In appointment setting there’s no one size fits all approach, the types of appointments you set and how you set them can differ massively depending on who you are, what you do and who you are targeting.
If you’re a business that’s looking at developing an appointment setting strategy, you’ll need to be considering what types of appointments will help make your sales process as smooth as possible.
In this article we’ll be delving into each type of sales appointment, covering when they should be used who they should be used by, and when they are most effective.
Phone Call Appointment
One of the most common types of appointments is a simple phone call. These are typically easier to obtain than other forms of appointments and are seen as much less of a commitment. They're great for fact-finding calls, to find out more about their business, what they're looking for, and whether they will qualify as a lead for your business.
These appointments are usually set around the start of the sales process and tend to be set when a prospect is unable to have a discussion at the time of the initial call so a phone call appointment is scheduled for another time.
They are great for simply having a talk with the prospect to gain their initial thoughts on your offerings, to gauge whether they are the right customer for you and building up that interest which can then be followed-up on in future appointments.
Video Call Appointment
When the pandemic hit, many businesses had to switch to video appointments due to social distancing rules. What many businesses came to realise, is video call appointments are not only easier to obtain, but practically do the same job as a face-to-face appointment - minus the travel times and costs!
Video call appointments work great as a follow-up to a phone call once some interest has been built and the prospect looks to be getting closer final stages of conversion. They can act as an alternative to a face-to-face appointment, essentially serving the same purpose while saving time and costs spent travelling and attending the appointment in person.
These types of appointments are especially great when it comes to sales presentations and showcasing online products or services, as they are ideal for sharing screens and easily walking through all the features of these offerings online.
Although video calls on platforms like Zoom, Skype and Microsoft Teams still sometimes can’t capture the same value face-to-face appointments offer for some businesses.
Face-to-Face Appointments
You may be thinking that in today’s digital age and with the pandemic’s influence on how we now communicate, are face to face appointments even relevant anymore?
Many businesses have opted to host most of their appointments online, yet this approach doesn’t always work for all. Some businesses still do require that in-person meetup to really connect, sell and showcase their product or service.
These face-to-face appointments are especially great for businesses that provide a physical product or service, for example a tech company providing products like digital display screens or telecoms, etc. can show how their devices work and give a full demonstration in this appointment. Also, service companies like contractors will need to see and discuss the scale of work that they might be carrying out so they can provide an accurate quote, making this type of appointment perfect for them.
Setting a face-to-face appointment will tend to come towards the end of the conversion process with a potential customer, as these appointments can feel like a lot more commitment for the prospect compared to a simple phone or video call.
It's even more important to qualify appointments like these, as these are the appointments that will take the most time. The last thing you want is to book a face-to-face appointment for one of your sales reps, and after hours and many miles of travelling, find that they don't have the budget to go ahead or that the person you're meeting with isn't the right decision-maker.
Overall, face-to-face appointments are still a popular approach for physical product or service demonstrations and give businesses a chance to properly sit down, meet and talk through things in person.
Outsourcing Your Appointment Setting
So, if you're looking to make appointment setting less stressful and time-consuming, we can help.
We provide qualified appointment setting services for businesses that are looking to outsource, freeing up more time to prepare and attend appointments while leaving the hassle of setting them to us.
If you would be interested in outsourcing then head over to our appointment setting page, or get in touch to discuss how we can help!