Whenever a B2B lead generation strategy is being worked on, appointment setting should be on the priority list to be best at. It is a process where there is delegation of prospects to the sales representatives so that they don’t waste their time on unqualified leads. This process helps save time and increases the rate of success by actually making sales. It is one of the basic steps in the process of b2b lead generation.
Let’s discuss a few tips and tricks to improve your appointment setting:
- Focus on the goal: As a sales person you mostly have two goals that is to close a sale or to procure new clients. However, at the present moment your goal is to prospect and take the next step in the right direction for your sales process. It is important to remember what goal is important when. Many times we lose focus and start running after the client to close the sale. However, you should first focus on the prospect and appointment setting. You should disregard your need to close a deal and focus on completing the next step in the b2b lead generation cycle that is appointment setting.
- Try and avoid sounding like a salesperson: The monotonous, fake and sweet tone of a sales person at times is like scratching with nails on a chalkboard. Many prospects of yours would be irritated already by receiving calls from different sales people. These sales people have wasted a lot of time which makes it hard for you to lower the prospects barriers. If you don’t sound like a salesperson then your prospect might be more open and willing to listen to you.
- Confirm the availability of the prospect: Many people have disagreed with this tip. It has been under debate for a few years now. However, I believe that it is better if you start the call by asking the prospect if this is a good time to talk or if you have caught them in the middle of something. The basic manners go a long way. It shows respect for them and their time and can help you buy upto 5-10 minutes to work with the prospect.
- Elevator Pitch: When the availability of the prospect is confirmed, share your elevator pitch with them. It should not be more than 2-3 sentences that describes simply how can you and your product be of help to them. It can be a statement of value or even a value proposition. You can also give past client examples or discuss the paint points of their industry that you can help solve.
- Probing yet good sales questions: A good salesperson is the one who knows the correct questions to ask. It helps you gather valuable information but also makes the call more interactive and engaging. It is necessary to know your customer base and there is nothing better than the opportunity to involve them in a direct conversation and understand their decision making process.
Whenever you make cold calls for b2b lead generation, you will face a lot of objection and rejection. Before the call try to prepare an outline of the objection you think could happen and create appropriate responses for the same. In house b2b lead generation and appointment setting can be a challenge. Outsourcing it can be a good solution as it will give you more time to focus on your product and other services. We hope these appointment setting tips and tricks will do the task they are discussed here for and help you develop a sales plan which will help your business generate more leads and hence, revenue.
