Theres no doubt about it - sales appointment setting is an important aspect of B2B sales and business growth.
Landing in-person or Zoom meetings with key decision-makers provides salespeople with the opportunity to respond directly to a prospects needs and pain points.
Yet, scheduling B2B sales appointments is no easy task. Lets review why:
Complex Buying Committees: Selling to businesses is much more complex than selling to individuals. The buying committee involves many more influencers and decision-makers.
More Informed Buyers: B2B decision-makers often have in-depth knowledge of market and product options prior to speaking with a sales rep. Sometimes, even more so than your own sales experts. For this reason, sales reps need up-to-date knowledge of the market and a real understanding of each prospects challenges to deliver the best solution.
High-Risk Purchases: The stakes are much higher during B2B transactions, so negotiations may take longer than expected. With more money on the line, sometimes millions of dollars, deals often take months to close.
So how do you set up and secure sales appointments? Well, it can be tricky - but fear not! In todays blog post, we explore eight tips to make the process easier.
8 B2B Sales Appointment Setting Techniques
1. Work with a Sales Intelligence Provider
Before placing any calls, you must acquire the necessary data and information about your target prospects and customers. Without access to sales intelligence, sales reps will have a difficult time connecting with decision-makers and influencing their purchase decisions.
For this reason, we recommend working with a B2B contact database or sales enablement tool. Using such would provide you with:
Direct-dial phone numbers
Confirmed email addresses
Opportunity insights
Company demographics
Tech stacks
Competitor information
2. Prepare Notes
An organized salesperson comes across as reliable and trustworthy. So, make sure to prepare the required documents, information, and data beforehand. Dont leave anything until the last minute.
Practice what to say, including how to present product options and the core benefits of your services. Its important to take the time and effort needed to conduct research and write a strong script - preparedness is key!
3. Dont Take Up Too Much of Your Prospects Time
Your prospects time is valuable. If your prospect is busy, arrange a more appropriate time for the phone call. Always be flexible. Rather than providing a one-time slot, offer different times so your prospect can choose the most convenient option.
Its also important to reply promptly to any inquiries the prospect has between the original conversation and your secondary sales appointment - whether by phone or email. Think about it: A delay in communication may give a prospect second thoughts about working with you.
4. Be a Problem Solver
B2B prospects buy products and services in order to solve a problem. Therefore, its up to you as the salesperson to identify that need and offer a solution.
While attempting to set an appointment, ask questions and listen closely to the answers. Then, make a detailed report regarding the prospects needs and problems to stay organized. According to a DemandGen report, 97% of B2B buyers agreed that sales reps who demonstrated a strong knowledge of their needs were important to them.
Your focus should be to find solutions that will make each prospects life easier. Rather than give generic examples, demonstrate how your product can meet their unique needs. Position yourself as a partner or a consultant to the buyer rather than a pushy salesman.