QUESTION: “I was very excited for a complimentary coaching consultation yesterday but the person did not call. Should I bother following up? I’m not needy and don’t want to come across that way. I also don’t want to set the precedent that missing calls is okay. My time IS valuable! But then again, people are people, things come up and I would like the business. What should I do?”

ANSWER: Unfortuanately No-Shows do happen and often it’s an indication that the person is not serious.

Here’s what I recommend:

1. Five minute after the scheduled call time send a quick email or call the person. Sometimes the problem is simply a misunderstanding about who is calling whom.

2. Immediately after the missed appointment send a follow-up email. Here’s some sample language:

Dear (name),
I had us scheduled for your coaching consultation today at Xpm Pacific.
I’m wondering if you missed it because something came up or perhaps it ended up in your calendar on a different day or time.
If you are still interested in having a complimentary consultation to discover how my coaching enables people to (insert what you coach on, e.g.: identify and pursue a career path that is truly in alignment with who they really are and how they want to live their life) , I can do a one-time reschedule for you and have availability (insert 1-2 times) .
If you’ve decided that you are not ready for a consultation, that’s fine too.
Please just let me know either way.
All the best,
(your name)

Tactics for Reducing No-Shows

1. Send a confirmation email that clearly states all of the details, including:

• who calls who
• phone number
• day and date
• time and time zone

2. In your confirmation email state your cancellation policy and emphasize that even though it is a free consultation you take these calls very seriously and are saving the time slot in your busy schedule specifically for that person.

3. Send the person questions to prepare for the consultation and request an email replay with the answers at least 24 hours before the consultation. In addition to providing value, this will help the person take the consultation more seriously. Also, if you don’t receive an email in advance it gives you an indication of the person’s commitment level.

4. Send a reminder email the day of the consultation.

Put these tactics into place now and focus on developing your business so that the people you are offering consultations to are pre-qualified. In other words:

• They have the “problem” that your coaching coaching can “solve.”
• They are ready to take action.
• They appreciate and value the opportunity to meet with you.

When you do this, the No-Show issue pretty much goes away!