A Guide on B2B Appointment Setting

Who deals with appointment setting in your company? Chances are that you respond, “Do I really need a special person dealing with it?” If this is your case, you probably need to learn a bit more about B2B appointment setting.

In fact, appointment setting is a crucial part of business to business lead generation. It is a strategic process of bringing in new prospects by arranging a specific date and time that would suit your sales team to discuss your offer with a potential client and eventually make a sale.

As a rule, B2B appointment setting is the closing step in the lead generation process. When fulfilled by a qualified B2B lead generation company Belkins, the appointment setting procedure will bring only high-quality leads to the attention of your sales reps, increasing the likeliness of closing the deal. 

Why is Appointment Setting Vital for B2B Lead Generation?

So, what is so special about appointment setting in the modern business world? Reaching out to a completely cold audience and carrying them properly to the purchase stage can be tricky. A professional team will considerably raise your chances for success.

Companies that specialize in B2B sales lead generation provide dedicated professionals who apply a personalized approach to arrange qualified meetings and boost your closed deals.

A B2B lead generation program usually includes three main stages:

• Prospecting;
• Appointment setting;
• Closing the deal.

Appointment setting is actually the phase when many potential customers may drop off. Let’s discover who should engage in each stage and which steps should be made to streamline the flow of business leads.

1. Prospecting.

This is the preparation phase of collecting the basic information such as phone numbers, email addresses, job titles, company names, and more. The data is organized in the lists by data analysts and operations specialists for further transfer to the sales representatives.

2. Appointment setting.

Appointment setters work closer with your prospects introducing them your company and product, courting them, and passing them off to sales reps to close the deals. Once the cycle is finished, appointment setters repeat it again and again delivering new prospects and nurturing your sales funnel.

3. Closing the deal.

Those leads that are interested in scheduling an appointment, or warm leads, are directed to a sales rep for closing the deal. Professional appointment setters ensure that the prospects they bring already have a keen interest in purchasing your product and are likely to convert into new customers.

Appointment Setting Strategy: Key Aspects Used by a B2B Lead Generation Company

Once we have clarified that appointment setting can be a bit more complicated than it seems, let’s explore which factors determine a successful appointment setting process.

4. Goal.

Similar to any strategic process, appointment setting has a clear goal: introducing your business to new clients and granting you opportunities for new partnerships with consequential sales. This goal should be pursued with the proper methodology, techniques, and approaches.

5. Strategy.

As you would expect, a professional appointment setting starts with a thoughtful strategy. An appropriate action plan would make your trip to the final goal smooth and efficient.

6. Process.

A clear-cut solution, qualified appointment setting also includes a well-determined process and methodology. While you always know where you would arrive, the quality of the obtained prospect, as well as the chances for a successful deal, depends on the way you set up your appointment setting process.

7. Influence.

An appointment setting is a great instrument to feed your pipeline with quality leads. What’s more, the solution also works in a long term, enhancing stronger prospects over time.

These components of a winning appointment setting strategy are utilized by top-ranked b2b sales lead generation companies to get an enhanced flow of business leads.

Talent for Setting Appointments

Is there a need to separate the teams for closing deals and setting appointments? In the modern world, yes. Thus, you will gain a better focus on specific experiences and skills and increase motivation within your teams.

Whether to outsource the appointment setting process or conduct it in-house, is the question to consider with regard to your specific organization.

Outsourcing to a B2B lead generation company

Hiring a team of professionals can be beneficial in several ways.

• It takes the burden of appointment setting off your shoulders, thus helping you and your team focus on the other aspects of business development;
• Professional b2b lead generation agency provides dedicated experts who are already well-trained and possess all required skills for the job.

Building an in-house appointment setting team

As you can see, appointment setting is somewhat more complicated than merely writing emails or making phone calls. If you choose to conduct this process in-house, you will need to assign a separate team, train them, and provide them with all required resources and technology.

Selecting between an outsourced and in-house team will be easier once you align the potential costs and your business goals. The size of your organization and your corporate culture also play their part.

Whatever path you choose, make sure that you make a reasonable investment and get the right people and services in the outcome.

Appointment Setter Software

Knowing that appointment setting involves many more processes than just booking a date, you may figure out that it also requires broader software than just a business calendar. The two most common solutions used for appointment setting include customer relationship management and standalone appointment scheduling applications.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software and email applications

This group includes solutions that track customer data, manage interactions, and automate workflows. Some of them include a range of features for appointment setting. Most of those apps, however, provide integration options with an external email service.

The most common features of CRM solutions pertaining to appointment setting and management include the following:

• Calendars and task management;
• Automation of workflows;
• Notifications;
• Email integration;
• Auto lead assignment;
• Email follow-ups;
• Lead profile information (firmographics, notes, web activity);
• Opportunity management (converting of leads into closed sales);
• Mobile access.

Standalone appointment scheduling applications

For those systems of record that do not include built-in appointment tools, you can utilize third-party applications. They allow booking and managing appointments, storing customer data, and bridging the gap between scheduling an appointment and billing.

What is more, there are industry-specific options, such as SolutionReach for medicine and MindBody for beauty and wellness, as well as general use solutions, such as Schedulista. With some scheduling applications made specifically for standalone use, make sure that you pick the right one if you need synchronization with your current CRM.

Email automation and deliverability

While most appointment setting solutions offer email automation options, you should ensure that your messages are not only created, scheduled, and sent but also delivered to the recipient. Belkins offers excellent software for email deliverability, such as a spam checker and an email checker, to guarantee that your messages arrive at the destination point.

Several Tactics to Make Appointment Setting Process a Success

You already know that you need a dedicated team, whether outsourced or in-house, to handle the appointment setting process properly. Now, how should you train their skills and guide them towards the goal completion? Familiarize them with a number of efficient appointment-setting tactics.

• The right attitude. The speech, actions, and tone of voice of a sales rep should be sincere and engaging. Insecure behavior can make the prospect feel uneasy about your offer.
• A value statement should be clearly announced. A sales rep should leave hesitations neither about the strong value of the product nor about buying it from your organization.
• A sales rep should not read from a script. Your employees have definitely planned their speeches, but they should not succumb to the temptation of simply reading to the prospects. They should rather establish friendly dialogs and communicate naturally.
• The speech of a sales rep should be adjusted to the prospect’s style. By mirroring the client’s tone and speed, a speaker can establish rapport and gain better mutual understanding.
• Evidence is valuable. Social proof such as client reviews and case studies are powerful tools to convince a prospect. Indeed, 88% of buyers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations. Factual information fuels the interest of your prospects and reassures them of the value of your product.

Summary

Setting up an appointment is a vital step in converting a prospect into a customer. A strategic process itself, this stage usually includes the prospect’s transformation from ‘cold’ to ‘hot’, which is one of the trickiest parts of your sales funnel. The following aspects would help you streamline the appointment setting procedure.

• Realizing its importance in getting business leads;
• Knowing the benchmarks of a successful appointment setting strategy;
• Arranging the right team for the job;
• Providing the team with the proper resource;
• Introducing efficient tactics to succeed in the appointment setting process.

By outsourcing the service, you can help your sales team focus on closing the deals. Your sales pipeline, at the same time, will be nurtured with high-quality leads for sale. We, at Belkins B2B lead generation company, ensure that your organization is properly introduced to your prospects and your sales reps receive a fast and continual flow of qualified leads for successful deal closure