How to Set More Sales Appointments

KEO Marketing
Sep 7, 2018 · 4 min read

To close sales, you always have to feed new potential customers into the sales funnel. Going from cold call to appointment is a critical step in the process, but can be frustrating and time-consuming. These steps can help you learn how to book more sales appointments.

Quality Prospecting

It is not about sales call volume. It is about the quality of the call. To be efficient, you need to identify three things:

  • Does the prospect have a real need for what you are selling?
  • Does the prospect have the ability to purchase what you are selling?
  • Does the prospect have the authority to make the purchase?

You can set all the appointments you want, but if you have not established that the answer to all three questions is yes, you might be wasting your time.

The best ways to close more business are to pre-qualify your prospects and get sales appointments with the decision-maker.

Warm Up The Call

Setting sales appointments over the phone can be tough work. It is especially tricky if it is a cold call. These days, however, there is rarely a reason for a cold call. Take a few seconds to look up the business online and learn a bit about who they are and what they do. Use LinkedIn to learn about the decision maker. Those few minutes of research can turn a cold call into a warm call.

Reel Them In

If you do not get their attention right away, you will likely not get to anything substantive before they tune you out. Business owners and buyers get calls, letters, and emails from people trying to sell themselves all day long. If you do not stand out — and quickly — you likely will get a “not interested” or have your voicemails go unreturned.

Hook them immediately with a clear statement of what you can do for them.

Do Not Rush Through Your “Script”

It is essential that you sound authentic. It is OK to have a script in front of you, but if it seems like you are reading it verbatim, it will not work. If you have been a business leader for a while now, you have probably received those cold calls from salespeople that run through their script so fast you cannot even understand most of what they are saying. Do not be that person!

Sell the Benefits

Do not ask for the appointment right away. Quickly explain your product or service and the benefits your B2B buyer gets by doing business with you. Communicate credibility, experience, and results. Be specific in what you can do for their business. Then you can ask for the appointment.

Sell Solutions

Your product or service can solve a problem for the business. If you cannot do that, you should not be calling in the first place. The prospect must believe you can deliver a solution before they even consider giving up their precious time to meet.

Stay Focused

It is not about making small talk and chatting up a prospect. Unless you already have a personal connection, it is about getting the meeting and driving prospects through the sales funnel. Keep it natural and conversational, but focus on the key selling points to get the appointment.

Establish Credibility

Before anyone will agree to meet, or buy what you are selling, you have to build trust. For B2B buyers, they want to know you are credible and can deliver what you are saying. Otherwise, why take the meeting?

Always include some form of credibility statement. Good examples to use would be previous clients that are well-known and reputable, and specific results they have achieved in working with you.

Use Referrals

One of the best ways you can get through to decision makers is to get a referral from current customers. Dropping their name, or even better getting them to call on your behalf, sells both credibility and creates an obligation on their behalf. If someone you trusted told you it was worth your time to listen to someone, you would likely feel obligated to do so.

Practice Your Pitch

Practice your pitch, so you have it down. Do role-playing with other sales reps to have a quick answer to objections. Practice leaving voicemails. Know what to do when it matters. Do not learn on the job when you get your decision maker on the phone. NFL teams practice six days a week to play one game. How many times do you practice before jumping in?

We Can Help

If you are trying to figure out how to make more sales appointments, our B2B marketing agency in Phoenix, KEO Marketing, can help. Whether you need an inbound marketing agency or an outbound marketing agency in Phoenix, KEO Marketing develops marketing and sales programs that succeed.

KEO Marketing

Written by

KEO Marketing delivers innovative B2B and inbound marketing solutions designed to help your business achieve tangible results.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade