8 Misconceptions About B2B Appointment Setting to Consider
Setting appointments for business-to-business (B2B) deals is no simple matter; it takes experienced individuals, an effective plan, and plenty of hard work. Sometimes, this process may even require up to twenty attempts just to set one qualified meeting; all this effort and stress could prevent your sales team from focusing on other important duties they must complete.
Despite the challenges, cold calling does work, and having more qualified appointments is always a plus. Many businesses choose to hire outside experts to help with setting appointments. Some believe these third-party services can’t meet their needs, but that’s not true. These experts can tailor their methods to fit your company’s marketing goals perfectly.
Outsourcing appointment settings can increase your odds of turning leads into meetings. Here, we examine eight myths associated with outsourcing B2b Appointment Setting Services and explain how these beliefs could hold back your business growth.
Misconception 1: B2B Appointment Setting Services Increase The Sales Process
Some individuals mistakenly assume that using B2B appointment-setting services will speed up the sales process; however, this is simply not accurate. Outsourcing lead generation and appointment setting just provides more appointments with potential clients; it doesn’t speed up your sales journey in any significant way.
These services can help you identify businesses that meet your criteria and bring them into your sales funnel, providing the opportunity to connect with qualified prospects more easily. It’s important to remember that each prospect needs their own time to consider decisions; forcing someone to make quick choices could backfire and work against your goal of making long-term relationships.
Good appointment-setting services focus on quality over speed. They ensure that prospects who need more time get the attention they deserve, helping to build stronger relationships and trust. So, while you might see more appointments, the actual process of converting these leads into sales still requires patience and careful nurturing.
Misconception 2: Booking a Qualified Sales Appointment is Easy
Many people think setting up a qualified sales appointment is a simple task. However, if you consider the time spent on numerous interactions and refining the appointment-setting script, it’s clear that it’s not easy at all.
Exchanging phone calls and emails to nurture leads and qualify prospects is a process that takes time. In the B2B world, setting up one-on-one appointments can take weeks or even months. A recent study showed that in the software industry, it takes about 47 days from the first call to the first appointment.
Appointment-setting involves more than scheduling meetings: it also means conveying the value of your company to leads, updating databases regularly and scheduling follow-up calls – sometimes, you might need to reach out to multiple businesses before getting one qualified lead.
Appointment-setting services provide invaluable assistance, helping companies manage this time-consuming and effort-demanding task more easily and successfully.
Misconception 3: Training the Internal Sales Team is More Effective and Cost-efficient
Some people think it’s better and cheaper to train their own sales team for setting appointments. But think about the long and tiring process the whole company will have to go through. Business leaders, managers, and recruiters need to plan everything, gather all the necessary equipment, hire appointment setters, provide training, and then manage the operations. Sometimes, they have to do this over and over again.
And that’s not all. The internal sales team also needs to develop a strategy for approaching, handling, and following up on calls. Do they stick to cold calling? Do they focus on warming up leads instead? Do they need to revise the script for every single prospect?
Establishing and managing an inside sales team can often prove fruitless. With so many steps and processes necessary for their maintenance, many businesses opt for outsourcing appointment settings to save both time and energy while freeing their team to focus on other important tasks.
Misconception 4: Appointments Are Not Qualified
Many people think that outsourcing appointment setting will not give them qualified appointments in their target market. They worry that these appointments will not turn into real customers; however, these worries are unwarranted.
The main aim of an outbound lead generation strategy is to convert prospects into qualified appointments that your sales team can then turn into clients. Any reputable B2B appointment-setting service will have a system to properly engage prospects, nurture conversations, and qualify them during the call.
Appointment setters have the specialised expertise to understand your ideal customer profile and recognize what attracts potential clients to your company. Appointment setters ensure appointments with prospects who genuinely possess an interest in what your business provides – this can effectively support sales teams by providing more likely-than-ever leads that could become customers.
Misconception 5: Appointment Setting Service never worked
Some people say appointment-setting services never work. This is only true if you outsource to low-quality services. These cheaper options might get you more appointments quickly, but they don’t care if the leads are qualified or not.
A good lead generation company does more than just make calls and tick off names from your list. They will follow your specific guidelines to make sure an appointment is truly qualified. They might use the BANT (budget, authority, need, and timeline) framework to prioritise leads. This ensures they focus on prospects most likely to become real customers.
A reliable appointment-setting service can provide valuable, qualified leads that fit your business needs so your sales team can focus on turning these qualified leads into customers.
Misconception 6: All B2B Appointment Setting Services Are the Same
Many people assume all B2B appointment-setting services are identical, so businesses can easily outsource to any company providing these services. Unfortunately, however, that isn’t true, and businesses must do their own due diligence when outsourcing these services to any provider.
Appointment-setting agencies operate using various techniques that offer various advantages. While some specialise in booking multiple appointments simultaneously, others strive to carefully vet every appointment they schedule.
Outsourcing can bring immense value to your business, but you need to select an agency that understands both your industry and needs. Not all appointment-setting agencies offer the same quality services, so finding one with matching capabilities could make all the difference in outcomes.
Misconception 7: All B2B Appointment Setting Companies Provide Quality Services
People often assume all appointment-setting companies offer quality services; this simply isn’t true. Just like with anything, you get what you pay for; many low-grade lead generation services may offer to set appointments at very affordable costs by sending emails directly to target lists without fully qualifying the leads first.
If you’re getting unqualified appointments from an appointment setter, you’ll spend more time and money to qualify the lead before a salesperson can even begin their work. Some companies think that any appointment is good, but if the lead has no real interest or means to become a customer, the time and resources spent on that appointment are wasted.
When you outsource lead generation, choose a service that understands the importance of qualifying prospects before setting an appointment. While these services may charge more, the savings are significant if the appointments they set are more likely to become clients. Quality over quantity is key, and finding a reputable service can save your business time and money in the long run.
Misconception 8: B2B Appointment Setting Should Be the Responsibility of Salespeople
Many companies assume their salespeople should schedule appointments themselves; however, this approach wastes valuable salesperson time. Salespeople typically serve as dealmakers who meet with prospective customers to close sales deals and establish long-term customer relations.
Salespeople need to invest the necessary time into developing relationships with their customers, ensuring they feel satisfied, and encouraging repeat business. Time wasted searching for leads or cold-calling could instead be better spent closing deals with prospective buyers who have already shown interest in buying.
Outsourcing appointment setting frees your sales team to focus on what it does best: closing deals and providing exceptional customer satisfaction. This results in improved business results and happier clients.
