R
R

RedLightning

Mid-Market AE

Politicker
Catalyst
Valued Contributor
+6

Pushed meetings & when to pull the plug

I usually DQ pretty heavily on prospecting calls and am overall protective of my calendar, but our BDR team has been scheduling a lot of meetings (which is great) but some are far out and have been constantly rescheduling.


When do you typically pull the plug on rescheduling, specifically with a BDR handoff where you haven't spoken to the prospect. For my own meetings, I'll give them 2 reschedules before I pull the plug on it. I'm wondering what the right play is when it's BDR scheduled


Thanks for the feedback WR!

☑️ Qualification Calls
15

18 comments

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poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
6
☕️
Similar to you, I give them 3 strikes. However, I have always put the onus on the BDR to handle the rescheduling process since we discussed how I prioritize BDR comp yesterday.
RedLightning
Politicker
0
Mid-Market AE
They schedule the meetings with our SE tools, so the meeting comes from me and when prospects ask to move they almost always only email me. 
RedLightning
Politicker
0
Mid-Market AE
The past few days has showed some of the cracks in our BDR AE handoff process
CoorsKing
WR Officer
4
Retired King of the Coors Knights
3 strikes for sure. I normally just try to catch them on the phone after the first one, I would rather cold call them and do it that way than wait for a reschedule. If they push 3x and I can’t get them on a cold call, bottom of the list they go.
RedLightning
Politicker
1
Mid-Market AE
Same, in this situation I honestly don't know if they're qualified and who should be chasing them. Meeting to meeting, I'm fine doing it. But, this seems like it's going to be a recurring issue with our BDR's seemingly focused more on getting calendar time than pain points on their prospecting calls. I don't want to spend my time chasing ghosts or hollow "opps"
CoorsKing
WR Officer
4
Retired King of the Coors Knights
Yup. If they have pain they will show up - hence the 3 strikes max.
funcoupons
WR Officer
4
👑
Usually go with the three strikes policy and am not afraid to call them out after the second time with something like "We haven't been able to connect the last few times we've set a meeting. Is talking about this a priority for you now?" Give them an out. 
FeedTheKids
Politicker
0
Solutions Consultant
Yeah, I usually give 2 strikes then put them on the spot. I'll only give an easy out if I don't really care to speak with them
BmajoR
Arsonist
3
Account Executive
3 strikes and you're out, and as others have said I'll call them out before they get to strike 3. So, if there is a strike 3, its now a dead opportunity. I've only had one prospect come back after that with a valid reason and they made an effort to remedy things. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
It depends what the reasoning is for me. If they are ill or have the decency to tell me something came up and to please reschedule then I will. Other than that You get 2 times.
MajorB
WR Lieutenant
1
AE
For the no-shows -- how far out are the BDRs scheduling the meeting? I ask because there's evidence that scheduling meetings 2+ weeks out is a recipe for no shows. Our BDR leadership made it part of the scheduling criteria. The meeting must take place within two weeks of booking. 

I take it case by case. Example, a BDR scheduled meeting canceled on me twice, once because she had covid, the second time because she still had covid. That BDR is welcome to reschedule the meeting when she's better. 

I put it in the BDR's court to keep rescheduling or not if I haven't talked to the prospect. And as a BDR, I'd do three attempts, and then, put them in a re-market sequence. 

More importantly, if it's becoming a regular thing, I'd be curious to understand why the meetings are turning into no-shows. Is it because it's summer and people are still on vacation, or is it because reps aren't doing a good job sourcing leads / saying something compelling enough to get a prospect to show up? 

Could be seasonality, could be reps need better training. 
RedLightning
Politicker
1
Mid-Market AE
The one that prompted this post was scheduled 3 weeks out. I made a post about that yesterday, but I've gotten a few that are 2-4 weeks out and so have some other AE's. I think their team is told to do that. I'm not going to tell them to do something that directly contradicts what their manager told them to do.

Personally, I think they should send a calendar invite to the prospect just as a placeholder, confirm it a few days before and then add the AE. 

Overall, I agree with everything you've said. 
MajorB
WR Lieutenant
1
AE
Maybe that's the move. Easy fixes BDR's at my incorporate that drive show rates

- send a coffee card the night before / morning of with a note saying that we're looking forward to the conversation
- update the email invite with the agenda the week of so the prospect gets a notification & knows what the conversation is about
- ask at the end of the cold call / email conversation "what is one think you want to make sure we cover" and pass that info to you, the AE

With the 2-4 weeks out thing, I guess someone will just have to run the show rate numbers in SFDC & find out.
MrNiche
Valued Contributor
1
Senior Account Executive
All it requires is one or two calls/emails a week. Sometime they will end up shopping. Keep hounding but respectfully. Had a lead sourced in March that pushed out the demo I think 8 times. Finally showed third week of July and was super interactive/involved. Closed him the following week. 

Keep calling, keep emailing, but treat it emotionally like the opp is dead. I'd say 1 out of every 5 ghosts will come back ready to buy at some point (depending on industry)
RedLightning
Politicker
0
Mid-Market AE
This was pushing a disco call
MrNiche
Valued Contributor
0
Senior Account Executive
I standby my answer, but maybe space out touchpoints. Or pass to your SDR to partner with. That'll be super helpful for them to reschedule and understand no shows as a large aspect of sales. Helped to have my AE do that when I was an SDR
SaaSam
Politicker
0
Account Executive
Agree with the majority of responses. 3 strikes. But after the 3 strikes I put it back on the BDR to get in contact, do a bit of qualification, and set a time when more interest is uncovered.
Justatitle
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
2 times and then a breakup email to give them an out. not a mean one just hey is this something you are interested in because I'll schedule time but I want to make sure it's still a priority. 

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