The secret behind successful B2B appointment setting is meaningful human interaction.
If you’re in the B2B industry, you’ve probably stumbled across the term “appointment setting” more than once. But do you know what it actually entails?
While it might initially sound like the easiest thing in the world, appointment setting is actually one of the most challenging business aspects to consider in 2021. Essentially, it involves having a group of your employees reaching out to specific industry professionals in order to set a meeting where they can convince them to buy the service or products that your company sells. This is also called B2B appointments. In this quick guide to telemarketing, we’ll take a closer look at how appointment setting works, and why it’s important for modern businesses.
The Key to Successful B2B Appointment Setting
B2B Appointment generation can play a huge role in reeling in sales.
But that’s only if it’s used correctly. In fact, Appointment setting is one of the most common barriers entrepreneurs face these days. After all, if you don’t have appointments arranged with prospective buyers, you won’t be able to sell anything at all. But where do you start?
In order to achieve high-value conversions, you must first secure the time and interest of senior decision-makers (prospects). This can be done either by phone or face-to-face, although the most typical option is via cold calling. During the initial call, the appointment maker introduces their company and the products and/or services they offer. However, successfully securing an appointment is a skill that requires patience, industry knowledge and strong powers of persuasion. In other words, successful appointment setters must be more than just friendly and good at banter. Instead, they should have a good eye for spotting the challenges their prospect is facing – and be quick to come up with good ways of solving them.
It’s also important to remember that not all interested individuals are immediately identified as prospects. Some might have communicated with you through your website, while others might have discovered your services during your latest marketing campaign. These people are known as leads, and appointment setters usually work closely with the marketing department in order to do B2B lead generation with the aim of setting lead generation appointments.
5 Steps to Increase Appointment Setting Success
In the B2B telemarketing industry, there are a few golden rules that can help you increase your appointment setting success. Let’s take a quick look at 5 of the most important steps in appointment setting.
Focus on the who, what and why
Firstly, any good appointment setter will know that people are always short on time.
In order to acknowledge and accommodate this, he should explain the reason for his call as quickly as he can. Rather than lingering with unnecessary small talk, the telemarketer will politely introduce himself and follow the system of Who we are, what we do and why I’m calling you, immediately after greeting the prospect. Doing this shows that you respect the other person’s time.
Never oversell the product
The best telemarketers never oversell their service during the initial phone call with the prospect.
Rather, they focus on arranging the first meeting and getting a full understanding of the client’s current situation and potential challenges. Once the meeting is agreed, the appointment setter can focus on tailoring their recommendations to the client’s actual challenges.
Politely acknowledge any concerns
Most people hate cold calls. Others are simply too busy, or they’re not really interested in developing the conversation any further.
In order to deal with this situation, the telemarketer must acknowledge the concerns of the prospect. Instead of interrupting them, we recommend that you let the prospect explain their reasoning for not wanting to deal with you. Once they are done explaining, you can answer them empathetically and address their concerns.
Once you have acknowledged their concerns, the telemarketer can start bridging the initial objection.
Offer a selection of dates for their appointment
Always offer a couple of specific dates and times to the prospect.
This shows that you are serious about arranging the appointment, and that you’re willing to work around their schedule to find the date that is most convenient to them.
Don’t lie to the receptionist
This is an important thing to consider. While you shouldn’t exactly present your full pitch to the poor receptionist, it’s incredibly important that you do not lie or speak rudely to them.
Firstly, this is incredibly rude and will not go down well. Secondly, remember that receptionists do actually communicate with their managers on a daily basis. If you have been rude, the prospect will know.
Choosing the Best Appointment Setting Services
Selling B2B services is a fine art that requires the skills to influence and persuade prospects. And in order to achieve high-value sales from new prospects, and cross-selling to existing clients, you need to first provide meaningful human interaction.
Appointment setting can play a pivotal role in leading your company to success. And that’s exactly why you should choose the right telemarketing agency for the job. Pursuit Marketing is a top lead generation company that can help you achieve a secure and satisfactory appointment setting campaign – at a reasonable price.