Sometimes, just getting into a room with the right person is all a skilled salesperson needs to make a sale. Trouble is, with decision-makers besieged on every side with obligations and offers, just getting into that room with that right person can be a tough sale itself.

Hence the rise of appointment setting services, outside contractors that work at breaking through the layers of gatekeepers in search of real decision-makers, with the goal of getting their clients through the door so that deals can happen. But beware. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and neither does your business. So if appointment setters are assigned that task, theyd better be good.

What Do Appointment Setting Services Do, Anyways?
The standard answer would be that, while methods of particular firms vary quite widely, the objective is universal and simple on its face: set appointments. Simple, however, doesnt mean easy in practice. In the business-to-business sales environment you cant just plop a bunch of minimum wage high school kids at a phone bank and tell them to have a go at it. Appointment setting is not the same as free-range telemarketing.

As appointment setters are salespeople, they rely on familiar sales approaches such as having a good Rolodex, using dynamic scripts, and not responding to that first knee-jerk andquot;Noandquot; by hanging up in a hurry. But these are merely tools, used by different people to different ends. For this reason, track record and personnel matter hugely when choosing an appointment setting service. Ask for references from previous clients, and ask sharp questions. But also consider visiting the appointment setting services facility to personally meet the staff.

Appointment setting services that dont make a good first impression on you probably cant be counted on to make a good first impression on your behalf with a potential customer.

Quantity and Quality
For a true salesperson, any appointment can become a sale. Quantity, then, is not to be underestimated, and can depend on the culture of the appointment setting service in question.
For example, lets say that an appointment setting service has met its andquot;quotaandquot; for the day. Does that mean everyone takes the rest of the day off, and begins catching up on their email?

That said, quality appointments are the golden goose--the reason to hire an appointment setting service in the first place. Good appointment setters can explain to you exactly how they go about their business. They have systems, and can customize them to meet your needs.

Meaningless Appointments Are a Waste of Time
The point is for salespeople to know that upcoming appointments are not a waste of time, but real opportunities to make sales. Naturally, this is good for morale, while the opposite is not. Appointment setting services should understand their part in this bigger picture.

It would be nice to just turn on a machine and let it do all the work for you. But thats not how B2B appointment setters work. At least the good ones dont.