We at VSA focus on B2B appointment setting for complex products and services, mainly those with long prospecting time-frames and difficult to reach decision makers. We have built our entire infrastructure to support the kind of B2B appointment setting that must be performed for these kinds of products and services. From our CRM technology to our calling process and right down to our hiring practices for B2B appointment setters, we focus on building and maintaining one of the most successful B2B telemarketing companies for complex products and services.
But, what, really is the difference in B2B appointment setting for a simple product vs. a complex product?
Alternative energy, payroll services and document management could all be considered simple products. They compete in a crowded market, most every firm uses the product, the decision makers are often not senior level executives and the products/services and are essentially commodities that compete on price. The key to successful B2B appointment setting in these markets is numbers, numbers, numbers. Each cold caller must make huge volumes of calls to produce a sufficient number of appointments and generate acceptable ROI’s. Typically B2B telemarketing companies who support these products have predictive dialers and hire appointment setters who read directly from scripts and require little training before jumping on the phone. VSA does not use a dialer and would not be a good fit for these kinds of products/services.
B2B telemarketing companies like VSA focus on programs such as fleet logistics and telematics solutions, pharmacy fulfillment at the point of care, and full service marketing research. These are really complex offerings and not every cold caller can be put on such programs. Decision makers are at the senior-most levels of the organizations, and cold callers typically start calling into a company not knowing exactly who the decision maker is. That’s why our cold callers spend a great deal of time – an inordinate amount of time – finding the decision maker and attempting to set that appointment. It’s worth the time because the products and services B2B telemarketing companies like VSA represent are expensive and have large profit margins.
Imagine how competent the B2B appointment setter must be! The cold caller must be able to talk to C-level individuals without hesitation, understand the basic nuances of the products they are representing, develop rapport with gatekeepers and write emails. Yes, most senior level people don’t pick up the phone very often. Our cold callers follow up with personalized emails, and often we are able to set appointments just by communicating via email. The number of calls B2B telemarketing companies like VSA make are not always as important as the quality of our calls, emails and sleuthing to find the decision maker.
So, is there a difference between a firm that specializes in complex products and services and a firm that doesn’t? Absolutely. Clients who have a simple product would be wasting money going to a firm who specializes in complex products/services. Likewise, a client who has a complex product will not receive the full set of services needed to successfully prospect for a complex offering.
There is a place for all kinds of programs, and it’s important that companies choose B2B telemarketing companies that are right for their offerings.