Roadblocks in appointment setting is a challenge you or your industrial sales team has likely come across. Roadblocks can come in many flavors such as long sales cycles, problems with identifying and reaching the right contact or working from an outdated database. Appointment setting is vital if you want the sales process to begin. It allows sales professionals to connect with potential clients, understand the needs of the prospect, and based on the needs, briefly discuss why this may be a good fit. A good way to secure the appointment. There are other effective appointment setting strategies. Let’s take a look at a few more.
One of the biggest challenges in appointment setting is when the sales lead lacks quality. This can come in the form of outdated contact, wrong phone number or they don’t even have X in order to purchase your product or service.
Without a consistent number of qualified prospects entering the sales funnel, sales professionals may not be able to reach their monthly or yearly quota.
Be sure to learn more about how Industrial Prospecting Services can help you combat this common roadblock.
Another roadblock in appointment setting is the limited availability of decision-makers. In the industrial industry, key decision-makers are often busy with various responsibilities and may not have the time to meet with sales professionals. The questions you need to ask are, “does the decision maker come in early?” “Does the decision maker stay late?” Trying new days and times can be effective.
Unless you are brand new to the market with no competition, you will experience competition. You as well as your competitors are constantly vying for the attention of potential clients. This can make it difficult to stand out and secure appointments with key decision-makers, especially when competitors are offering similar products or services. Is your pitch ready? Are you selling on price or feature? How are you positioning your benefits?
There are a few tactics to consider. First, you can use marketing tactics to generate sales leads such as targeted online advertising, consistent content generation marketing, trade shows and networking events to attract leads.
Another more strategic lead generation tactic is with Prospecting Services. This type of service works with you to identify your best customer so those same type of customers can be targeted for appointment setting. This tactic gets leads in the sales funnel…faster so the sales process can be more efficient and potentially faster to close.
Develop a strategic follow-up process to stay ‘top of mind’ of prospects and decision-makers. By nurturing relationships through personalized communication and timely follow-ups, you will be able to increase the chance of securing appointments.
Make your company stand out from competitors by starting off with a unique differentiation that has been of interest to other customers. They may have this ‘need’ in common. Next, state the value propositions, and round it out with an applicable success story. By showcasing what sets your company apart, you can capture the attention of decision-makers and clearly show why they should consider your product or service to evaluate and then purchase.
Let’s allow your sales team to do what they do best…Sell. Find out how Industrial Prospecting Services can work for your sales team.