10 Undeniable Reasons to Outsource B2B Appointment Setting

Appointments are the driving force behind most successful B2B companies. Regardless of what your B2B company sells, you'll need to nurture prospects into buyers. While most prospects may initially reject your offer, they may agree to an appointment. Appointments are opportunities to nurture prospects while simultaneously moving through your B2B company's sales funnel. Rather than performing it in-house, though, you may want to outsource your B2B company's appointment setting strategy.

#1) Saves Time

Outsourcing your B2B company's appointment setting strategy will save you time. Research shows that it takes eight touches on average to convince a prospect to book an appointment with a sales rep. That's a lot of time calling and emailing prospects. And the more time you spend trying to reach prospects, the less time you'll have to actually pitch your B2B company's products or services. With outsourced appointment setting, a third-party lead generation specialist will contact prospects and collect leads on your B2B company's behalf, allowing you to focus on lead generation for manufacturing and industrial sales and marketing services.

#2) Improved Targeting

By outsourcing your B2B company's appointment setting strategy, you can take advantage of improved targeting. Also known as appointment setters, third-party lead generation specialists know how to identify prospects who match your B2B company's buyer profile. They'll research your B2B company to determine who typically buys its products or services, after which the appointment setters will selectively target similar prospects. The end result is high-quality appointments with prospects who are ready to make a purchase, enhancing your customer acquisition efforts and driving manufacturing revenue growth.

#3) Automated Tracking

Another reason to outsource your B2B company's appointment setting strategy involves tracking. All appointments require tracking. You'll need to keep track of which prospects have booked an appointment and the respective dates of those appointments. Failure to track appointments will result in lost sales opportunities and potentially even disgruntled prospects.

Tracking appointments is a breeze with outsourced appointment setting. The appointment setter with whom you partner will track them automatically. Most appointment setters use software to automatically track appointments. After securing appointments on behalf of your B2B company, the appointment setter will simply relay the names of the prospects and the dates of the appointments. It's an easier way to track appointments than performing in-house appointment setting, the latter of which may require manual tracking. This is especially useful in industrial marketing and strategic prospecting.

#4) Deeper Analytics

Analytics can make or break an appointment setting strategy. Any time you communicate with a prospect, you can learn about the prospect for sales purposes. Appointment setting, of course, involves talking or otherwise communicating with prospects. You can analyze metrics, such as call time or response time, to gain a better understanding of a prospect and whether he or she is ready to make a purchase. Outsourcing your B2B company's appointment setting strategy can provide you with deeper analytics.

Appointment setters use analytics software and tools to better understand the prospects with whom they communicate. As they communicate with prospects, they may collect information such as:

• Prospects' job titles

• Budgets

• Type of product or service needed

• Purchasing timeline

This data is crucial for effective industrial market intelligence and improving lead nurturing practices.

#5) Eliminates Redundant Targeting

Redundant targeting isn't a concern with an outsourced appointment setting strategy. Whether in-house or outsourced, appointment setting requires contacting prospects. Redundant targeting, though, involves accidentally contacting the same prospect two or more times. A prospect may reject your offer for an appointment, but assuming you don't remove him or her from your list, you may accidentally contact the same prospect again. The good news is that you can avoid redundant targeting by outsourcing your B2B company's appointment setting strategy, ensuring efficient use of your lead generation resources.

#6) Lead Qualification

With outsourced appointment setting, you can leverage lead qualification. Statistics show that only about one in four leads passed from marketing teams to sales teams are qualified. Most leads are unqualified, meaning they haven't been vetted, scored, or otherwise checked for quality purposes. You can obtain qualified leads, however, from outsourced appointment setting. The appointment setter with whom you partner can qualify leads before passing them down to your B2B company, improving your lead generation for manufacturing and industrial sectors.

#7) Cleaner Data Records

A benefit of outsourced appointment setting that's often overlooked is cleaner data records. Nearly all B2B companies keep data records. Each prospect and buyer with whom your B2B company communicates, for example, will probably have their own data record. While outsourcing your B2B company's appointment setting strategy won't eliminate the need for record-keeping, it will likely create cleaner records. The appointment setter will collect, curate, and store data. And the appointment setter will typically consolidate this data before passing it down to your B2B company, enhancing your business development and customer acquisition processes.

#8) Improved Freshness

Leads obtained from outsourced appointment setting are often "fresher" than those generated in-house. Fresh leads are defined by age. They are new leads that were recently obtained. Appointment setters know the importance of targeting fresh leads. After securing an appointment with a new prospect, they'll relay the lead to your B2B company. If you perform appointment setting in-house, conversely, you may experience more stale leads and fewer fresh leads. Fresh leads are crucial for material handling marketing and forklift sales.

#9) Higher Appointment Conversion Rates

What's your typical conversion rate when soliciting appointments from prospects? Appointment conversion rates can vary depending on countless factors. With that said, outsourcing your B2B company's appointment setting strategy will almost always result in higher conversion rates. Professional appointment setters know how to persuade prospects to book an appointment, enhancing your sales strategy and increasing your overall success in industrial sales.

#10) Focus on Closing Deals

With outsourced appointment setting, you can focus on closing more deals. Appointment setting takes time. You'll have to identify prospects who match your B2B company's buyer profile, after which you'll have to contact those prospects to solicit an appointment from them. Even then, it may take a half-dozen or more touches until you reach a prospect. Instead of performing it in-house, you can outsource your B2B company's appointment setting strategy. Doing so will allow you to focus your time and energy on closing deals, enhancing your sales development and business development efforts.

As you can see, outsourced appointment setting offers several benefits. It saves time, offers improved targeting, automated tracking, deeper analytics, eliminates redundant targeting, allows for lead qualification, cleaner data records, improved freshness, and more. If your B2B company is still securing appointments in-house, you may want to partner with a professional appointment setter like SalesLeads for these reasons. Take a look at our prospecting services now. By leveraging outsourced appointment setting, you can improve lead generation for manufacturing, drive manufacturing revenue growth, and enhance your overall business development strategy.