By A.J. Windle, Director of Client Engagement
Have you ever changed a tire? Well, I’d argue that the B2B appointment setting is pretty similar, at least in the process. Let me explain what I mean.
When someone says to you “I had to change my tire”, do you stop and consider how much work goes into something so simple and critically necessary? Changing a tire requires involves several steps and having the right tools.
First, you are going to have to brave the weather, and if you live where I do that could be a lot of work in itself! Second, it is necessary to make sure you have the right tools to do the job. Changing a tire requires a jack for the car to lift it up, a spare tire, the lug or socket wrench and potentially some gloves if you’d like. Finally, you have to jack up the car, take off the lug nuts, pull the tire off, put the new tire on, replace and tighten the lug nuts, release the jack and put everything back where it came from. What seems simple in thought is much more complex.
B2B appointment setting is very similar. It seems easy at first glance. However, if you misjudge the task as easy, then you will most certainly be disappointed. At Quality Contact Solutions we are experts at B2B appointment setting and here are a few items you’ll need to keep in mind to make sure your B2B appointment setting program doesn’t go flat.
B2B appointment setting is the same way. It seems pretty easy at first glance. However, if misjudging this task is easy, then I’d say you will most certainly be disappointed.
At Quality Contact Solutions we are experts in setting qualified appointments. Here are a few items you’ll need to keep in mind to make sure your B2B appointment setting program doesn’t go “flat”.
3 Essentials For B2B Appointment Setting Success
- Lists: Great B2B appointment setting starts right here. Invest substantial time and money into selecting the right demographic target your team will be calling. Anyone who isn’t your target audience is a waste of time and money.
- *Pro B2B Appointment Setting Tip for Lists: Consider digging into data that you may already have to garner insight for whom to target in list selection. Think about company size by revenue or the number of employees, the specific titles that you’d target for your products or services and be very selective in the industries and respective sub-categories.
- *Pro B2B Appointment Setting Tip for Lists: Consider digging into data that you may already have to garner insight for whom to target in list selection. Think about company size by revenue or the number of employees, the specific titles that you’d target for your products or services and be very selective in the industries and respective sub-categories.
- Technology: Sure you’re calling people to schedule an appointment but really, that’s not all. Consider the following questions when planning for a successful B2B appointment setting campaign:
- How are you scheduling the appointment (CRM or data capture through a dialer)?
- How are the agents viewing open times on the sales team’s calendar?
- Are you sending a calendar invitation to the prospect and what system are you using for this?
- Do you have a reminder system set-up to reduce no show rates?
- How are you handling inbound calls?
- What is your Caller ID strategy?
- Team: After you’ve purchased the right list and have all the right technology in place with associated processes, it’s time to assemble the right team. B2B appointment setting is difficult, no doubt about it. It’s likely that the main obstacle your team will run into is the ability to get in contact with key decision-makers. For this reason, not everyone makes a great appointment setter. We’ve found that in B2B appointment setting, to be successful individuals should be:
- Conversational experts
- Those who don’t mind objection
- Dynamically quick thinkers
- Technology savvy and experienced
- Multi-taskers
- If you’re lucky enough, experienced b2b appointment setting agents and managers with a track record of success
Setting quality B2B appointments is really hard and time-consuming. In fact, 40% of salespeople say that prospecting is the most difficult part of the overall sales process. If you’re not getting the quality appointments that are required to achieve your sales objectives, consider an external sales team as an option.
The team at Quality Contact Solutions has been conducting B2B appointment setting projects for many years and use a variety of methods needed to successfully reach organizational goals and objectives. We have become experts in knowing what it takes to provide high-quality B2B appointments.
Partnering with QCS provides access to the latest technology, our highly trained management and the best industry knowledge that any partner can offer. We know we are the right partner for you. Whether you are looking to increase appointment volume, quality or are starting a new B2B appointment setting campaign, give us a call at 1-800-963-2889. We’d love to help!
Other Articles You Might Find Interesting:
B2B Telemarketing Lead Gen Scripts in Technical Industries
Telemarketing Appointment Setting Testing, Testing, 1…2…3
Telemarketing Appointment Setting Best Practices Part 1
Telemarketing Appointment Setting Best Practices Part 2
Telemarketing Appointment Setting Best Practices Part 3
A.J. Windle is the Director of Client Engagement at Quality Contact Solutions. A.J. is responsible for ensuring innovation and key initiatives are accomplished for each QCS client on an ongoing basis. A.J.’s deep background in call center management, including training, operations management, and his recent role as Director of Operations for QCS is skillfully leveraged to produce better results for each client’s outsourced call center budget dollar. A.J. is a hands-on leader and he loves to win! A.J. can be reached at aj.windle@qualitycontactsolutions.com or 516-656-5106.
