HOW TO INCREASE B2B
APPOINTMENT SETTING:

Essential tools to adopt

Kudzai Machingawuta

A complete guide to appointment setting

Generating high quality leads and setting appointments are the lifeblood of any organisation; you need to constantly be upskilling your sales team with the right tools and knowledge to be able to get the best out of it. There are multiple methods that can be used to increase your appointment setting and new sales, so let’s get stuck into it.

Understanding the process of B2B appointment setting
Business to business (B2B) marketing is an effective way to generate qualified leads that are specifically looking for business services. The process of converting prospects into potential customers is called B2B appointment setting.

There are many ways to increase appointment settings, but one of the most effective ways is through strategic outbound marketing techniques.

These strategies often include various media such as email, phone calls, videos, and social media elements. Its main objective is to build interest in a product or service, and through that interest, drive engagement. Combined with automation tools, companies roll out these strategies through various cadences or sequences that aim to turn a prospect into a customer.

Selling the product before selling the appointment
No matter which way you look at it, there’s one ultimate truth in sales; there is no winning of any deal unless someone is willing to engage with you. That’s why appointment setting is one of the highest priorities within sales.

Think about a time when someone pitched a sale to you – did they offer you something of intrinsic value or provide a solution for a business problem you had? If so, you probably agreed to the meeting. Why?

You were convinced because they pointed out exactly what the ROI will be for the meeting and how you and/or your business will directly benefit from it. No one wants their time wasted, so make sure you communicate the intent of the meeting and the immediate benefit thereof.

Unfortunately, many salespeople tend to spin long, complicated stories about how they can help your business and transform it, without focusing on a specific pain point or solution. Get straight to the point, show them how you can solve their problems with your solutions, and provide examples of how you have helped other companies in their industry. Don’t sell the appointment, sell the benefit of the product or solution.

Understanding how your best practices can increase your appointments

Now that we understand what appointment setting is, we can unpack how you could possibly increase your appointment settings. Cold calling and emailing don’t always yield the same results, so understanding how your prospect operates is instrumental to increasing your appointment settings.

Does your prospect seem like the type to answer a phone call or would they prefer communication through email? Would you be able to get their attention through social media interactions like LinkedIn and Facebook?

Understanding these parts of your prospect’s mindset refers to their persona and the way they perceive messages and approaches.

There are six key steps you should follow when building an appointment setting campaign.

Establish your objective

Effective appointment setting begins with a clearly defined goal and will help you manage the success of your sales activity.

For example:

How much more profitable will the business be with appointment setting and how many appointments do you need per week to achieve that goal?
What is the potential value of each closed sale and how long does it take to close a deal from start to finish?

Deciding whom to approach

It will be much easier to convince your ideal buyer to buy into your service with the right targeting.

For Example:

A specific criterion helps to target the right prospect and not wasting time following up on dead ends.
Using parameters such as job title, industry, and company type are great ways to start along with trigger events like hiring, funding rounds etc.

Outsourcing a team

Depending on your stage of growth hiring an external team to carry out your appointment settings is more cost effective and scalable.

For Example:

External teams are dedicated and experienced to handle the rollout, this allows for your in-house team to fully concentrate on selling and growing the company.

Creation of messaging

An effective messaging strategy addresses the pain points of the prospect whilst providing a solution.

For Example:

Get straight to the point, be convincing and gather as much information to clearly outline the pains and how you will address them to help the business.

Measuring results

Analytics are super important, they show us how we can refine and improve our campaign to achieve better results.

For Example:

Analyse your open rates, response rates, positive engagement and sentiment often using online tools.

Shhhhhh and Listen

Let the prospect talk and you’ll get the right answers.

For Example:

Try to get as much additional insight into their business like pain points, challenges, and goals.
These insights enable you to start generating high quality leads while uncovering others that hold potential.

How to increase your appointments over email

Personalising your prospect’s email adds a human touch and shows the prospect that you have done your homework. Your messaging should be convincing yet not too pushy, understanding but firm.

Address your prospect’s challenges from the onset. Find out what keeps them up at night and what loses their business money. Make it clear how you can solve these issues through your message and solution.

Combining your emails with social interactions will only increase your chances of getting more appointments. It shows the client you are interested in growing their business and puts a name to your face. Therefore opt for including social media touches into your cadence such as LinkedIn messaging and interactions.

How to increase your appointments over the phone?

Depending on which industry your prospect is in, a cold email might not be the best way to set appointments. GDPR data protection laws limit whether you can send emails in certain countries, in this case contacting by phone is better.

If your target audience has a subliminal sense of who you are, they will be able to understand what value and/or service you can bring them and schedule a face-to-face.

Make sure you keep your pitch short, get straight to the point and listen very carefully. You want to make your prospects feel comfortable so you can acquire their short and long-term goals, pains, challenges, and provide solutions for them.

Top Skills a B2B appointment setter and sales team should have

Even if you have a great B2B lead-generation approach, it will be difficult without the right people. Building a team of qualified appointment specialists is a specialised project and requires comprehensive training.

Within your sales team, people who strike a balance between professional and casual are great choices, they are confident yet conversational and make the client feel at home.

You don’t just want another sales rep, you need someone who can listen and build rapport. Well qualified appointments are only as good as their input, if a lead’s information is incomplete, likely the appointment will not close.

Don’t ever get too comfortable if you want to land and expand

Landing an appointment is great, but don’t get too comfortable or satisfied.

It’s a cliché to say you only get one impression, but setting that initial appointment is a step in the right direction.

It strengthens your relationship and starts off the outreach cycle in the best way possible. You might not be guaranteed the sale yet, but you’ll be one step closer to key decision makers and your outbound appointment setting service will be in motion.

Know when to call it quits

If your prospect doesn’t want to agree to a meeting, then move on. You won’t be able to sell them anything if they don’t come to the table. Remember, increasing the number of qualified business leads means high quality appointments which result in a higher amount of sales and growth.

Learn more about our Appointment Setting services by booking a call with Growthonics today.