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Do's and Dont's of Appointment Setting
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In this episode, let's break down the essential do’s and don’ts that separate elite appointment setters from those still struggling at the doors. Whether you're booking appointments every day or trying to fine-tune your technique, this episode gives you practical insights you can apply immediately. If you want to book more solid appointments, waste less time, and build a consistent pipeline (especially during the busy holiday season), this episode is packed with game-changing tactics most reps overlook.
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Transcript
Taylor's Success Story and Solar Sales Journey
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Solarpreneur Podcast, where we teach you to take your solar business to the next level. My name is Taylor Armstrong. went from $50 in my bank account and struggling for groceries to closing 150 deals in the year and cracking the code on why sales reps fail.
Teaching and Industry Insights
00:00:19
Speaker
I teach you avoid the mistakes I made and bring in the top solar dogs of the industry to let you in on the secrets of generating more leads, falling up like a pro, and closing more deals.
Becoming a Solopreneur
00:00:31
Speaker
What is a solopreneur you might ask? solopreneur is a new breed of solopro that is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve mastery and you are about to become one. So some of you already know that I run my own door to door sales team here in San
Summer Sales Strategies and Solar Scout Introduction
00:00:46
Speaker
Diego. And as we are gearing up for the summer, I realized if we do the same thing we always did, we're going to get the same results. But if I want to increase my deal flow, I need to do something different to get an advantage. Then we discovered an app called Solar Scout.
00:01:00
Speaker
But it's not a door knocking app. It's a data platform that shows us who is likely to go solar in our market. It shows us who has previously applied for solar but later canceled the deal, who has moved in recently, and even how much electricity the homes are using in a given neighborhood.
00:01:16
Speaker
It's been working for a lot of teams across the country and now I'm on board too. I'm going to be one of the first to use SolarScout in San Diego, so I decided to partner up. But I told them, hey, I'm going to talk about SolarScout on my show, you need to give my listeners a great deal. And they did.
00:01:31
Speaker
So go to solarscout.app forward slash Taylor and book a demo with them and you'll get 10% off your first month when you sign up. That's solarscout.app forward slash Taylor.
00:01:44
Speaker
Okay, back to
Do's and Don'ts of Appointment Setting
00:01:45
Speaker
the show. Hey, what's going on, Solrepreneurs? Today, we're going to be talking about the do's and the don'ts of appointment setting. If you are struggling in your appointment setting or just want to make some ah improvements or tweaks, then make sure you tune in to today's episode. Stay till the end because we've got some things that haven't been mentioned on previous episodes.
00:02:05
Speaker
So welcome to the podcast. My name is Taylor Armstrong. We're here to help you close more deals, generate more leads and referrals, and have a much, much better time in the solar industry. Hope you're setting appointments galore. Hope you are having a lot of success. Whenever you're listening to this, we're coming up on the holiday season. Christmas is weeks away. So what better thing than to gift someone than the gift of going solar and saving money on their electric bill? And if you have not left us a review already, please go do so. We are on Apple, iTunes, Spotify, wherever you can listen to podcasts. Also YouTube, we're coming at you almost every Tuesday and Friday. um so
00:02:42
Speaker
be sure to tune in. We're free and available on all those different platforms. And um before we jump into the show, we recently finished up our last Blitz of the 2025 season. But if you would like to join us on our next Blitz, we've got some exciting Blitzes in the works, exciting things we're planning. So we have the link below. You can join the wait list to join us on the next one and to come hang out with yours truly and a lot of other top people in the industry.
00:03:13
Speaker
Hey, but let's get into the show. So was thinking about this topic. I'm doing a training for our team tomorrow and um was just racking my brain. and What are some things that people are doing or aren't doing? And I broke it down into some ah some well-known, some lesser known things that either you are doing or you're not doing. that are probably hurting your chances of setting a solid appointment in solar. Okay, so some of these you have heard, some of them you probably have not heard. stay ah Stay till the end and please send this to someone who's struggling in setting appointments this week. Okay, so let's start with the do's.
