If your sales staff cannot schedule an appointment, then sales cannot be done. Sales are essential for business survival and growth. Sales staff needs to do in-depth research and prepare for introductory calls with the prospective. If the prospect is interested, request for a physical meeting to demonstrate proposal value.
Unfortunately, the sales rep focus of setting an appointment gets sidetracked, and while interacting try to sell the product. The prospect feels pushed and steps back. It is essential to train the sales staff to turn into a problem solver. The prospect is already bombarded with sales offer via cold calls.
Good reasons to outsource appointment setting tasks
- Appointment setting is a difficult process. It is also a necessary one because it helps to add prospects to your sales pipeline.
- Recruiting and training in-house appointment setters is time-consuming, costly, and ineffective. For example, an outsourced appoint setter capably makes 60 calls daily, speaks to roughly 18 decision-makers, and sets a minimal one appointment. Such target small or medium enterprises may be unable to achieve.
- Besides, approaching the correct person is an art. For example, setting a meeting with an apprentice instead of the director is not the correct way to approach. Qualified appointment setters are capable to recognize the right persons they need to approach for scheduling a meeting.
- B2B appointment setting service providers do 50% of the primary task, and your sales staff gets the time to focus on selling and increase productivity. It allows increasing your conversion rates, which fuels your goals for business growth.
- Outsourcing means no need to be concerned about capital costs. You are well aware of the amount you will need to pay to the appointment setting company every month.
- Outsourcing is cost-effective because as your physical sales meeting increases the chances of closing deals increases. More sales mean you can offset the outsourcing company’s cost and experience the return on investment.
Intelmark is a digital marketing agency that has helped businesses in different sectors get quality B2B leads in their sales pipelines. You can ask about their services at www.intelemark.com.
What to anticipate from outsourced appointment setters?
Just like making an appointment with prospects is overwhelming, so is the process of choosing the right professionals. Communication skills are crucial in every aspect of life. During your initial meeting discuss your company goals, expectations, and timeline. If you don’t talk about your expectations, then how will they get delivered?
So, make your needs known, or the appointment setter will not be able to deliver. Communication is the key that keeps the gap between clarity and confusion open. Remember, expectations need to get discussed upfront. The potential agency experts must also be capable to answer your questions. They need to excel in these core areas –
Hiring the right experts
A good appointment setting agency consistently attracts trains and retains exclusive appointment setters. It is hard in this competitive market, where employee burn-out is on a rampant. Strong players have great people management skills regardless of the increase or decrease in workloads. The work environment is optimistic, which becomes a second home for their appointment setter group. If the agency does not concentrate on its staff recruiting and retaining process, then their customers cannot expect their sales pipeline to fill up. Appointment setters with the right skills offer consistent results.
- How do you handle the recruiting process?
- How do you train new recruiters? Is there any kind of ongoing training?
- Is the employee retention rate in your agency satisfactory?
- Which kind of bad employee situation did you experience, and how was it handled?
Experience and expertise
Cold call us the first contact point, so impression matters. There is no window for another chance. It is the main reason that businesses choose their most competent sales rep to meet their prospects. The same thing gets expected from an outsourcing appointment setting agency. They need to have appointment setters skilled to make efficient conversation like enticing prospects with interesting, relevant, and brief information. It grabs the prospect’s attention, and they move to set a physical meeting for further details.
Such experience gets nurtured with years of commitment and experience. It is knowledge-based on trial and error. The appointment setters get familiar with your products or services, but the actual skill that works is the expertise in scheduling meetings.
- What is your experience in appointment setting?
- How do you plan an appointment setting campaign?
- Do you appear at popular business events or conferences?
- Why do I choose you and not your competitors?
- Was there a campaign that did not go well, and why?
Technology and tools
Technology is crucial for the proper execution of the campaign. If you have the proper in-house sales technology, then determine if you want the appointment setters to use. If you don’t, then there is B2B cold call agencies equipped with the latest technology available.
An experienced B2B appointment setting services has revealed its sustaining supremacy. They have spent capital in funding the latest techno tools, software, and systems for implementing effective programs. As you are expecting to partner with them long-term, it is essential to check their capability to weather the economic recessions as well as invest for growth. A solid financial status means working continuously, having fully-optimized outcomes, and an increase in your ROI. It also means the agency will not vanish overnight.
- What type of tools and technology do you employ?
- What is the frequency of your reporting?
- How do you inform about meeting opportunities?
Payment method
There are generally two payment structures used –
- Per appointment
- Per appointment + closed deal percentage [better for more transactional sales]
Ask proper question because hiring the right appointment setters will allow your sales pipeline to overflow with quality leads. The exposure will also add to company awareness and credibility. More people coming in contact with your brand and having a positive experience [without feeling pushed to buy] means more recommendations from word-of-mouth. Ensure that the outsourcing appointment setting team is worth your time and money investment!
