How to Work an Appointment Setting List
Working an appointment setting list can be a daunting, and often tedious, task. This is especially true when it seems like you have been making call after call with no results.
Giving up is not an option, however, appointment setting is critical to a company’s bottom line. With enough time and effort, results can be seen. It still can be a frustrating process, however.
So why does it take so long to set appointments? It has to do with the steps necessary to create a funnel effect that gathers the best prospects together in one place. Here are the main steps in that process:
How to gather the best prospects for setting appointments
- Identifying decision makers
- Getting decision makers on the phone
- Determining whether a decision maker should be pursued
- Warming up a decision maker (or lead) if it is determined to be a quality one
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when working an appointment setting list is skipping steps. As any experienced appointment setter will tell you, there is no way to get around the hard work necessary to identify decision makers who are likely to convert.
Due to the nature of working a list, this task is often best left to a professional telemarketing firm that has experienced appointment setters on staff. These professionals will make sure that they take the appropriate amount of time to cultivate a lead and they don’t give up in the face of adversity.
If the phone number for a lead always goes to voicemail, for example, experienced appointment setters don’t just throw out the lead. Instead, they do some digging. These professionals also know how to interact with leads once they get them on the line. They are able to engage the person in the most appropriate way, taking into account different personalities and pain points.
The best telemarketing firms will document every piece of information so that they have the facts about why a prospect is or is not worth pursuing. They also constantly sort lists into cold, warm and hot categories and understand the fluidity of such labels. In other words, they understand that a cold lead can quickly turn warm and vice versa.
Finally, the best appointment setters are persistent. They also understand that giving up too early is always a mistake when a sale is at stake.
If you need help with your appointment setting list by an experienced telemarketing firm, contact Tactical Telesolutions. Give us a call at (800) 700-7422 or visit us at tacticaltelesolutions.com.
