What to Expect From Outsourcing Appointment Setting

What To Expect From Outsourcing Appointment Setting

Going through the process of hiring an appointment setting company can be overwhelming.  If you have never been through this process before, you most likely have a lot of questions about the most effective way to execute this for your company. How is this appointment setting company going to help you?  What steps do you need to take to get them started?  How much of an expense will this be for your business? 

Today, we are going to answer these questions for you! You can also check out a recent post of ours on the most frequently asked questions about appointment setting.

There are three main components to successfully onboarding an appointment setting company:

                                                                Communication

                                                                 Execution

                                                                 Cost

We will look at each of these components in depth to help you have a better understanding of how the process works, and what you should expect from your  appointment setting company.

Communication  

Clear and concise communication is KEY to a successful implementation. In fact, good communication is vital to almost any aspect of life. If people don’t know what you want or expect of them, how can they deliver on those expectations? The answer is they can’t. Most people don’t possess psychic abilities, so the best way to get what you want is to make those wants known!   When speaking with potential appointment setting companies, you need to be very clear about what your company’s needs are, how you anticipate these needs to be met, and the timeline you expect for the entire project. If the appointment setter does not know what you expect from them, there is a 0% chance they will be able deliver on them. Communicate, communicate, communicate! There are three main components to successfully onboarding an appointment setting company:

Initial Meeting

When you have your initial meeting with a potential appointment setting company, it is important thayou communicate with them about their involvement in the entire process, and set boundaries on the amount of information you are going to share. How many meetings do you expect them to set up per month? How many calls or emails do you want them sending per week? These expectations need to be communicated up front so they can determine an appropriate length and cost for the project, as well as get a sense of the amount of work expected of them.

Get it in Writing

Perhaps the most important aspect of clear communication is to get all of the information in writing! Having a secure contract is important for both parties. It ensures that your needs are met (predetermined amount of meetings, calls, emails, etc.), and that the appointment setter gets their guaranteed compensation. 

Execution

Once you’ve had your initial meeting and set up a contract, you need to lay out how you plan to implement your new appointment setter. You can’t expect your new appointment setter to come in and start working right away, it’s unrealistic. You need to take some time to introduce them to your company and train them on your core values and key differentiators. The appointment setter can then take this information and use it to build email and call scripts. It is vital that you assist them with this process to ensure that their communication is in line with how you want to be represented in the marketplace. This individualization is what intrigues potential clients and leads to better sales opportunities!  

Technology

Technology is another important aspect that needs to be discussed for proper execution. Do you want the appointment setter using your internal sales technology? Do you even have the appropriate technology for them use? These are all questions you need to ask yourself and delve into before you execute your plan with your new appointment setter. 

Most appointment setting companies will offer their own technology for implementing these marketing strategies. This technology is usually specific to their company, and implements a call and email strategy that their team is already trained on. While this seems like a quick and easy solution, that technology isn’t always the best suited for your particular company. At OutboundView ,we prefer that the technology is yours, not ours – we will help you purchase the right technology and configure it, but the actual technology is owned by you and can be used ongoing if our relationship ends. These are all questions you need to ask yourself and delve into before you execute your plan with your new appointment setter.

Each of these different technological situations will factor into the payment plan for the appointment setting company. Again, to make this process as problem-free as possible, all of these decisions need to be clearly defined at the beginning of the appointment setting process.

There should be no surprises along the way.

Cost

Payment Methods

Now it’s time to talk about costs.

There are two primary methods of determining cost: paying per appointment set, or a combination of cost per appointment plus a percentage of closed deals. 

Paying per appointment set is the most common method, it’s easy to track and beneficial for both parties. The combination of cost per appointment plus percentage of closed deals model works especially well in more transactional sales. It also aligns both companies up for better end results: more paying customers! 

Most appointment setting companies will also have some type of initial implementation fee. It takes a lot of work to get a new client setup for success, and they want to ensure their clients are serious about appointment setting. Most appointment setting companies also have some type of monthly minimum or a management fee. The combination of cost per appointment plus percentage of closed deals model works especially well in more transactional sales. It also aligns both companies up for better end results: more paying customers!

At OutboundView, we tell our clients to think about appointment setting as a minimum three month trial. Outbound marketing requires a lot of experimentation to figure out what resonates the best with prospects. This process doesn’t happen overnight. Results take time, but if your company is willing to be patient and stick it out for a few months, the results can be incredible.