Not every call you make will end in a sale, but to even get a chance to close, you need an appointment with the decision maker. The stiffer the competition for your prospect’s time, the more important it is to get your foot in the door before your competition does. To get your prospects to take you seriously, convince them that an appointment with you is time well spent.

These 10 tips will help you understand what to say and how to say it to get the appointments that help increase sales.1. Start tearing down buyer barriers immediately. To help you avoid being shut out by a wary gatekeeper, plan your greeting carefully. Politely identify yourself and your product or service. Use a friendly tone and impeccable phone manners to set you apart from the other salespeople who call on your prospect.

Be creative. An off-the-wall approach might throw a difficult gatekeeper temporarily off guard – just be careful not to say anything that might hurt your chances of getting an audience with your prospect.

2. Earn the receptionist’s favor. In many cases the receptionist decides who will and won’t get an appointment with your prospect. To make sure the receptionists you reach are on your side, treat them with respect. Ask for and use their names to show them that you view them as people and not just as petty annoyances standing between you and your prospects.

If you treat receptionists like the VIPs they are, they may be more likely to treat you like one. When you’ve collected the information you need, thank the receptionist warmly by name before you get transferred or hang up.

3. Tear down buyer barriers with your prospects. Start building rapport from the moment you get through to your prospect. Ask open-ended questions that encourage buyers to talk and help you analyze their needs. Use words such as “may,” “might” and “could,” for example, and such phrases as “an opportunity you may find interesting” or “a plan that could cultivate new customers.” If you establish yourself as a trustworthy, knowledgeable and caring person before you start talking about your product, your prospect may listen more carefully – and buy more quickly.

4. Appeal to the buyer’s best interests. To pinpoint your buyer’s specific needs, do some homework before you make your first call. Make a brief but powerful benefits statement that grabs your prospect’s attention and whets the appetite for more information. Instead of giving a long boring list of your product’s bells and whistles, reassure your prospect that his or her needs come first by outlining how your product can meet those needs.

5. Answer the buyer’s unasked question: “What’s in it for me?” Briefly outline how your product could meet your prospect’s needs, then show how that affects your prospect personally. If your product could help reduce your buyer’s workload or help impress top-level management, say so. When you talk to your buyer, instead of using the phrases “your company’s profits” or “your department’s productivity,” give your words more personal impact by saying “your profits” and “your productivity.”

6. Appeal to the buyer’s sense of reason and emotion. Some prospects base buying decisions on logic; others go with feelings and emotions. You might not be able to tell how your buyer makes decisions in the short time you have, so use a little of both to get the appointment. For the logical decision maker, use concise, rational arguments that emphasize the measurable positive results of using your product.

To win over the emotional decision maker, use image-building language and emphasize how product benefits will make the prospect feel (i.e., “Won’t it feel great not to worry about production delays anymore?”).

7. Establish the offer’s credibility. If your prospect believes there’s a sucker born every minute, you have to show that buying from you is safe and smart. Establish credibility by gathering facts and figures to back up your claims.

To make a positive impression on a wary prospect, for example, you might say, “XYZ Company used this product to decrease their product defects by 23 percent.” This statement boosts your credibility by providing specific information on what your product can do and giving the name of a company prospects can call to verify it. Tell the buyer that you have a collection of testimonials from other satisfied customers.

8. Show respect for the buyer’s time. Tell prospects exactly how much time the appointment will take and emphasize that you know their time is valuable. Keep your conversation brief – save your product presentation for the appointment.

Use words that make it clear that you’re trying to take up as little of their time as possible: “I’d like to very quickly tell you about this opportunity,” or “May I take a moment to discuss this with you briefly?” Your efforts to save the prospect’s time help prove that you sincerely care about your customers.

9. Reassure buyers that when you meet with them you’ll provide all the information they need to make a decision. Your statement will help reassure them that you’ll tell them everything they need to know, so they won’t have to conduct any personal research to confirm your product’s value or your credibility.

Emphasize that you want them to make an educated, informed decision and that the material you bring will allow them to do that. You might also shorten the buying cycle by suggesting that since they’ll have all the information they need right in front of them, they’ll be able to make a prompt and wise decision.

10. Confirm the appointment. Send a brief, handwritten note with the date, time and place of your appointment. Enclose your business card and an article that may interest the prospect, or maybe some product literature that addresses concerns raised when you arranged your meeting. On the day before your appointment, call again to make sure the decision maker is still able to meet you at the prearranged time.

Markets are so competitive and your buyers are often so busy that just getting an appointment – never mind a sale – takes an edge. By creating a strong first impression you can give yourself the chance to tell your prospects about your product or service. A proven appointment-setting strategy can help give you greater access to prospects and sales.