We polled a group of SMB B2B business owners who attended a recent Coffee with Kendra revenue generating webinar to learn how well they feel appointment setting is going in their companies. 41% of business owners feel that appointment setting is working okay, but has room for improvement, while another 33% want to make it even better.
Altogether, 74% of companies believe their salespeople could be more effective at appointment setting. When appointment setting is the foundation of new business development, that’s significant. If your salesperson isn’t effective at getting new appointments, how will they generate new business? How will your business grow?
Yes, you might outsource appointment setting. But all too often companies complain that it’s not effective either.
Why Can’t Reps Set Appointments?
If outsourcing isn’t getting the results you want, and your salesperson isn’t successful, where does the answer lie? The problem is tough, but the answer is simple. It lies in developing your rep’s skills.
The Appointment Setting Process
Before you can do that, you must first understand that appointment setting is more than just a series of phone calls. It’s a structured business process. There are defined steps from list identification through closing the appointment. Your hunter or appointment setter are part of that process.
To improve the process, you need to measure both its efficiency and effectiveness.
What’s the difference between effectiveness and efficiency in appointment setting?
- Efficiency: This refers to the process itself. It includes the list development strategy, the quality of your list, the prospecting process, the sales playbook, value proposition messaging, and the use of prospecting software like ContactScience software. Efficiency is the operational best practices of your appointment setting process.
- Effectiveness: This focuses on your salesperson’s skills, cold call training, solution training, and coaching. Cold call and solution training, combined with sales manager or business owner coaching, polish your salesperson’s skills and build their confidence.
When your rep isn’t setting appointments, step back and examine your process, then their skills. It’s the combination that drives success.
3 Primary Appointment Setting Metrics To Monitor
Use metrics to determine where the appointment setting issue is. There are three primary metrics:
- Dials: The total number of calls made
- Conversations: The number of successful engagements with prospects
- Appointments: The number of meetings scheduled
Measure efficiency by comparing the number of conversations to the number of dials made. When the process is humming along, as evidenced by a good number of conversations, the process is working. When conversations aren’t happening, the process needs attention.
Measure effectiveness comparing appointments set to conversations. When a high number of conversations are converting to appointments, your salesperson is doing a good job. But, if your rep is having a lot of conversations and they aren’t converting to appointments, your salesperson is struggling and needs your coaching or cold call training.
Coach Your Sales Reps To Have Better Conversations
When we’re working with sales managers, we tell them that they should be coaching, shadowing, and riding along with their sales team – every week. But if you’re a business owner managing your salesperson or a sales team, you don’t have much time available to do those things.
40% of business owners in our community share that they have no more than 5% of their time available to coach their reps to improve appointment setting results. 30% of business owners have no more than 20% of their time available. Reps are left to figure out how to get more effective at appointment setting on their own. But that won’t solve the problem. You have to coach your reps just like you would train your technical or delivery team.
If you’re time constrained, as those business owners are, you must be sure you’re focused on exactly those coaching activities that will make an impact on your salesperson’s performance.
What should you coach a salesperson to help them be more successful in their appointment setting?
On average, you can expect your rep will close one appointment out of every 10 conversations. Salespeople know to expect that nine conversations won’t be successful. Your role is to coach them to
be prepared for how to handle the objections they’ll encounter, deflect them, and still close appointments.
Focus on three key areas to make the most impact in the limited time you have:
- The Opening: The purpose of the opening is to set up the rest of the conversation. It is not to close the appointment immediately. It’s about grabbing the prospect’s attention and making a strong first impression.
- Handling the First Negative Response: In prospecting, the conversation begins in earnest after the first objection. Most sales reps struggle here, but mastering their response can significantly differentiate them from others. Common objections they’ll hear include “I’m happy now,” “I’m not interested,” and “I’m too busy.” Preparing for these objections helps your salesperson respond effectively.
