5 Important Appointment Setting Tips
Does your profession call for appointment setting? Many, struggle with how to set an appointment. In fact, appointment setting is even considered a kind of “close” in sales. You cannot afford to miss these five most important appointment setting tips!
Go Big or Go Home
Surely, you’ve heard this line before! Go big or go home should be your all-time motto for appointment setting. Aim high and wide. This way, you leave little area for missing your target. Ask for the most so you at least get a little, which is better than nothing. If you fixate on finding the “one right person” you may miss out on a whole lot of people.
Straight to the Decision Maker
Why are you wasting your time with two and three-level professionals below the decision-maker? If the decision-maker is whom you need to sit down with, then don’t settle for anything less. Even if that means holding out. At the end of the day, you are wasting your time and money by working your way “up” to the right person. Go straight for the person you need and be consistent in pursuing them. It will pay off.
Avoid the Gatekeepers
Business leaders don’t start at 8 am and leave at 5 pm. The gatekeepers of those leaders do. So, you need to go around them. Call after closing hours (soon after) or right before opening hours. Many business owners and high-level executives start their day much earlier, end much later, or even both. Don’t confine your reach to the typical business hours. Go around those hours and reach directly whom you want to get in touch with. This tactic may take some time and effort, but the result is a success.
Use Multiple Media
Appointment setting isn’t just about cold calling. It can take more than a dozen touches to get a prospect to respond to you. For appointment-setting success, you’ll likely need to reach out several times across multiple media. Prospects are busier than ever and inundated with marketing, sales messages, and meeting requests. You can break through the noise, but it’s unlikely you’ll do so on your first try. Leave voicemails, send emails, drop a package in the mail, write a hand-written note, or mark up an article to send. Get creative! And if you do get a “no” to your meeting request, read this post to overcome common cold-calling objections.
Follow Marketing's Lead
You’ll have much greater success setting appointments with prospects who have already interacted with your company’s brand in one way or another. Marketing ought to be able to give you a list of prospects based on:
- Website downloads: If you offer intellectual capital such as white papers, webinars, or research on your website, the list of prospects viewing this content is prime for sales follow-up.
- Website visitors: There are many technologies that notify you when a prospect is visiting your website. This is especially useful if you’re trying to reconnect with prospects, you’ve already spoken with. It lets you know 1) you’re on their mind, and 2) they are likely at their desk or computer right now.
- Event attendees: Make sure you get the full attendee list of any events your company sponsors, or better yet, at events where your company executives speak.
Conclusion
There are many important appointment setting tips, but I believe these five to be among the most important. Once you have those appointments, make sure you are impressing your client with a professional and courteous appointment reminder. Our automated system will do just that for you. You can send yourself a demo or sign up for our free trial here!
