In order to discover new customers, gain market intelligence, and shorten the sales cycle, organizations often use outbound tele-calling. When structuring prospecting campaigns, people often categorize them into two groups:
Appointment Setting- It refers to interacting with interested customers (leads) and arranging sales meetings for them to discuss the business offerings. To bring in new prospects, you set a date on your calendar for your sales team to meet with them and potentially make a sale. It can all be done by an outsourced provider, and all your sales team has to do is show up as per the appointment.
Lead Generation- The term lead refers to a person or business who has provided the business with their contact information and may represent a potential business opportunity. A lead, in simple terms, is a person or business who has spoken with your salesperson or appointment setter and showed an interest in your business.
Difference between Appointment Setting Services & Lead Generation
Many people often confuse lead generation services with appointment setting services. Though both terms have a completely different meaning and are the pivotal factors that lead to the growth in the business. So before you make your choice, here are some differences that you must consider to make the informed decisions:
- Objective- Lead generation is the act of finding potential clients who may be interested in your product or service. On the other hand, appointment setting is the process of getting your company in front of many potential clients in order to make sales or build new partnerships. Lead generation is more about finding potential customers and providing the information to the concerned team. The team will work further on these leads to convert them into sales.
- Approach- When it comes to process or approach, it is quite different for both. Managing appointments is fairly straightforward. The appointments appear on your calendar, and a sales team member calls, emails, or meets the prospect on the appointed date. Managing leads is somewhat similar, but the result is more open-ended. You will get the information of the interested person or business but there will be no appointment fixed.
- Concept- Lead generation and appointment setting both involve speaking with potential clients, but appointment setting makes it a little more formal by setting a date and time for checking in with the prospect.
Remember, the process of searching for new customers comes under lead generation. The information then goes to the appointment setter who fixes the appointment with the sales person who converts it into sales.
Benefits of Appointment Setting Services
Appointment setting services are known for bringing numerous benefits to the table. But if you are someone who is facing trouble handling appointment settings yourself, you can always consider outsourcing the appointment setting services.
Below we are listing some benefits of appointment settings:
- Hands on better sales opportunities
- Identifying the better customer personas
- Reach out to the right target audience
- Increase efficiency using the right technology
- Cost-effective way of generating leads
- Helps in generating bigger revenues
- Profitable for getting accurate data
- Get access to quality leads
- Helps in increasing brand awareness
- Improved sales conversion
The main purpose of creating an appointment-setting company is to promote your business professionally and gain the trust of your potential customers. It is primarily considered to be a way to take your business closer to the customers.
The experiences you give your customers will lend a positive and lasting impression of your business and will allow them to differentiate you from your competitors. Every business is unique, and your appointment setters will know it better than anyone else. And there is no denial of the fact that both lead generation and appointment setting services play a pivotal role in the success of your business.
Factors to Consider for Successful Appointment Setting Results
Appointment setters play an important part in the lead generation process, and so they’ll need to develop the necessary skills. What are the most crucial things to focus on in order to be successful in a B2B appointment setting?
Here we’ve rolled some tips that can help you achieve successful results:
- Listen to your customers carefully
- Be flexible with your scripts and have a different approach towards different customers
- Make them understand what value does the product add to their life
- Keep honing your skills
- Remember your goal and stick to it
- Be fast with your responses
- Try to build a trust with your customers
Now that you know the benefits of lead generation services and how you can help your business grow by outsourcing appointment setting services, you must consider it. So wait no more and try to find a reliable and trusted service provider and take your business to new heights. Make sure to check their portfolio and years of experience along with expertise before hiring.