00:03:50
Speaker
So do's number one is use slicks in your presentation. i know there's some companies that don't provide any slicks. If you don't know what a slick is, that is just a little sheet that you can hand to the customer. And it's extremely powerful, not necessarily for what it says.
00:04:06
Speaker
it is good. causes i would say creates some credibility on the doors. But more so, it's powerful because it helps you get side by side with the customer. okay We all know that if you're just if you're just facing the customer directly, it's a little bit harder you You don't have as much time and ah customers aren't as engaged. Homeowners aren't as engaged. But if you can get side by side with a customer, you're more on that buddy, buddy feel. They're more likely to trust you and you're just going to buy yourself more time.
00:04:37
Speaker
And my one of my favorite techniques is someone who's just cracking the screen door, cracking the door. And then just slipping that slick in there so they can see, hey, this is official business. You guys get this letter in the mail. Did you see what's going on with this?
00:04:51
Speaker
And then it's creating curiosity and um ah breaking that preoccupation, which is very important in appointment setting. And speaking of being different, that's number two. the second do is make sure you are different in your presentation. If you sound like the last 10 guys that came to the door, then you're not going to have very much success today.
00:05:10
Speaker
setting in
Engagement and Differentiation in Sales Pitches
00:05:11
Speaker
appointments. And maybe if you are in a neighborhood where you're you're getting, oh, someone just came by saying that, maybe you do need to switch it up a little bit because you're not going to buy yourself time unless you can really be different.
00:05:24
Speaker
And this actually happened today. um Funny enough, we had a customer, an appointment that was set from um one of our top guys, Rosenberg. um I think it was just on last episode actually, but he's one of our top setters right now. he's set an appointment and um I didn't realize it at the time, but as I was pulling up to the house, I'm like, this looks kind of familiar. And then sure enough, I walk in the door and it's someone that we had sat with about six months ago.
00:05:54
Speaker
And why did they set an appointment for the second time? Because Rosenberg sounded different. He didn't sound the same as six months ago. So they set up another appointment. ah Once I got in the house and didn't go as well, they're like, oh yeah, he came while, but no, no, no, no. You guys already came.
00:06:12
Speaker
yeah But what enabled him to set the appointment for the second time is because he once again sounded different. So how can you sound different in your presentations? If something like that happens, then ah maybe send someone else to the door, right? If I were to know it, I would have sent a different closer by to go close it. Would have been a higher chance. It's funny. We've done that in the past where one appointment we knew we'd sat with previously, we send someone else to it and same product, same thing, but they end up closing it.
00:06:41
Speaker
I guess the homeowner believes it's something different. So you must find a way to be different and that's going to help you create that attention. That's going to help you break the preoccupation and buy yourself time at the door. Okay, and then the third do is create movement at the door, right? And I think we've talked about this in the podcast in the past, but this is something we're taught a lot in pest control. a lot of you know I came from pest control. Pest control, we're taught to bring prospective buyers outside. We're taught to point out the ants. We're taught to point out the spider webs and the eaves and show them exactly what's going to happen. And why do we do that? Because if you can create that engagement, if you can create that movement, it creates emotion, right? And most they say emotion leads to emotion. And what does emotion do? Leads to buying.
00:07:28
Speaker
right People buy with emotion, justify with logic. So how can you create the emotion in solar? Bring them out, to point out the power poles. Yeah, you can point out how they're placing the wooden power poles with metal ones. Point out the roof, point out different neighbors that have gone solar.
00:07:44
Speaker
And the key with this is you need to be assumptive, right? You don't ask, hey, can I show you something? You say, yeah, let me just show you. I'll just show you. I don't know if you know this neighbor. Her name's Judy. Yeah, three doors down.
