Running a business is, needless to say, a time-consuming and often nerve-jangling affair. It’s probably fair to say, with that in mind, that you and your team already have enough things to do without having to find the time for setting up appointments with prospective clients.
This is why so many organisations choose to outsource appointment setting to specialist companies. But choosing a B2B appointment setting agency requires careful forethought; you need to be certain that your chosen partner is on the same page as your business.
So, this means that you must vet appointment-setting companies in detail before you commit to an agreement with any of them. We’ve given the matter some consideration ourselves, and here are some points to keep in mind when you’re vetting B2B appointment setting agencies.
Proven expertise is crucial
When you’re choosing an appointment-setting company, perhaps the most important point you need to investigate is just how much expertise they have at their disposal. Appointment setting is about much more than persistence and a winning phone manner – it requires genuine understanding.
In particular, appointment setting needs to be backed up by thorough market research and deep knowledge. In addition, your chosen agency must be able to isolate the key pain points and challenges faced by your prospective clients in order to help you close more deals.
Time is money, so your appointment setters mustn’t waste it by chasing the wrong prospects. You’ll need to be confident that they will only target genuinely interested and relevant leads, pursuing opportunities with potential clients who have the kind of challenges that you can address.
Research their reputation
It can’t be stressed enough that you really need to look very closely at reputation before choosing a B2B appointment setting company. It isn’t enough to take their pronouncements as gospel. This is, of course, true of entering into any partnership with any business – as it’s your money that’s at stake.
Your reputation is, too, in fact – because if you choose an appointment setting agency that’s not up to the job, it could rebound on you in terms of reputational cost. Any appointment-setting business that’s worth it’s salt will have a proven history of delivering quality leads.
Look at any previous media coverage about your prospective appointment-setting partner, if there is any, and see what previous clients have had to say about their experiences. This will help you make a much more informed decision – and, if you come across any obvious red flags, you can simply take your business elsewhere.
Make sure they offer the services you need
When choosing an appointment setting partner, you need to be sure that it can provide your business with the kind of services it needs. This can significantly enhance your chances of sealing more deals and ensuring a consistently strong sales pipeline.
So, the kind of services you should be looking for from your appointment-setting agency include sales pipeline management, arranging phone appointments as well as face-to-face meetings, and detailed research. The latter is particularly crucial when going into a discussion with a prospect.
Obviously, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution and the exact marketing and appointment services you need will depend on your specific requirements. This is why you must be clear on what those requirements are in advance of signing up with any appointment setting company.
The price has to be right
It goes without saying that, whenever you sign up for a product or service, you want to get genuine value for money from it. Appointment setting is no different; although price isn’t everything, you do need to be sure that the cost of the service is within your budget.
Take a look at several options and see how they stack up against one another in terms of both pricing and services offered; this is important if you’re to avoid paying over the odds for a service that doesn’t truly meet your needs. How much bang for your buck are you really likely to get?
Speak to potential appointment-setting partners to ask them how much they charge and how their pricing is structured, whether it’s on an hourly, flat-rate basis or a per-appointment basis. Look at the projected ROI and ask yourself whether the cost involved is fair and genuinely justifiable.
The importance of ongoing collaboration
Signing up with an appointment-setting company isn’t just a matter of agreeing on a deal, stumping up the cash and then leaving it to your chosen partner to do the rest. Rather, you need to be aware that when you outsource B2B appointment setting, you’re entering into a partnership.
Your chosen agency needs to see it this way as well, so that you can get more out of the process. Your appointment setting company should be in continual contact with you to ensure that both parties are pulling in the same direction, so this is something you need to check in advance.
There should be an ongoing dialogue, discussing your company’s objectives and regularly reviewing how far they’re being met through appointment setting. Close communication of this kind is key to ensuring a lasting and successful working relationship.
At Bollin Green, our sales team has years of experience in appointment setting. Our thorough research and in-depth understanding of the sales process means we only make appointments with genuine prospects. Get in touch today and see what we can do for your business.
Joe Green
Related Information
Before your next call, make sure your target list is actually worth calling
Before investing in a full campaign, it’s worth asking how many prospects in your data are genuinely commercially promising, and how many could easily be culled.
Why outsourcing telemarketing makes sense in tough times
Outsourcing to a specialist agency gets you consistent, quality conversations with the right people, handled by professionals who know how to deliver .
How B2B telemarketing can complement digital campaigns
B2B telemarketing can complement and enhance your digital campaigns, providing real-time feedback and the human touch which is sometimes missing from digital channels.
While traditional B2B marketing campaigns aim to cast their net as wide as possible, account-based marketing aligns sales and marketing efforts to create personalised and targeted campaigns.
Effective and thorough planning is the cornerstone to success in B2B telemarketing – your campaigns must be based on a solid strategic foundation if they’re to deliver real results.
Targeted B2B Telemarketing: Proven Strategies to Create Hot Leads
Your potential clients are busy people – so if you’re going to cold call them, you need to know how to make the most efficient use of the time you have while you’ve got them on the line.
Best practices for briefing B2B appointment setting companies
When planning an appointment setting campaign, a clear brief gives your team the information they need to work successfully and ensures appointments are booked with only the right people.
How does B2B appointment setting increase your close rate?
Taking a closer look at some of the key reasons why so many companies are choosing to outsource their appointment setting campaigns to specialist third-party agencies.
How B2B appointment setting agencies keep your data secure
With concerns around data security on the rise, clients are increasingly seeking reassurances that data will be kept secure and used responsibly. Here’s what you need to know, and why quality data is so important.
When you’re preparing to launch a B2B appointment setting campaign, you need to plan it carefully to ensure success. Here are the main things to consider ahead of your next campaign.
Crucial B2B Appointment Setting Metrics to Measure Now
Appointment Setting is great for boosting sales and revenue, but during a campaign it can be hard to tell if you’re reaching the right people. Here are the key metrics you can to use to determine campaign success.
SYSPRO needed to own and promote its brand directly in the UK, whilst partners would generate leads independently, it was important for SYSPRO to be proactive.
Why automation can’t replace appointment setting in a sales strategy
Although automation has the potential to raise the bar for sales strategy, the human element remains vitally important – here’s why you ignore it at your peril.
Techniques to Guarantee that Calls Never Feel Cold
Making cold calls feel warm, open and mutually beneficial is no easy feat. It calls for specialist knowledge and plenty of experience – something that we happen to know a lot about.
Infographic: 5 Powerful ways to use Post-Event Data
If you’ve invested money to attend an event, you need to do everything to maximise your return, and one of the main ways is to ensure you make the most of your post-event data.
In recent years, telemarketing’s reputation has been tarnished by poor quality techniques. But effective and ethical telemarketing is a great tool for lead generation, inside sales, customer profiling and more.
The Lost Value of Sales Leads – Does a Sales Lead Ever Die?
It’s not uncommon for leads to be discarded for one reason or another. But what if that last discarded lead was a golden opportunity to build a fruitful, longstanding commercial relationship?
Why Telemarketing is More Than ‘Just Making Phone Calls’!
When it comes to the art of sales and marketing, there is an almost gravitational level pull towards the theory that more equals better. Is that really the case?
Getting started with Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
ABM works superbly in the B2B space and compared to the scattergun approach of other strategies, ABM’s targeted approach often leads to much higher returns over time.
