I'm Not Making The Cold Calls!

At a holiday party, a well-dressed, articulate woman and I engaged in conversation. She said she was a former account executive for a top marketing company and I told her my company makes prospecting cold calls and sets sales appointments for a variety of companies.

She looked at me and said, "I get it. What a great idea. When I was a sales rep there was no way I was going to make cold calls, in person or on the phone!" She went on to say that she relied on internal leads from an inside sales appointment group and referrals.

When I asked if she could make more money by prospecting herself she said, "absolutely, but I did well enough. I didn't get rich, but did OK."

Her former company, that wanted the sales force to prospect, but didn't enforce it, is now out of business. Maybe too many sales people were happy to do just enough to be OK.

90% of Some Marketing Budgets Spent on Appointment Setting

By Sally Johnson

It’s important enough to focus on and I can’t stress it enough… Telemarketing is used to set appointments because it works!

Some businesses are so aware of how effective this is that they spend as much as 90% of their marketing budgets to have telemarketers set appointments for their salespeople. Getting their sales reps in front of the right decision maker increases the liklihood of a sale, and businesses know it!

That’s because the sales person is able to have an uninterrupted and exclusive time with the prospect. This undivided attention gives a good sales person the chance to present the features and benefits of the product, answer objections and close the sale. It’s much harder for the prospect to say “no” when they are face-to-face with the presenter.

In fact, it increases the sales rate dramatically and businesses know this. Cold calling is a drudgery compared to having a standing appointment already set for an in-person meeting with the decision maker. Telemarketing is used to set appointments and businesses have found it to be worth the expense.

Sally Johnson has been in the telemarketing business for over 20 years and now enjoys written and researching new industy trends.