3 min read

How Salespeople Lose Big By Not Using Meeting Links

Picture of Monica Caraway Monica Caraway : December 06, 2021

B2B Sales

Meeting links automate sales processes and ensure hot leads can nail down time with you. Despite this, we find that teams constantly refuse to use them, creating more work for themselves and letting prospects run cold. Here we show you the common misconceptions around allowing potential customers to self-serve time with you, what failing to do so costs you, and the best practices for getting the most out of allowing this convenience.

What are meeting links?

Meeting links empower audiences to choose a time to meet with, in this case, a salesperson. Companies like Calendly and the HubSpot Meeting Tool provide resources that help salespeople automate their calendars by blocking the dates and times they need to hold while keeping available specific times for prospect calls. Prospects then have the opportunity to book a time that’s convenient for both parties.

hubspot meeting links

Meeting links may be shared as calls-to-action in emails, on business cards, landing pages, social media, or in just about any channel where a salesperson might connect with a buyer.

email signature with meeting link

Why should you use meeting links?

In essence, meeting links help avoid the following exhaustive yet all-too-typical email run-around.

🎭 The Classic Biz Dev Email Exchange🎭
(A play in way too many acts!)

Sales Rep: “Hey! Have you heard of this awesome, new product my company is selling?”

Customer: “Oh, cool. Can I check it out?”

Sales Rep: “Yes! What’s a good time to connect?

Customer: “3pm.”

Sales Rep: “Sorry I missed you. I called and you weren’t available.”

Customer: “Oh, I’m on Pacific Time!”

Sales Rep: “How about Monday?”

Customer: “Sure”

Sales Rep: “Oh, wait, Monday is a holiday. How’s Tuesday?”

Customer: “Too late. I purchased from your competitor…”

🚨Alert!🚨 Nobody has time for this. Salespeople need to be selling, not emailing. And prospective buyers need to be doing their own jobs, not scheduling your meeting. While email is and will likely remain a strong way to connect with buyers and customers, keep in mind that only about 24% of emails are opened at all.

The more back and forth you have, the greater the drop-off rate, so it's in your best interest to quickly get to the meeting stage.

Why salespeople would rather send hundreds of emails.

Let’s try to understand why some salespeople would prefer not to take advantage of meeting links. For this stubborn group, it boils down to two main objections: 1. old-school thinking and 2. perceived control.

Objection #1. Old-School Thinking

There are salespeople (and marketers) who share the belief that inviting customers to book a meeting, especially early on in the sales process, may be interpreted as rude or even aggressive. This group of white-glove polite sales rep prefers to ask the customer what time works best for them to connect.

Why this is bonkers! - There's nothing wrong with a polite approach, but it often leads to a lot of back and forth, and most are moving way too fast to take extra time out of their day to deal with additional email clutter. In fact, people actually appreciate the efficiency of clicking on a meeting link to quickly move on to another next task.

Objection #2: Perceived Control

Some share a concern that once others are able to view your calendar, mayhem ensues!

Why this is bonkers! - There’s a fear that by providing calendar access, your time is no longer sacred, when in fact, the opposite rings true. The reality is that people prefer to have options, especially ones they can customize to their liking. Meeting links let the user decide which of the available times work best for them in accordance with their own schedules.

No one is recommending that a prospect be hit over the head to book a meeting, however, it’s best practice to provide the option. This ensures that the salesperson will capture any potential customer interested in expediting their own sales process. It provides another touchpoint and an opportunity to more directly connect — and for anyone who is customer-obsessed — this is a good thing!

Meeting link pro tips.

Embed your meeting link everywhere you want to connect with people and reap the benefits of legit appointment setting (think: website, social media, landing page, business cards).
Easily set up custom meeting links for different types of conversations (for example, interviews vs. sales calls vs. customer success meetings).
Include a meeting link in your next email nurture sequence.
Below is an excellent example from our client Blutag on how to successfully use meeting links in a nurture sequence:

Share your meeting link in the slide deck at your next webinar or speaking gig — make it easy for the people you care about to get in touch.
Be a hero by cutting back on your (and everyone else’s) email traffic.

Lastly, be mindful of your time. Share only the dates and blocks you want to meet with your audience. And automate the work. The average professional, according to McKinsey, spends 2.6 hours per workday reading and responding to email. Why contribute to this time suck, when you can automate it?

Most importantly, create an efficient and organized environment where customers connect with you and feel like they’re your top priority. They’ll be thankful and maybe even more likely to buy.