Do Not Waste An Appointment Setting Campaign

A typical business appointment is described as setting a schedule for the sales person to meet with his or her prospect. Today’s appointments can be face-to-face, over the phone or web seminar (webinar). What sets modern appointment setting apart from the traditional one is the ability of the callers and prospects to choose which appointment type is more convenient for them. Although many people still prefer to discuss product details in person, more and more customers are choosing online product demonstrations or webinars because it is more convenient and it eliminates the need for travel.

Salespeople perceive appointment setting as the initial step in the sales process. This is because most prospects, no matter how evident their need for a particular product or service is, are simply unwilling to buy anything during a telephone marketing call.

Appointment setting is crucial in any sales activity. This is the opportunity for a telemarketer to arrange meetings between the sales person and the prospect to thoroughly discuss the offer. These meetings allow potential clients to ask questions, raise issues or concerns and evaluate if the service or product can truly satisfy their needs.

It is important for appointment setters to understand that in their jobs, there will be instances when prospects won’t agree to a meeting. These reasons can be because they are already working with another provider, they do not know anything about the company and would like to do a little research, they are very busy and simply do not have the time, or lack of decision-making authority. Telemarketers or teleprospecters must always remember that each time they call prospects, they are, in a manner of speaking, interrupting them so they have to be patient and not be so hard on themselves.

If these prospects won’t agree to the appointment on the first attempt, callers must not give up, instead they must value these prospects and nurture them as leads. These leads need to be cultivated and developed because they resulted from the telemarketer’s effort to set an appointment. If nurtured properly today, these leads can become tomorrow’s appointments or business opportunities. Of course, this will only happen if sales people observe diligence in working them.

It is also possible that prospects are qualifying the offer as much as the salesperson is qualifying them. There are many occasions when decision-makers ask technical questions and require industry or vertical specific skills to answer. Highly-trained sales representatives are usually the best individuals to address these concerns.

Appointment setting can be a rewarding part of the sales process. The key is for salespeople or appointment setters to observe discipline in each call so as not to waste opportunities for growing their pipelines. If businesses are implementing a paid appointment setting campaign, they must make sure that not a single lead goes to waste. Their appointment setting teams must not neglect these leads just because they did not turn into appointments. Instead, they must develop them to maximize their telemarketing efforts and increase their chances of a greater ROI.