The 3 Must-Have Competencies for Your B2B Outsourced Appointment Setting Firm

By Valerie Schlitt

Call it what you will — Inside Sales, Appointment Setting, Demand Generation, Lead Generation or Cold Calling — it’s a critical business operation that helps companies fill their sales pipelines, and one that companies are increasingly outsourcing.

The goal of a telephone lead generation program is to find qualified and interested sales opportunities.  These opportunities will be presented to the sales team who is responsible for converting them into paying clients.

For a growing number of companies, Inside Sales (as this function is increasingly called), is a necessity. It is often the single biggest steady source of qualified leads in competitive markets. But companies often do not want to make the required investment in this operation, so they hire an outside firm to carry out this role for them.

As a result of increased outsourcing demand, and the relative ease of setting up shop, an entire industry has blossomed. Just search “appointment setting” online. The first 30 pages are full of companies offering this service. Now, add the firms listed under Inside Sales, and those under Cold Calling, and the options are virtually endless.

Most appointment-setting firms are small with fewer than 100 employees and are privately owned. They are geographically dispersed with some in the U.S. and others off-shore. Some operate from homes, others from offices. Some firms charge by the hour, others by the call and still others by the appointment. There is no national association or rating agency. In fact, there are very few ways to know the difference between firms when looking in from the outside.

What to Look For in an Outsourced Appointment Setting Agency

So how can your company get an insider’s look?

Your choice of B2B appointment outsourcing professionals should be able to answer these questions, focusing on the following three core components.

#1: The right people, any time, all the time

In this component, clients are essentially buying an Inside Sales staffing agency with excellent people management skills and strong training capabilities.

The best outsourced appointment setting agencies have an ongoing means of attracting, training and retaining the best appointment setters. This is especially difficult in an industry where work levels are never guaranteed, nor are they on an even keel, and employee burn-out is rampant. The really strong players know how to keep good staff, regardless of how busy the firm is now, or plans to be in the future. Way before workloads increase, the best firms gear up. When workloads are about to drop, they identify ways to retain the best agents.

The most successful avoid turnover like the plague by creating a positive work environment that becomes a “home” for the appointment setting team.

The risks of selecting a firm who does not focus on hiring and keeping a full staff of the right people are: a bait and switch situation (suddenly the 3^rd tier employees are on your team), and inconsistent results (shifting good people on and off the program), and worse, not being able to fill your pipeline.

Questions to ask when you interview appointment-setting firms:

1. What is your hiring process?
2. What is your employee retention rate?
3. How do you train?
4. What is the profile of an average employee?
5. Why do your employees work for you?
6. How would your employees describe your work environment?
7. What was an example of a bad hire? How did he/she pass the hiring process and what did you do about it?

#2: Knowledge and experience

In this component, clients are essentially purchasing customizable, high-level marketing and sales guidance.

The cold call is often the first point of contact, and as Will Rogers said, “You will never get a second chance to make a first impression.” That’s why it’s risky for companies to allow just anyone to talk to their prospective clients. Companies who outsource want a firm that is credible with employees who know how to engage in effective conversation.  They want a firm who can design and manage lead generation programs, not just slap a script together and dial.

This kind of expertise cannot be built overnight. It comes with long-term experience and a commitment to staying abreast of industry trends. It comes from years of trial and error on someone else’s dime. (Let’s face it, we all learn best through experience.) While the outsourced firm might need to learn the basics of their clients’ products or services, the real skill is knowing how to sell appointments.

The risks of selecting a firm who does not have the right knowledge and experience are:  inability to maximize results (because the firm does not know how to structure and optimize a program), not being able to isolate the cause of poor performance, and worse, a tarnished or ruined reputation among target decision makers (because of an inappropriate message or barraging with too many calls).

Questions to ask when you interview appointment-setting firms:

1. How long have you been in business?
2. What is your professional background, and the background of your firm’s leadership team?
3. What industry events and/or conferences do you attend? What publications do you read?
4. What is your program/campaign preparation process?
5. How do you benchmark yourself against your competition?
6. Can you give an example of a campaign that didn’t work, and why? What did you do to improve it?

#3: Financial resources for a successful partnership

In this component, clients are essentially buying an investment philosophy that values long run viability over short term gains. They want to know their partner will be there in the future.

The best firms in the outsourced cold calling industry have proven staying power. They have been around for years, and are not put off by market boons and busts. They’ve invested in the appropriate technology, and buy/upgrade software to execute effective programs and track results. They have the space to expand and contract depending on seasonality and demand. They can weather economic downturns and invest in their futures. Long term clients expect their outsourced partner to be here next year, and the year after. No one is looking for a fly-by-night partner.

The risks of not working with a firm with solid financial footings are:  lack of continuity because of management turnover, never fully optimizing results because of lack of technology (which is required to remain competitive), and worse, loss of your investment because the firm is no longer in business (no joke, this happens!)

Questions to ask when you interview appointment-setting firms:

1. What kind of CRM and phone system do you use?
2. Can you: (pick one or several that are important to you, to see the response)
   • Send emails for your clients?
   • Receive return phone calls?
   • Dial with a caller ID that looks like my firm?
   • Update my calendar with appointments you set?
3. What is your reporting like, and what is its frequency?
4. How will we be notified of opportunities?
5. What is your client retention rate?
6. Do you have access to any online databases?
7. What are your company’s growth plans?
8. What is one investment that you made in your firm that really paid off?
9. What is one investment you wish you could make, but are holding off?

Just as with hiring your own Outside Sales team, the proper questions must be asked of your outsourced Inside Sales force to make sure the hire is worth your investment of both time and money.

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