- Closing the Call (Disengaging): The goal here is to reconfirm the appointment’s day, time, and topic, leaving the prospect excited about the next conversation. If they’re looking forward to the next discussion, they’ll keep the meeting.
What should you listen for when you’re coaching?
The easiest way to coach is if you have listened to some prospecting calls your sales rep has made. As you listen, focus on the three key areas.
What opening approach did the rep use?
Did the salesperson introduce themself properly? Did they give the contact an opportunity to speak? Did they clearly state the value proposition and ask for the appointment? Does your rep know the value and results your customers get from your solutions?
How did the rep handle the prospect’s first objection?
When your rep asks for an appointment, there are many ways a prospect can give a negative response. Did your salesperson recognize which type of objection was given and handle the objection correctly?
90% of the first negative responses will be one of only a few objections. It will be easy for your salesperson to master them.
How did the rep handle the subsequent objections?
Evaluate how the rep managed additional objections. Were they able to recognize and respond to each “no” appropriately?
How did the rep handle disengage?
Did the rep successfully set the appointment? Did they ease the prospect’s stress and secure a callback date if necessary? Did they learn any new information to reference in future calls?
How To Prepare To Coach Appointment Setting
Effective coaching involves a detailed review of actual calls. Let your rep know what calls you have listened to. You may want to have your salesperson select the calls they’d like you to coach them on. If you’ve listened to the same calls, you can each site specific examples. Your feedback and guidance will resonate.
Engage the team in coaching each other.
If you have multiple salespeople, encourage them to work together. Set up a blitz day and use one of the 10 simple games to make prospecting fun. Record calls and track metrics.
When the blitz day is over, critique each other’s calls. Provide guidelines on what to listen for to keep it a safe environment. Reps will improve by learning from each other’s experiences while blitzing for new appointments.
Expand Your Coaching Focus
As you continue to coach your reps, work with them beyond the appointment setting process and expand their development. If your salesperson is in a new business development role, coach them to convert more inbound leads through learning about the Client Buy Cycle and prospects’ mindsets. Then coach them to use your prospects’ Value Curve to qualify executives more effectively and improve their opportunity win rate.
The more you coach your sales team, the more effective they’ll be at selling.
Why Coaching Is Different Than a Sales Meeting
Let me take a moment to share that a sales meeting with your rep is not the same as coaching them. Sales meetings follow a measured, logical approach. They’re a business discussion identifying issues you can help with related to specific sales opportunities. Ideally there is some training included, but their primary focus is to keep sales moving forward.
Coaching is about developing specific areas a sales rep needs help in to become more effective in their role. Good coaching helps a salesperson recognize where they’re struggling and provides them guidance with some mentors to improve. When you’re coaching a rep one on one, they’re putting themselves in a vulnerable place, counting on you to help them be more successful. A sales meeting is not the place for that vulnerability.
Coaching Increases Appointment Setting Success
Make appointment setting a defined business process within your company, and coach your rep how to improve their appointment setting skills. When you do, you’ll see an increase in conversations that convert to first appointments and completed first meetings.
If you need assistance with coaching and training your sales rep or team to be more effective at prospecting and appointment setting, contact us at KLA Group. We’re here to help you improve your sales performance and achieve your revenue goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is appointment setting crucial for business growth?
Answer: Appointment setting is the foundation of new business development. Without effective appointment setting, salespeople struggle to generate new business and drive revenue growth.
What are the primary metrics to monitor in the appointment setting process?
Answer: The three primary metrics to monitor are dials (total calls made), conversations (successful engagements with prospects), and appointments (meetings scheduled).
How can I improve my sales team’s appointment setting skills?
Answer: Improve skills by focusing on both efficiency and effectiveness. Provide cold call and solution training, and coach your salespeople regularly to enhance their confidence and technique.
What should I focus on when coaching sales reps to set appointments?
Answer: Focus on three key areas: the opening, handling the first negative response, and closing the call. These areas help in making a strong first impression, managing objections, and securing appointments.
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