What makes a meeting request sound pushy?
A meeting request sounds pushy when the person cannot tell why you are calling, what the meeting is for or how long it will take. Vague asks such as "can we catch up for a coffee" leave the listener to guess, and the easiest response to a guess is to refuse.
A request also sounds pushy when it comes before the person knows who is calling. So the order matters: your name and company, one sentence on why you picked them, then the ask.
How do you word the request itself?
Ask for something small and specific. For example: "We help accounting firms with around 20 staff handle X. Would a 20-minute meeting next week be useful, Tuesday morning or Thursday afternoon?" It names the audience, the length, and two options, so the person can answer with a choice instead of a verdict on whether they want to be sold to.
Give the reason for the call in terms of their business, not your product. If you cannot say why this particular company might care, the list is probably the problem and the script will not fix it.
Then make a no easy. Research by Rachel Schlund and Vanessa Bohns of Cornell University and Roseanna Sommers of the University of Michigan, published in Scientific Reports in January 2024, found that telling people how to say no, with a phrase such as "I'd rather not", made them feel freer to decline an invasive request than simply telling them they could say no. On a call, that can be as simple as: "If it is not relevant, just say so and I will leave you alone." The study used lab requests, not sales calls, so treat it as a pointer to tone.
What should you say when they push back?
Accept the first no politely and ask at most one follow-up question. "Is it the timing, or is this not something you handle?" is a fair one. If the answer is timing, offer to call again in a month and write it down. If the answer is that they do not handle it, ask who does, and thank them either way.
When someone says "send me an email", agree and ask what they would like it to cover. Do not treat it as a brush-off to be argued with. A short email that repeats the specific ask and two time options is a reasonable next step.
If someone asks you to stop calling, stop, and record it so nobody on your team calls that person again. Persisting after a clear no is what turns a firm approach into a pushy one.
Do you need to check the Do Not Call Registry before cold calling?
Organisations must check the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry before sending telemarketing messages to Singapore telephone numbers, and the check is made through the DNC Registry portal at dnc.gov.sg. Whether a particular call to a company is covered depends on the call, so this article does not give a ruling on it. The PDPC Advisory Guidelines on the Do Not Call Provisions and the Personal Data Protection Act set out the rules, and a lawyer can advise on your own case.
A Registry check result is valid for 21 days, so a list checked in September needs checking again before you call from it in November.
Even where the rules do not apply, the practical test is the same as for tone: someone who asks not to be called again should not be called again.
Should you make these calls yourself or have them made for you?
Making your own calls keeps you close to what prospects say, which is useful early on. It also takes hours that an owner or sales lead may not have, and calling lists across several days is a routine that is easy to drop when client work gets busy.
Greetsby is an appointment-setting service in Singapore that calls the people on your own list and books meetings into your calendar. You approve the opening and the reason for the call before any calls start, and Greetsby books meetings only, with no product advice. Every call is recorded, including the ones that did not book, so you can play them back and hear how your offer is received.
Each person on a new list gets up to 4 call attempts on different days between 9.30am and 6.00pm, from a Singapore number that stays the same. Pricing is per batch, paid before calls start: 1,000 numbers cost S$1,800, 2,000 numbers S$3,600 and 3,000 numbers S$5,400, which is S$1.80 a number. There is no contract and no monthly fee. Greetsby does not guarantee a number of meetings, and the first batch shows what your own list produces. You can write to hello@greetsby.com.
Financial advisory firms can use the service, but only the firm can sign up. Under MAS Notice FAA-N02, an individual representative cannot appoint an introducer.
Questions
Should I ask for the meeting at the start of the call?
Introduce yourself and give the reason for calling first. Make the request straight after that, rather than holding it back until the end, so the person knows what the call is for.
How long should the meeting I ask for be?
Name a specific length, such as 20 minutes, and offer two time options. A defined, short meeting is easier to agree to than an open-ended one.
Do I need to check the Do Not Call Registry before calling a company?
Organisations must check the Registry before sending telemarketing messages to Singapore numbers, at dnc.gov.sg, and a check result is valid for 21 days. Whether a call to a company is covered depends on the call, so ask a lawyer about a specific case.
What if the person says they are not interested?
Thank them and end the call. One short question about whether it is timing or relevance is acceptable, but a second attempt in the same call is not.
Sources
- Cornell Chronicle: How to elicit an authentic 'yes'
- PDPC: Check numbers against Do Not Call (DNC) Registry
- PDPC: Do Not Call Registry
General information for businesses in Singapore, not legal advice.