subject: No Sales Without Effective B2b Appointment Setting [print this page] Leads are the bloodline of every business making sales. Lead generation is the primary step of making sales. However B2B demand generation is a much wider concept. Leads are the potential buyers who require your product or service but its not necessary for every lead to be a prospect. Qualifying the leads as prospect is what demand generation is all about. Prospecting of leads is very important for keeping the sales funnel filled. More the leads more will be the conversion rate and hence more sales. A research shows that 38% of inquiries become sales ready leads, 39% of those leads become qualified prospects and 29% of prospects become sales. Hence for any business, in order to keep its sales pipeline running, it is inevitable to generate leads and qualify them as prospects.
In telemarketing, this qualification process is done over telephone only. And the lead is said to be converted in to prospect once an appointment is set with the client. B2B appointment setting is not a simple task. The call over here plays an important role. Cold calling is a very popular method of telling potential buyers about your product and business but now in this competitive scenario, with every alternate business adopting the same strategy, it is very necessary for your call to have a unique message and distinctive appeal in its process; otherwise your business message will also form the part of the clutter. However, it is very necessary to remain in front of your prospects all the time reminding them about your product, and yet not dissolute the image of your business. How can that be done?
Prospects should be chosen very carefully. Your business aims and their needs should match completely. Extensive research should be done for every prospect.
The script for each prospect should be distinctive in appeal and reflect only their thoughts and requirements. The strategies and the message should be spot on, clear and let the client know clearly about how your product is different and matching their requirements.
Even if the client doesnt agree, follow ups should be maintained with them. Lead nurturing plays an essential role in sales enhancement. 67% of buyers, who say no, eventually buy the product with efficient lead nurturing follow ups. This will bring 20% increase in revenue compared to non nurtured leads. However, 65% of businesses have still not adopted it.
The call should always be made to the decision maker who qualifies as the prospect. This depends upon the position and authority of the client.
Setting an appointment and closing the sale.
In house callers may be trained and upgraded for making the calls but still professional services wont lose its place to in-house calls. There will be a 5% increase in the demand for professional lead generating companies because:
They bring in more response to dialled rate per hour
They help your business to get an edge over competitors through the professional touch that almost gives a branded image to the business.
They help in increasing the lead prospect conversion ratio
They help in increasing the sales channel
They help in lowering the cost on training and provides better return on investment(ROI)
