sales4lyf profile picture
sales4lyf profile picture

sales4lyf

Business Development Manager

Politicker
Catalyst
Valued Contributor
+5

Assumptively booking in meetings

Hola guys, do any of you assumptively book in a meeting with a cold prospect? Meaning, do you send a calendar invite to them with an email about the meeting without ever having any engagement with them first?


At my old work place, people used to do this with varying degrees of success, what's everyone else's experiences?

Assumptive meetings without engagement?

Attached poll
*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.
🔎 Prospecting
📞 Cold Calling
🧠 Advice
24

25 comments

Sort by:
CoorsKing
WR Officer
12
Retired King of the Coors Knights
The only time I send a “blind” calendar invite is if I spoke with someone and they agreed to meet, but I was either unable to lock down a time or they have since gone dark.

In that context I send “hi <name>, let me know if this time works to continue the conversation around <XYZ>.” 

Id say I get about a 70% acceptance and show up rate, the rest typically propose a new time. Very rarely do I just get declines with no context.

Would I do this though to a completely cold prospect? Fuck no.
sales4lyf
Politicker
1
Business Development Manager
Great response, thank you! Completely agree! It can work in the right way, but when it's totally out of the blue it's just gonna piss people off 
ChunkyButters
Tycoon
9
AE
FUCK NO

My day is busy and I'm a mid-level bitch. The decision makers are even busier than any of us. When it's happened to me, my thoughts are "who the fuck is this person, why are they sending me an invite, what value is this giving me, and again WHO THE FUCK IS THIS". Then I decline the invite, usually telling them not to do that again and politely give feedback, and then I tell them not to reach out to my company again.
sales4lyf
Politicker
0
Business Development Manager
Yeah, I can imagine that that sort of outreach definitely rubs people up the wrong!
Kinonez
Celebrated Contributor
8
War Room Enthusiast
I have sent calendar invites to prospects who have shown interest but are not completely qualified, sometimes they don't have time to talk on the phone, it's not just a blow off. So, I set meetings to get to know them better and deep dive into their problems and see how we can help.

They don't see we as a sales person anymore and typically works great if they join. That being said around 50% don't, but since it's just me in the call and no one else, it makes more good than harm. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
6
🦊
Yes I do this, but only as a last ditch effort for people that I haven't been able to track down. I've booked several meetings this way, but I wouldn't do this daily.
sales4lyf
Politicker
1
Business Development Manager
Yeah, definitely not the best BD technique!
AlphaCharlie
Arsonist
5
Account executive
I'm not a fan, to be honest.
Lenca
Politicker
3
BDR
Of course! why not? It's another chance!
thewhyguy
Politicker
3
Bi-curious SDR
Seems like a lot of different opinions on this. I say do what makes you most comfortable.

With that being said, I like what @Kinonez and @BigMeech  mentioned on sending "blind" invites to prospects you've had some sort of interaction with and who've expressed interest but have since gone dark.

I've personally never done it but I have one prospect who's ghosting me and I'm definitely going to try it and see if it works!
Kinonez
Celebrated Contributor
1
War Room Enthusiast
Let us know how it goes! 
thewhyguy
Politicker
1
Bi-curious SDR
Update: I did it and he accepted and it was a great meeting.

Note again, I would only do this if you've already connected with the prospect
Kinonez
Celebrated Contributor
0
War Room Enthusiast
Nice one!! huge congrats!! Keep em coming!
FattySnacks
Politicker
2
Senior Account Executive
Sure fire way to piss people off IMO. If someone placed a hold on your calendar without asking your permission would you attend? Probs not
Blackwargreymon
Politicker
1
MDR
I have sent calendar invites to prospects who have shown interest but are not completely qualified, sometimes they don't have time to talk on the phone, it's not just a blow off. So, I set meetings to get to know them better and deep dive into their problems and see how we can help.
Clashingsoulsspell
Politicker
1
ISR
I have sent calendar invites to prospects who have shown interest but are not completely qualified, sometimes they don't have time to talk on the phone, it's not just a blow off. So, I set meetings to get to know them better and deep dive into their problems and see how we can help.
TheOverTaker
Politicker
0
Senior Account Executive
I have done it before, but never with very much success. In my experience, people get pretty annoyed with it honestly. Busy people don't seem to enjoy having random meetings appear on their calendar
Diablo
Politicker
0
Sr. AE
I hate doing this because 1. I am busy enough to spend my day 2. I don't want to bring disgrace to the company I work with (this is what I prospect told me when I sent him an uninvited invite 😬)
CaneWolf
Politicker
0
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
No, and I would blacklist somebody that did that to me. Would I forget about blacklisting the person 6 months later? Yes.
DataSlangah
Politicker
0
SAE
It is the meeting that is getting ghosted the most.
Wildcard
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
This is why sales people are despised.
Honestly though, "no shows" really cost a lot of time. 
Zvezda
Opinionated
0
Founder
I’d make sure we have a mutually agreeable schedule first. No point on setting a meeting based on “my availability.” Wouldn’t dare want to disturb a prospect during their daily coffee time or something
MR.StretchISR
Politicker
0
ISR
The only time I send a “blind” calendar invite is if I spoke with someone and they agreed to meet, but I was either unable to lock down a time or they have since gone dark.
Mr.Floaty
Politicker
0
BDR
E.g. Mention that you called/emailed those leads but they didn't fit the criteria and joke about it and then suggest 'ideas' (which are the truth) to them to help both departments work together?
Cyberjarre
Politicker
0
BDR
I had to often ask marketing to check the leads they are bringing in as well as check the companies prior to even contacting,

Related posts

8

Poachers in meetings

Discussion
🏙 Corporate Experiences
14
20
Members only

Meetings booked record?

Question
🏰
📞
78
9

Pre-Qualifying Meetings

Question
🎯
👨‍🌾
☁️
12
Bravado is a community of trusted sales professionals endorsed by their customers.
Apple Store logo
Products
The War Room Jobs Salary Guide Tech Sales U
Company
About Us How It Works Blog Bug Bounty
Contact
Press Careers
© 2024 Bravado Inc. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy Legal and Privacy Center Sales Jobs
If you are hired as a contract sales rep by a Bravado customer, we may ask you to prove access to the employee email account provided to you by that customer. This data will be shared with customers to track your sales productivity; customers can use this data to confirm you meet the minimum activity requirements to pay out your ramp stipend and commission.