Salespeople are often regarded with wonder due to the energy, charisma, and patience their job requires. Coupled with ambition and motivation, they are powerful professionals who can transform a business by charming as many prospects as possible and turning them into customers. Still, that doesn’t mean a sales rep must be responsible for all aspects of the sales process, which is often too many for one person to handle. Additionally, each rep has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it’s better to capitalize on them accordingly rather than spread them too thin.
Some sales reps are excellent at picking out prospectors and engaging them meaningfully, easing them into becoming a buyer. Others are incredibly skilled at closing, listening to a prospect’s concerns with rapt attention, and successfully persuading them into securing a deal despite difficult circumstances. By assigning master prospectors at the start of the sales process and talented closers at the end through the B2B appointment setting, you’ll have a successful sales strategy that will result in a sharp increase in sales.
All About B2B Appointment Setting
B2B appointment setting is a strategy involving expert sales reps who engage with the prospect throughout the initial prospecting phases. Once the rep has selected a prospect and scheduled a follow-up call, they turn it over to the closing sales rep, who will facilitate the process until the prospect converts into a paying customer.
If you’ve gone through the sales development process, then you’ve likely experienced or had a hand in B2B appointment setting. This strategy allows a business to nurture a prospect and ensure they engage with candidates who are ideal for what they can offer.
There are three phases in a B2B appointment setting strategy: prospecting, appointment setting, and closing. Here’s what you need to know:
Prospecting
Sales reps interact with qualified leads in the prospecting phase to assess where the potential buyer is in the buying journey. By this time, the lead has expressed interest in the product or service, but the sales rep must determine if the buyer is a real sales opportunity or if they don’t have any intention of buying. If the sales rep ascertains that the buyer has a high potential for becoming a customer, they will move on to the next phase: appointment setting.
Appointment Setting
In this phase, the appointment setter will nurture the lead further, leading to closing the deal. They will coordinate with the lead and the sales rep for a schedule to review the final proposal so they can close the deal. You can assign anyone from your team to fulfill this role, but it’s best to hire an appointment setter expressly for this purpose, as they must be talented prospectors who can determine the best leads to send to the next stage. Once the appointment setter sets a sales meeting between the lead and the rep, they’ll continue finding other highly qualified prospects and identify more sales opportunities.
Closing
The final sales rep will meet with the lead during the scheduled appointment to negotiate, address other concerns, and finally close the deal. The closing sales resp must engage with a highly qualified lead who is very likely to buy at this time and is prepared to talk about closing terms. Once everything is settled, the deal will be closed, netting another successful sale for your organization.
Tips for Streamlining Your B2B Appointment Setting
Understanding the B2B appointment setting process is crucial to your success. To make it even better, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Research Thoroughly
Working with qualified leads is your best shot at closing numerous deals, requiring thorough research. Appointment setters must carefully research potential buyers and prepare adequately to engage in meaningful conversations that propel them further into their journey. Doing all this before reaching out to specific individuals will sharply increase your chances of success while creating a better qualification process.
Be Friendly and Personable
Even though your organization is hungry for more customers, it’s important to be personable when connecting with your leads. Appointment setters must establish trust with them and understand their needs and pain points to ensure that your company can reliably solve them. It’s best to avoid aggressive sales tactics, as this will push leads in the other direction. A casual, conversational approach is best, as leads will feel like you are genuinely interested in hearing what they have to say.
Ask Meaningful Questions
Your organization’s goal is to be the best at what it does, but it would be difficult to do this if you’re serving clients that don’t fit your target market. The appointment setter must ask meaningful questions to determine how likely they are to purchase your product or service, allowing them to understand the potential buyer’s perspective. That way, if the sales rep finds out that they aren’t a good fit for your company, they can halt the negotiation and proceed to the next opportunity.
Outsource Appointment Setting
Lastly, if your sales team is struggling to keep up with your leads, it may be best to hire appointment setting services instead. They are experts in their field, which means they can reliably support your prospecting and appointment setting initiatives since they are well-trained in discovering qualified leads. That way, your sales reps can focus on closing deals and keeping current customers.
Conclusion
For any company to succeed, they’ll need a seamless B2B appointment setting process that engages leads thoughtfully and nurtures them towards closing the deal. You’ll enjoy a vast increase in customers, a surge in income, and faster progress to your business goals. By hiring an appointment setter, you’ll allow your sales reps to focus on what they do best without sacrificing the quality of your prospecting efforts.
CrewBloom is a sales appointment company that connects companies of all sizes with the top 2 percent of remote professionals. Whether you need cheap appointment setters or an outsourced sales team, we can supply you with premium talent that fulfills various roles. Contact us today to book a call!
