booking, select your prospect’s demo site from the dropdown list and activate it. 

It’s very important to fill in the “Details Section” of your form to help sales support prepare for the walk-through. Always include significant information such as how the company makes decisions, what type of advertising they are focusing on and what features are important to the client. You should have already compiled this information when you were data mining in Step Two. These specifics help sales support identify and focus on your customer’s “hot buttons”. The form (including the “Details Section”) should take under five minutes to complete. By consistently providing this valuable information, sales support has a much greater chance of closing the deal.

When do you talk price?
Often times, a prospect will ask prematurely, “How much will it cost me to buy the Web site?” Since you don’t have enough information to correctly answer the question at this time, we have found it effective to politely defer the answer with a useful analogy such as:

“That’s a great question, but impossible for me to answer at this point until I know exactly what you are looking for.  It would be the same as you going to a car dealer and saying ‘I’d like a car, how much would it cost?’  How can the dealer give you an accurate estimate, if he doesn’t know such specifics as the year, make and model of the car you are interested in?

It’s the same with Web sites. It’s impossible for me to give you a price without knowing precisely what your needs are. How can you tell me your needs if you don’t have a good understanding of what a Web site can do for your business? The bottom line is that you wouldn’t buy a Web site at ANY price if you didn’t like it, would you? So let’s make sure that you do. Here’s what I suggest, I’d like to put a site together for you at no cost and no obligation to buy it. I just want you to go through it then tell me what we can do to meet your needs.  Is that fair?”   
The most common answer will be “Yes”. At this point, arrange a firm appointment with all of the decision makers.  Determine a mutually agreeable time that fits into the Sales Support Calendar and ask them to mark their calendars accordingly.

Explain to the decision makers that you are not trying to sell them a Web site right now, you’re not after their money and they are under no obligation buy anything. Explain that all you want to do is give them something tangible for them to review at no cost.

In most cases, all the customer has to do is see the customized Web site to understand just how valuable of a resource it is. Because it cuts costs, increases revenue, and attracts more customers, in the majority of cases, the qualified prospect will buy it.

Sample Transitions to the Appointment
The following are sample statements that will help you to transition out of data mining and into scheduling a qualified, firm appointment. During this appointment you and one of our Product Specialists will walk the prospective customer through the Web site management platform.

¨ “That’s exactly the reason why I’m talking with you today.  Let me show you how we solve that issue for you.  We need to set an appointment, let you take a look at our incredible software, and if you like what you see, we can get your site up and running right away.  If you don’t see the value, we’ll part friends.”

¨ “<Your company name> understands the challenges that small- to mid-sized businesses like yours are faced with when establishing a Web presence.  We have developed a solution for all those obstacles you may have already encountered or will encounter in the future.  Our tools make it possible for you to have a very successful Web presence immediately.  When would be the best time for you to spend 30 to 45 minutes with one of my Product Specialists and me on a no cost, no obligation demonstration? (No pause)  Would tomorrow afternoon work for you, or would the following day be better?” (Always suggest a time)

¨ “We work with businesses like yours to provide all the tools that will assist you in providing a higher level of service to your customers, lowering advertising costs, and generating more revenue.  If these are some of the goals you have for your business, we need to go ahead and set a time when I can show you how this works.  When would be the best time for you to spend 20 to 30 minutes with one of my Product Specialists and me on a no cost, no obligation demonstration? (No pause)  Would tomorrow afternoon work for you, or would the following day be better?”

¨ “That’s why I need to show you this industry-specific Web site for your business, which is only the first element of our Web site solution.  I understand that you already have a Web site, but you owe it to your business to take a look at what we can do for you.  What I’m offering is more than just a site, and I’ll show you how all the extra tools and features will improve your chances of making your online business successful.  When would be the best time for you to spend 20 to 30 minutes with one of my Product Specialists and me on a no cost, no obligation demonstration?  (No pause) Would tomorrow afternoon work for you, or would the following day be better?”

In case of emergency
If the prospective customer is still not expressing interest, try this statement:

¨ “I understand you are busy right now, but it is important for you to consider that consumers are going to the Internet 7 to 1 over the Yellow Pages.  If you want to continue advertising in the Yellow Pages, you should at least have a Web site address to leverage those advertising dollars you’re already spending. I have an appointment available (day) at (time) or (day) at (time), which would be better for you to take a 20 to 30-minute, no-cost, no-obligation look at what we can do for your business?”

If customer schedules a definite appointment:

¨ “Alright, I will be in touch with you at (insert day and time).  Just so that we don’t take up too much of your time, when we call, please be logged onto the Internet and write down any questions you may have so that we can maximize our time together.  Fair enough?”

And finally, if the customer won’t schedule a definite call back, move on to your next prospect.