When Appointment Setting Service Goes Wrong
Virtually all organization do marketing and one of the most important activities they do is meeting a client to close a sale. For this, an appointment needs to be fixed with the client. This is not an easy task as fixing an appointment with the key person in an organization involves effort. Appointment setting services involve the use of a professional service provider to whom the work of appointment setting would be outsourced.
Any organization that needs outbound appointment setting activities to be carried out can choose to either do it in-house by appointing a team of qualified and experienced people or can outsource it to a professional organization. Whether in-house or outsourced, the importance of appointment setting makes it essential to give a lot of focus on this activity. There is a probability of the appointment setting service going wrong.
This can happen due to various reasons. Whatever the reason, when the outbound appointment setting activity goes wrong, it can cause a negative impact on the sales result of the organization. If such a situation occurs, then it may be time to take immediate action to pull things back. So, what possibly could go wrong in appointment setting? What are the mistakes that can happen that could jeopardize your sales process? Let’s look at why appointment setting can go wrong.
1. Having bad data
Data is critical in today’s world. In the appointment setting process, data about clients are important. The data needs to be correct, updated, and have complete information. This will enable the appointment setting services to be carried out effectively. Bad data can negatively affect the appointment setting process. Most organizations use a CRM to manage data and use it outbound calling to set appointments.
Accurate and updated CRM data is the key to ensure effectiveness in appointment setting. If, for instance, you can call a company to speak to the CFO and find that he has moved on to some other company and you don’t know who is in charge know, then it is a clear sign that your appointment setting has gone wrong. An even more messy situation is when you call a company and find that someone else from your company had called some time back.
This can happen when you either do not use a proper CRM or the CRM is not managed properly. As a result, your database is not updated and the result can be problematic. It can create embarrassing situations and make you look unprofessional. In the process, you can end up with missed appointments and may even mess up the process of lead generation.
2. Not meeting the right person
Appointment service will go wrong if you do not meet the right person. The sales person can go to the company, meet the client representative, and put in a lot of effort to close the sale – only to realize later that he has been talking to the wrong person. The appointment setter needs to understand who the decision maker in the company is. An appointment needs to be set with that person. Talking to others however senior they may be may not yield results.
This can result in a waste of time and effort for the sales executive who could have used this time to make more calls. The appointment setter needs to find the right person in the client organization. If this cannot be done, then the appointment setting will go wrong and it leads to an unnecessary waste of effort with the net result being zero.
3. Not sending the right person
The appointment setter fixes an appointment for a sales executive to meet the client. Sending the right executive is important. Not all executives have the same skill sets. Not all executives can handle a particular domain or product. There would be areas of specialization or expertise. This is something the appointment setter needs to be aware of. Not being aware of this will ensure the appointing setting service can go wrong.
Sending the wrong executive can lead to a wasted appointment. A sales person who is not skilled in a particular area may find it difficult to convince the client and close the sales. The appointment setter needs to have complete information about sales personnel and should be aware of which salesperson to send to which type of client. Not knowing this can be a problem. This is something companies need to address.
4. Using sales persons for appointment setting
One of the sure ways of getting the appointment setting process wrong is to use sales persons for appointment setting. Some companies may insist that sales persons fix their own appointment before going to meet the client. It may be done even to save costs. This can prove to be a costly failure. The skills of a salesperson are focused on meeting a client in person and convincing the client about the product or service.
The sales person’s job is to close the sale. Sales persons need to spend maximum time with clients – meeting them, talking to them, and following up until the sale is closed. Asking them to make calls to set appointments is a waste of time and effort. Appointment setting should be done by people experienced in the area, so that sales persons can focus on closing the sale.
5. Not having nurtured leads
Another reason why appointment setting fails is when the leads used for appointment setting are not properly nurtured. Nurtured leads are those that are qualified and have been vetted as prospective. Sending sales persons to meet nurtured leads ensures a greater chance of success. Studies have shown that nurturing leads can cut costs by one-third and increase sales by half.
Not nurturing the leads can cause a waste of time and effort for sales persons. This is another instance of appointment setting services going wrong.
The above are instances of appointing setting going wrong. Using the services of professionals can ensure that these wrongs can be set right to achieve the best results.
