How important is measuring the number of dials to B2B appointment setting success?
Next To worthless.
Over the course of many years and personally setting 2,000+ high-level sales appointments, what activity did I never keep track of? … The number of dials I made.
What do managers say to this appointment setting revelation? “You have to be kidding me?”
What do successful appointment setters say? “Of course!”
Why is measuring dial activity next to worthless when seeking to set appointments? Three reasons.
1. Top appointment setters do not make the most dials. They work a cold calling plan and actually get people to pick up the phone and talk to them. That takes time.
2. You tend to get what you measure. If management “whips them harder” by emphasizing dial activity, they tend to get more dial activity. But management needs results, not activity, and it is results that should be measured. You get what you measure.
3. Assuming someone is within a reasonable range of dial activity… let me repeat…assuming someone is within a reasonable range of dial activity… significant leaps in results come from improving three factors that SHOULD be measured.
What are the three factors that SHOULD be measured and tracked?
1. The number of records that fit the profile of good accounts you desire, that you initiate your prospecting process with on a daily or weekly basis.
2. The number of “conversations” you have with identified decision-makers within those targeted suspect accounts.
3. The conversion ratio of conversations to appointments.
Successful appointment setters focus on measuring and moving the numbers on those three factors. That leads to quantum leaps in appointment setting success. A coaching client called me yesterday to report setting 5 high-level appointments in two days (her quota was 10 a month.)
Why the jump in results? After learning all the process, scripts and techniques, I had encouraged her to focus on moving her numbers on those three key factors. Never mentioned dials.
She did specific things to launch her B2B appointment setting process with more qualified suspects.
She did specific things and worked a complete sales lead generation plan in order to have more conversations with identified decision-makers.
She said specific things reduced to writing in her phone scripts to convert more conversations to appointments.
Voila! More results. No mention of dial activity.
Professional appointment setting measures and focuses on results.
More activity, without focused priority placement of calls and strategic phone script phrasing will not lead you to B2B appointment setting success.
Best wishes for sales success,
Scott Channell
