Appointment setting is an important part of any business that wants to increase its sales revenue. But, if businesses relied solely on word-of-mouth, customers referring to other customers, or contacts provided by people who know of organizations that could use the service, the sales would not increase quickly enough. It is for this purpose that cold calling is still relevant in today’s business scenario even though several companies think it is outdated. While it is easier to have a team in-house for close monitoring, it would attract several other costs like training and constant upgradation of skills. That’s why businesses today prefer to leave the job to professional appointment setters. That being said, it is important to understand what constitutes a good cold call for a B2B appointment setting.
What To Avoid?
The key is to capture the attention of the person within the first five seconds of the call. In fact, Travis Kalanick, the founder of Uber, while talking about cold calls said that if you can manage to make three people agree to a second call for every ten people you call, that’s a remarkable achievement.
You should ensure that your opening statement is enough to hook the person. While statements like, “Is this a good time to talk to you?” and “Do you have a minute to talk?” are considered respectful of the prospect’s time, some argue that it is indicative of unconfidence and according to Salesmate, people using those lines are 40% less likely to land a prospect.
How To Go About It?
Instead, a better opener would be to try and talk about whether the products that you are offering would be of any use to the customer. That way, they would know exactly what you are talking about while deciding if it is worth entertaining at the moment. In fact, this will give you a better chance to speak to that person at a later time.
More often than not, there arises a situation where you’ll have to clear several levels of hierarchy before you can reach the person who is willing to buy your product or service. These gatekeepers can prove to be potential allies for you. It is imperative that you don’t lie to them and follow-up with them until you reach the person you want to deal with to sell your product. A statistic by the Marketing Donut shows that about 80% of the cold calls require about 5 follow-ups before they can be converted into an appointment or a sales prospect.
Final Touches
Even then, it is important for you to decide your target audience beforehand. You can’t go about calling every person on the list and be content that your quota is being fulfilled. You’ll soon start wondering why your targets are not being met. Having a list of companies that most suit your product’s TG and client base will work extremely in your favor. Even then, you’ll have to work on reading up reports or testimonials on their website to gather the information that will be most relevant for your work.
There is a host of websites and plugins like Rapportive, Crunchbase, and LinkedIn profiles that will help you identify the contacts and whom to approach. Identifying the right person is also a critical thing. The most important thing to remember is that if the prospect is speaking, there is always a wealth of information to gather for you to utilize on how to revamp your pitch and use it again.
Partnering With Exclusive Calls
Exclusive Calls is an industry-leading service provider, chiefly for small and medium businesses whether you need appointment setters in USA or all the way up in Minnesota, filling the gap for companies who are expanding but are cautious about their overhead costs. Whether you need the B2B appointment setting in person, over calls, or if you need someone to chat to communicate the products, Exclusive Calls has the appropriate program for you.