00:07:56
Speaker
Do you see how she has the panels up on her house now? Yeah, she just got those. We were ready to help her out. But before she before we helped her, her bill was $500 in the summer. okay Whatever it may be, if you can create that movement and create that emotion, you're going to have a much easier time setting the appointments. Okay, so let's move into some do nots.
00:08:18
Speaker
Do not number one is that's don't set the appointment without confirming that all decision makers will be there. Hey, and it goes without saying, if you can't get everyone on the same page, you might be able to close someone that's a one-layer as we call them. But if they if you close them, their chance of canceling is through the roof, right? um in my career, it's been very few people that I've closed as a one-layer appointment that I've actually gone to install.
00:08:50
Speaker
um I would say 80, 90% of them cancel if they're closed with a one legger. So have I done it? Yes. Have I had some go install? Yes, but not ideal. And the only time I'll do it is if I can get like a for sure agreement that, hey, your husband, your husband your wife, um they're fine with you. If it makes sense, they're fine with whatever you decided on this.
00:09:13
Speaker
They're not going to make you sleep on the couch or anything. If you decided it was a good thing. Okay, great. And that's, you know, like worst case scenario, if I already pushed to try to get the appointment with both of them, and it's just next impossible, might be your only option. But other than that, do not set an appointment with a one legger.
Time Management and Professionalism in Sales
00:09:30
Speaker
um We had one today actually, as well, where we're in the minute it middle of setting the appointment. And appointment was set, this extra referral. So was on the phone. So make sure you don't overlook this with referrals or people on the phone you're calling. And right as I was doing it with one of our appointment setters, right, as we were about to hang up, I'm like, hey, you know, make sure his wife asked make sure his wife will be there too. And we asked.
00:09:53
Speaker
Turns out the wife wasn't going to be there at that time. says, oh, why does she need to be there? We're like, yeah, we just make sure that everyone that owns home is on the same page. We don't want to cause any confusion. So we do it when both you can be there. And then we solidified the appointments and set it at a time that she would be there. Now the appointment is way more solid. Now we're not going to waste our time. We're not going to sit an hour, two hour appointments and have us be told that, oh, thanks for the info. We'll talk to my wife. right, so you're just going to make things easier for you. You're going to save yourself time and you're going have a more solid appointments.
00:10:27
Speaker
So it's a time when both of them are there. Okay, the second do not is don't have your calendar wide open. And this one probably is a little less known. What do I mean by that is if people are asking you for an appointment or you're trying to book an appointment, maybe giving them an option close. ah Does afternoon, evening work better for you Afternoon. Okay, three o'clock work.
00:10:48
Speaker
Yeah, oh you know what? We're actually meeting with Mr. Jones right before that. How about 3.15? And so what I mean is don't have, don't especially if a customer requests a specific time, or I'll be home at 5. Okay, don't just jump be like, okay, 5 works. Great. Because the more you can be the needed, not the needy,
00:11:07
Speaker
the higher likelihood is that you're going to create that professionalism. Hey, you're going to be the the wanted, right? They're going to want what you have. It's a pullback, right? You're doing a pullback. You're doing a takeaway. And it's just the whole concept of pitch anything. If you've read that book, if you can create the frame, if you can be seen as the expert, if you can be seen as someone that's extremely busy or professional, you're serving so many people that you barely have time to help them, I'm going to make your job infinitely easier. Okay, so try that when you're out sending appointments today. Instead of just taking the first time first appointment spot that comes up, make it all hard for them. Push it back by 15 minutes. ah
00:11:44
Speaker
Yeah, you know probably can make that work. We're meeting with two other people right before that. It's 5.15. Does that work okay? And ah if yeah and if if they're okay with one time, they should be okay with 15 minutes later. And then it's going make you seen as... professional more as it needed.
00:11:59
Speaker
Right. So try that one today. And then last but not least, this is a big one, probably one of the biggest mistakes I've seen. And I would also say probably one of the biggest differentiators of masterful appointment setters and the ones that aren't sending that many appointments is don't be too long in your presentations at the door. of The best appointment setters I know, they're quick.
