Are you struggling to set an appointment with prospects?
Making sales or closing deals is just one of the most critical aspects of selling. But you'll never get any of these opportunities without setting an appointment.
Appointment setting acts as the 'life of your company,' as it allows you to consistently receive revenue and keep your sales pipeline filled with qualified leads. However, the process of finding prospects and converting them into customers might seem like an uphill battle.
But with the right strategy in place, you can get more meetings to increase sales! So, in order to make the most out of appointment setting services, here are 8 proven and effective tips that can help you land your first meeting.
Business-to-business (B2B) Appointment Setting is a marketing activity where a company reaches out to the key decision-maker of another business and asks them if they're interested in taking the next step.
This sales process happens when sales reps set appointments for other businesses through a variety of means, such as cold calling, email campaigns, or marketing automation tools, in the hope of creating a lasting B2B partnership and maximizing revenue from customers and partners.
However, as time progress, so does the amazing techniques in this type of service. It's not enough just to set up meetings. You have to make sure the right person is on your end of the phone.
Here are a few tips for making sure that happens.
If you're new to any b2b lead generation campaigns, you might think that appointment setting is just an easy task. But, I mean, how hard could it be to set an appointment with a prospect?
But in reality, even a single successful phone call takes an average of 18 dials to connect with a buyer.
Therefore, a successful appointment requires more than calling prospects or asking to set appointments. It is integrated with hard work, persuasive conversation, solid process, and an exceptional sales team.
That's why we've compiled 8 of the best tips from experts in the field for you to try out when it comes time for your next call
This tip is quite ironic, considering the primary goal of any business to - sell.
But if you want to follow the right track, you would never want to interact with the buyer and immediately make an offer. Avoid sounding like a character from Glengarry Glen Ross that speaks with complex terms.
Remember, the prospect might've talked to other salespeople already, so try to sound as friendly and personable as possible.
The main goal is to create a lasting partnership with other businesses. So never try to sell right away, as this will come up naturally in the conversation.
If your product or service is excellent, then you don't need to sell it. Let them know what they are missing by not purchasing it.
Moreover, be mindful of your prospect's time, and never end the conversation without speaking of your company's value statement. This will help them decide whether or not to set an appointment with you.
You might expect to hear the words, "I'm not interested," "I don't have time," or even the dreaded "Just send me an email" at a minimum.
We get it. You are busy, and so is everyone else in the world! But should this end the conversation?
These sales objections are an inevitable part of the sales calls. So instead of dodging them, why not anticipate the objection and figure out how to respond accordingly to keep the call going?
If you ever find yourself in a situation where your customer is hesitant to move forward, simply acknowledge their concern by asking questions to find out what they're worried about or if there are specific aspects of their sales process that needs improvement.
Once they feel comfortable and acknowledged, ask for the appointment once more with an even better offer than before!
Find out what objections potential customers might have and then come back with a rebuttal. Use patience, persistence, and knowledge about their company needs to overcome any hesitation or initial disinterest in your offer.
Asking good probing questions is an integral part of a successful sales call.
It is one of the best ways to get a prospect talking about what they want and need. After all, if you can't find out what your prospects are looking for, how will you know whether or not it aligns with your product or service?
Yet, it's also one of the things that many appointment setter don't put much thought into, resulting in wasted time and missed opportunities.
Asking probing questions can help you determine the problem, potential solution, and decision of your prospects. Not only help you get some valuable information from your prospect, but it'll also make the conversation more interactive and engaging for both parties on the line.
However, it's important not to start the conversation with these questions. Instead, you want to save them for when both parties have built a rapport and are comfortable enough with one another.
That way, they'll be likely to answer your probing questions without feeling uncomfortable or suspicious of you.
If done correctly, probing questions could make up for any lost or unproductive hours spent trying other things like cold-calling names out of lists all day long!
Most businesses rely on traditional methods like cold calls or sending emails to reach out to prospects. But to set yourself apart from everyone else, you need a new strategy to capture their interest and get their attention.
Use other ways of contacting the prospect than solely on the phone in an attempt to set up an appointment:
For example, if you cannot get hold of your prospects anymore, would it be possible to connect with them on social media platforms, send an email, or drop a mail package?
There's no assurance that you can break through the noise on your first try, but take every chance to use technology and adapt to the progressing industry.
It's your job to make the prospect feel at ease. But it is also important not to put too much pressure as your prospect is only looking for a solution that will work best for their needs and problems.
Remember, nobody likes to be pressured. The best way to set appointments is by being courteous and considerate.
Talk to your prospects with a positive attitude. The way you speak will be the deciding factor in whether or not they want to do business with you, so try and make it as pleasant for them as possible by using terms like "please" and "thank you!"
Be proactive in questioning the prospect for their availability, demonstrating your interest with questions like "what are some of your concerns?" instead of trying to bully prospects into setting an appointment that they never intend on keeping.
If you use persuasive language, customer stories, and facts- without pressure tactics - then it's more likely for them to say yes! Not only does this help put their mind at ease, but it can also create an overall good impression of how professional your company is.
Value statement helps in the initial outreach as it is most commonly used as an ice breaker or introduction when setting an appointment.
Keep it short and concise. Focus on solving a particular problem that your prospect may have, provide relevant information that they won't find elsewhere, or suggest an exclusive offer.
Unfortunately, some prospects wouldn't fully believe the incredible deals and offer you're speaking of unless they see social proof or any examples. This is similar to the study conducted by HubSpot that states' around 88% of prospects trust customer reviews and personal recommendations.
Social proof is one of the most powerful marketing tools to persuade your potential customers on how they can significantly benefit from using your product or service.
So while you're on the call, direct the prospect to your website and read out some of the customer testimonials or product demonstrations. Of course, the larger the company your customers are, the better social proof they could be!
You can leverage name-dropping for added credibility by mentioning a couple of high-profile clients. But in case you haven't had the chance to work with famous brands or popular people, you can still share case studies, customer testimonials, or examples of how your solution helped people and companies in similar situations.
Once you've closed a deal and established your brand as a trustworthy business partner, don't forget about customer referrals!
Not only you can reach out to prospects, but this can serve as social proof that your existing customer is delighted with your product or service that they decided to make referrals.
This gives you a huge advantage as buyers will be more open to speaking with you, and it's much easier getting in front of decision-makers.
Of course, their reputation is at stake. So you don't want to say nor do anything that can make people turn away from your business.
Just make sure your customer has your contact information so they can introduce you to prospects such as their friends or family members who might be interested in what you offer.
Outsourcing Appointment Setting
Sometimes, all of us can get caught up in our responsibilities within the company.
In some cases, the inside sales team could no longer service more than initially assigned to them. When this happens, it's better to turn over the role of appointment setting to a company with expertise in this service.
Companies and firms specializing in appointment setting services have a special strategy of handling calls, persuading prospects, and using advanced technology to generate high-quality appointments.
By working with Appointment Setting UK, you can reach out to the hundreds of partners that well-fit your needs. Our team has years of experience helping companies and business industries scale their business to potential growth by outsourcing to the country's most experienced team of appointment setters.
We have experience and expertise in growing small-to-medium-sized businesses across various industries, so we know what it takes to succeed!
