Dear Business Owner, are you losing sales at appointment stage? Do you wonder why your appointments don’t convert to sales?
Caught up in the allure of their product, many business owners assume that alone is enough to make the sale. “Just close when they call.” Their salespeople do exactly that. They push. They close. And yet, the conversion to sales dwindles with every passing week.
Sell vs serve: the appointment approach that converts
And why? Because you sold instead of served. The answer lies in understanding why selling loses appointments—and what to do about it. Even when your product is exactly what the customer needs
Let’s unpack that.
What exactly is an appointment?
First off, the word appointment tends to conjure up images of a formal setting: a patient and a doctor, a lawyer and a client, a bank manager and a loan applicant. As such SMEs and MSMEs may not see themselves having appointments. “I just sell clothes on Facebook.” “I only sell eggs from the boot of my car.” “I am not a big company. In fact, I don’t even have an office.”
Unfortunately, that thinking translates directly to how they see customer interactions— “They are not for me.”
And yet nothing is further from the truth. An appointment in business and sales is any customer engagement. So when they call in enquiring about your product, that’s an appointment. When they email, DM, walk-in, text, reach out to you in any way, see that interaction as an appointment —because it is—and treat it as such. Even the seemingly casual interaction with the neighbour who comes to your house to buy maize from your farm? Yup! That is an appointment too.
This is exactly why selling loses appointments—because when you see every inquiry as a transaction rather than a relationship, you rush.
The conversion killer: treating appointments as sales
How you treat that interaction—that appointment—will have a dramatic effect on your conversion ratio. That is, how many of those appointments convert to actual sales.
When you treat it as a sale, your success rate at converting will be much lower than if you treat it as a service. This is the heart of selling vs serving in business: one pushes for a quick win; the other builds a bridge for a long-term partnership.
“I saw online that you sell pork lard. How much do you sell it for?”
When you go straight to, “A kg is 800shs and half is 500. How much do you want?” On the surface this is a text book response that should be encouraged. It’s direct. It gives the information asked for. And it seeks to close. And yet, you are a stranger proposing marriage.
If the potential buyer is asking questions about price, they are not repeat customers—or they are coming back after a long while. Either way to them you are a stranger. The more if the only connection they have with you is an Instagram account or Facebook page.
Selling is not as productive as service is here. And by selling, I mean trying to close the sale — trying to get him to buy now; before he is ready. That doesn’t build bridges – it erects walls of suspicion because it feels pushy. You’ve heard it said before. Customers want to buy, not to be sold to.
The service approach: building trust one conversation at a time
Now offering a service during the appointment looks like this. (Buikding rapprt is assumed)
“I saw online that you sell pork lard. How much do you sell it for?”
“Thanks for reaching out. We have two packs—one kg at 800 and half at 500. Do you have a preference?”
No pressure. Just an invitation to engage. Unlike the previous example, how this conversation unfolds is likely to build a bridge of trust. In the process, the customer reveals his fears —and you allay them.
Fears like, “Where are you based?” “I see you have a personal number for payments. Do you have a till or account number I can MPESA?” Or, at the point of payment. “Last I bought, you had an Equity Bank paybill. This one you have sent me is a Coop Bank one.”
Serve to win sales
By the way, business owner, if you have changed payment details, inform customers as a matter of course — not at the point of purchase. In addition, let new staff know as such. Train them how to respond.
“Not so sure, I’m new in the company,” is not a trust building response to the concern about change of payment point. Neither is your dismissive retort: “Wachana naye. He thinks we are conmen? We have the best lard in the market. He can go shop elsewhere.”
That response doesn’t protect your reputation—it destroys it. And worse, it turns a curious buyer into a lifelong detractor, all because you treated an appointment as a battleground instead of a bridge. These are the common appointment mistakes that kill sales—and they are entirely avoidable with a simple shift in approach.
Whether you are big, medium or small, appointments are an opportunity to help buyers make purchase decisions, not to sell to them. This one shift in approach—from selling to serving—will see your sales increase, giving you a much better return on your marketing investment.
Why selling loses appointments
Of course, if they are regulars, and nothing has changed, go ahead and sell. But even then, do it through service.
“Spinach mbili na nikatakate kama kawaida?” is much warmer than, “Unanunua nini leo?” especially when this is the 7th time he is buying two chopped bunches of spinach.” That small acknowledgment says, “I see you. I remember you. You matter to me.”
And that, dear business owner, is what converts appointments into advocates. Not the allure of your product but the sincerity of your service.
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