00:12:21
Speaker
They know how to get to the point. They know overcome the objection. they know They know to not give too much information. They know how to set a solid appointment without dragging on. Okay, when I say be quick, it's more um knowing how to be quick as you're explaining the process, knowing how to keep things simple. I think it takes a true expert to make things simple, but yet to be thorough enough and it create the curiosity to book us a solid appointment. Okay. um And maybe you're quick through the process, concise, but then you're building rapport, solidifying the appointments at the end. That's totally fine. When I say quick, I don't mean you need to be in and out of there in less than five minutes every time. But I mean, when you're at the door, you should be able to explain it quick. You should be able to get to the point
00:13:05
Speaker
You should be able to not drag on and you should be able to get a solid appointments within four or five minutes and then, you know, solidify it from there. Okay. Nothing wrong if maybe you spend another 10 minutes solidifying it. But ah people that haven't mastered appointment setting, they'll spend way too much time explaining solar, explaining the problem, explaining why they're here.
00:13:26
Speaker
giving you all the details, but you know, people just get tired of it. And then I think they get way more closed doors. Almost every newer appointment setter I'm going knocking with, they're just too long in their prison. And that's why they're getting not interested. That's why they're getting, what do you want? Because they're not getting the point and they don't know how to make it concise and create the curiosity and get to the point quick enough.
00:13:49
Speaker
You need to know how to adjust. Maybe it's, you know, some people, maybe you got elderly folk that have nothing to do. Maybe you can spend a little bit more time. But most people, especially where we're at, you know, most people in cities, most people with busy lives, you got to know how to be quick because they're going to give you about five, 10 seconds before they close the door. If you can't let them know why you're here, why they should listen to you and break that preoccupation.
Recap and Top Episode Cheat Sheet
00:14:14
Speaker
Okay, so these are just a few of the do's and do do nots of appointment setting. This is not an exhaustive list, but hopefully there's a few things that you can go out and implement and try today. So one more time, just to recap, do use slicks in your presentation, do be different in your presentation, do create movement when you're booking appointments.
00:14:34
Speaker
And then if you do not, do not set the appointment mail without confirming all decision makers and the spouse. Do not have your calendar wide open. Okay. Maybe put the appointment 15 minutes later.
00:14:45
Speaker
Then do not be too long in your presentation. Know how to think on your feet and be quick. So i hope these things help you in your appointment setting this week, this month, and throughout your solar career. Let me know any guest suggestions you have, any topics such as suggestions. We love to keep our listeners happy and help you make lots of money. And ah happy selling this week. Go out and get them.
00:15:08
Speaker
Hope you have a great holiday season whenever you're listening to this, and we'll see you on the next one. What's up, solopreneurs? Hope you enjoyed the episode. Before you run out and start selling more solar yourself, wanted to let you know about an exciting new cheat sheet we created it specifically for you in mind.
00:15:26
Speaker
One of the top questions I get asked on Instagram, on Facebook by our listeners is, Taylor, where should I start? What episodes should I listen to in the podcast? You got too many podcasts, man, because now we have over 200 episodes.
00:15:41
Speaker
So what we've done, we created the top 10 most downloaded, most listened to, and i would say widely accepted, most useful podcasts that we've done here on Solrepreneur.
00:15:54
Speaker
We put them together all in one sheet so you can go, you can hit the ground running, especially if you're new, you do not want to not have this sheet. So go download it right now. It's going to be top10.solarpreneurs.com. Again, that's top10, the number 10,.solarpreneurs.com. Don't forget the S on solarpreneurs.
00:16:16
Speaker
We will have that in the show notes. Go download it right now. And especially if you have not listened to them, go listen to them and you can re-listen to them. That's going to show you how. So go download it and we'll see you on the other side.