Best B2B Appointment Setting Tips And Strategies

What is B2B Appointment Setting?

There are 3 prime phases of sale – prospecting, appointment setting, and closing. Prospecting is the first stage where sales development reps engage with marketing and sales-qualified leads to determine if the prospect is a sales opportunity. In the third stage, closing, when the lead has their appointment scheduled, the sales rep negotiates with them to close the deal. In between comes the second stage – appointment setting. The lead is nurtured at the appointment setting stage before closing the deal. The appointment setter connects with the lead to fix a time to review their final proposal with the sales rep who is looking to close the deal. An appointment setter can be a person from your team, or this task can also be outsourced to an external agency rendering B2B appointment setting services in India to let your reps focus exclusively on selling. You have to ensure that an appointment setter is an experienced person who can qualify the best leads to pass on to the third and the last stage of the deal.

1. Target the Right Prospects:

Thorough research is the key to finding the right prospect and best leads. The appointment setters must give enough time to research before they reach out to specific contacts or bring in a closing sales rep. Their deep research about the potential buyers will help them know if the leads are genuinely a good fit for their offering. In addition, it will build the confidence of the appointment setters and help them be well-prepared for their qualifying conversations.

2. Be Considerate of the Prospect’s Time:

Your time is valuable, and so is that of your prospect. Therefore, the ideal thing is to call the lead at a time when the chances of their response are higher. For example, experts say it is best to send an email on Wednesday morning (8 AM), and an appointment should be scheduled between 5 PM and 7 PM on Monday or Friday. Research says that Friday is not the right day for calls and emails as the response rate remains low. Moreover, before calling, you can send an email as it acts as a warm-up, whereas a social media touch warms up a cold email.

3. Acquire Contact Information:

While researching your prospect, do not forget to find their contact information. Check the company’s website, Google the brand’s name, their LinkedIn profile or look at their social media accounts to find out who is the relevant person to approach and if his or her contact information is available (to avoid gatekeepers). If you successfully find multiple information, delve into knowing which is the best platform to approach – email, social media or a phone call.

4. Prepare a Relevant Pitch:

Preparing an appointment setting script is one of the most essential B2B appointment setting techniques. You never know what might happen over the phone call. The lead prospect’s tone, manner of speaking, or question can easily throw you off when you are not ready with the pitch. An appointment-setting script helps you deliver a great pitch by boosting your confidence, dealing with call reluctance, handling the conversation, and preparing for the next call.

5. Use Case Studies to Generate Interest:

This is in connection with the above points. Seeking help from case studies is a great way to gain knowledge about any industry. Also, case studies help you seek your lead prospects’ attention. Case studies are about facts and real stories, actual problems faced by businesses, and effective solutions to their problems. Who wouldn’t be interested in that? An appointment setter has two options either start the pitch from a case study or use the same somewhere in between their script.

6. Avoid Disregarding Prospect Questions and Concerns:

If your prospect has questions and concerns, that means the prospect is listening, and your pitch is working. But it is not only your prospect who only should do the listening. The rule also applies to you. You must carefully listen to your prospect’s queries and try to reply promptly.

Also, if the question has been raised later, after the call, you must try to resolve it asap because a delay in communication can give a prospect second thoughts about working with you.

7. Track and Evaluate KPI:

This is a crucial technique whether you are into B2B lead generation services or appointment setting services. Enough time must be spent studying the individual customer and business profile to know the target audience. For example, the requirements of an IT industry will completely differ from that of an apparel.

You must be aware of their KPIs, pain points, etc. You must know what issues they face on a daily basis and what it is that they want to achieve.

8. Build Trust with your Prospects:

The reason behind the same is simple, it makes it easier to close the deal. When you win your prospect’s trust, you are not just another salesperson or appointment setter for them. In fact, there is a chance that when you approach them next time with a new product, service or deal, they might recognize you without any introduction. And to build this trust, you must keep in mind the points shared in this blog, such as respecting your prospect’s time, addressing their issues, considering all their objections, respecting their questions and concern, and being patient, not desperate.

9. It may take Time, but be Persistent:

According to the industry standard, a triumphant sales cadence requires eight touches. Whereas the truth is that 7 out of 10 sales reps don’t follow up with lead prospects after the first unanswered email. Do not be among the seven people who do not follow up (or give up) to get more appointments. Please note, do not forget to circle back to leads when they seem interested but use the “it’s not the right time” objection. After all, consistency and perseverance are the keys.

10. Find ways to Increase Lead Generation:

Referral is a great way to generate more and more leads. Also, it is an efficient way to accelerate the process of setting up an inperson meeting. What makes it possible? The trust that the lead has in the referee now lies in you, the salesperson. Do not be the salespeople who often forget to take advantage of referrals. Just remember that customers who value your product or service are more willing to refer you to a family, friend or colleague.