B2B appointment setting is a sales technique that helps to fill up the pipeline and provide opportunities for closing deals. It enables sales representatives to focus on the client and their needs, leading to greater revenue for your business.
Appointment setting specialists start with a list of potential prospects and begin calling them to see if they meet more specific criteria. This is known as qualifying the prospect.
1. Identify the Need
While a lot of focus is placed on nurturing leads and closing sales, appointment setting should be just as important. After all, it’s the first step toward getting a prospective client to commit to a meeting, and it can help you get better ROI from your lead-generation efforts.
For example, if a customer is constantly cancelling their appointments, it can cause your office to lose productivity. In addition, it can make your staff feel frustrated and stressed about having to continually reschedule customers. This can also affect the quality of care that your patients receive.
2. Create an Appointment
A laser-focused appointment setting strategy can optimize lead generation, shorten sales cycles and strengthen brand credibility. In turn, this leads to more conversions and a more efficient business.
To set up an appointment, choose the New Appointment or New Meeting option in Calendar. If you’re using appointment slots, select the Schedule option (note: this feature isn’t available for Business Starter accounts or personal Google Calendar users).
Enter the date and time you’re free to meet with a client. You can also require clients to fill out information relevant to the appointment such as their contact details, health history or device issues.
3. Schedule the Appointment
Once you’ve enticed the client to meet with you by building interest and curiosity, you’ll need to schedule the appointment. Ensure that your prospects can meet with you at an optimal time by researching the hours of operations of your target companies.
Be as specific as possible when describing the day, time and location of the meeting to avoid miscommunication and missed appointments. It will also help your prospects feel like you are taking their scheduling seriously.
To make this step even easier, use a sales appointment scheduling software tool that allows clients to view your daily available appointment times and self-schedule their meetings.
4. Follow Up with the Prospect
Using CRM, call management and scheduling software, reps can track the success of their appointment setting efforts. This data can help them refine the process and increase their odds of connecting with prospects.
Follow-up emails can be an effective way to build interest without coming off as pushy. They can also be a great way to educate prospects on the benefits of your product or service.
However, it’s important to avoid pestering a prospect with too many emails or calls. This can backfire and make them feel unengaged and annoyed.
5. Make the Appointment
When a prospect agrees to meet, you must schedule the time. It’s important that you consider the prospect’s schedule and any other appointments they may have during this window.
A good appointment setter will take the time to research a prospect and find out what their typical hours are when they’re in business. This way, they can avoid calling prospects at times when they’re already busy.
Also, when scheduling an appointment with a client, always associate the meeting with their name. This personalizes the experience and makes them more likely to attend.
6. Follow Up After the Appointment
Appointment setting is a critical step in the sales process. It requires a strong understanding of the customer’s needs and pain points and the ability to position a product as the solution. It also requires good communication skills and persistence.
Using tried-and-true appointment setting techniques can help salespeople schedule meetings that lead to successful sales. By considering time zones, asking if prospects have time to talk, doing research, and personalizing outreach, salespeople can improve the quality of their appointments and increase their chances of closing a sale.
7. Close the Deal
Appointment setting is a key piece of any sales strategy. It allows reps to meet with prospects to understand their pain points, offer solutions and close the deal.
It also helps to optimize lead generation and shorten sales cycles. Plus, it can help build brand credibility and strengthen a business’s marketing efforts.
Whether your sales team is inside or outside, improving their appointment-setting results should be a priority. By implementing these 7 keys to successful sales appointments, you can boost your prospecting effectiveness and increase the number of discovery meetings.
