Exclusive Telemarketed Leads » Appointment Setting

Work From Home As An Appointment Setter

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:46:27 +0000

Most small business owners are very busy people who don’t have a lot of extra time on their hands. They will happily outsource some of their daily time-consuming tasks to a telecommuter. One of these time consuming tasks is setting appointments. Appointment setting is a perfect occupation for a telecommuter. The employer doesn’t necessarily need a full-time employee to set his appointments, but at the same time needs someone that is available the majority of business hours in case his clients call in, or to make calls at different times of the day.A telecommuter is the perfect candidate for this position. As a telecommuting appointment setter you can work with your employer’s schedule. If he needs a few calls made in the morning and then wants you to be available for callbacks in the afternoon, you are there to help. Best of all, you are not limited to just one employer or client. You can easily work as an appointment setter for several business owners at the same time. This will allow you to make a fulltime income while allowing each employer to only pay you for a few hours per day or week.Setting appointments is something you can easily do from home. All you need is a phone and some way to organize yourself. A computer with Microsoft Outlook, or an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of your clients’ schedules would work well. You could even do this with a good paper calendar at first.You should have good telephone and written skills to work as an appointment setter. Previous experience as an administrative assistant or secretary is not necessary, but is definitely a plus when it comes to the skills you need and when you are approaching prospective employers or clients. You should also be fairly organized to be able to keep up with multiple appointments for multiple clients each day.As an appointment setter you will be spending a lot of time both on the phone and on email. You will be checking in with your clients (the small business owners) on a daily basis and then spend the rest of your time contacting their clients, setting up and later confirming appointments. Of course you will also keep your own clients or employers informed of any changes or cancellations throughout the day.If this is something you are interested in doing, here’s how to start. Determine your hourly rate. You should take the going rate for a task like this in an office setting into consideration and then up it from there. Your employer does not have to provide you with an office, a computer, telephone or any other equipment. You are also most likely going to be an independent contractor, which means he does not have to pay for any of your benefits or taxes. You will be responsible for all this, keep that in mind when determining your rate.Now it’s time to approach small business owners in your area with what you have to offer and start building a client base. Once you have a few happy clients, word of mouth advertising should start to bring you even more business.

Know Your Objective of Your 1st Sales Appointment

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:40:52 +0000

Have you defined what you want to happen at the conclusion of your 1st appointment? Only then can you actually set up a proficient sales methodology to achieve the defined objective more times than not. And with a pre-defined objective to your 1st appointment you can (1) set a realistic benchmark of success and (2) measure the outcome. It becomes part of your sales performance scorecard.What is a 1st appointment to proposal ratio? It’s simply how many times you gain commitment with your prospect to take the next step, as outlined by your sales process. Depending on your solutions-based product or service and your sales methodology, your ‘Next step’ may be one of the following:An on-site demonstrationA trial period of your “widget”A tour of your operations or manufacturing facilityA no-obligation surveyAn evaluation and side-by-side comparison, apples to apples A solution-based evaluation, apples to orangesWhatever your ‘Gateway’ is, be sure to attach a business rule and definition to it, and then most importantly measure it. For example, let’s look at a telecommunications company that provides voice, data and wireless services to their customer base. The objective of their first appointment is to gain commitment from their Target prospect to perform a diagnostic survey of their current services as it relates to their overall business imperatives and financial success factors for the current year and bring them back a ‘Blueprint’ of ROI based solutions. With their 1st appointment objective ‘Gateway’ defined, they come to a decision to measure that gateway by having the target prospect sign a release form that enables them to contact their current service provider and request a specification report around line, data and feature connectivity.The advantage of defining and measuring the first ‘Gateway’ is that it will provide you with a ‘Reality Mirror’ of how competent you are with the initial phase of your sales process. So if you have set a realistic benchmark company-wide of a 60% 1st Appointment to Proposal ratio and you have individuals below it, you can pro-actively provide them with targeted coaching and support tools to help them achieve the standard benchmark. And that drives more revenue.If I walk into a sales division and diagnose their 1st appointment to proposal ratio is below 60%, I immediately know up to 5 specifics: 1. They are not calling on the Highest appropriate level of contact2. They are not calling on the right type of company by industry or application3. They have not defined a 1st appointment objective (A ‘Gain Commitment’ Gateway)4. They have ‘no message’ or are poor at communicating the message5. They are selling their services instead of selling the diagnostic steps in the Process and backing it up with 3rd party validationsThe first two factors are directly related with whom you decide to call on. You probably know who uses your product or service, but you might need some business acumen training to better understand the critical financial success indicators of your prospect parallel to their Front Burner business objectives. More than often not, a low 1st appointment to proposal ratio is related to a process of not calling on the highest appropriate level of contact. By that I mean understanding the level of responsibility within a company that has the most input into a buying decision. Who has the ‘ownership’? Who is at the ‘need to know’ level? It may be more than one level or title, but it is important to resolve to a top-down selling process. A top-down selling process will raise your 1st appointment to proposal conversion rates because you are in front of the appropriate person from the start. That person has enough clout to sign on to the next step or to legitimately dismiss the process. If you are dealing with a subordinate level, to the degree of which you are will be the degree your conversion rate will expeditiously decrease. There was a start-up company in a recently de-regulated industry that had accumulated 300 million dollars in investor money to build a business. Their primary sales distribution channel was a direct sales team. They decided to retain a sales training firm to set up all sales strategies, appropriate processes and training to execute to their revenue goals. Interesting enough, they promoted just the opposite of a top down selling process. They promoted a strategy and process of initiating contact with business receptionists. That’s right, the nice folks who sit in the lobby to answer and direct all the inbound calls. They felt if you promote yourself to these receptionists, flatter then with brand reference gifts, they would eventually lead you to the right person of authority to look at the sales proposition. After all, they know all the names and extensions, and who has what title.I guess you could call it a bottom up selling process.At the same time, I was heading up a direct sales team competing directly with their services in the same geographical area. We followed the sales strategies and processes I am outlining. Our competitor’s sales cycle was longer and their average revenue per sale was smaller. Two years later, we had grown 509% and were acquired by a national company. That was the goal.Our competitor filed chapter 11, let everyone go, and liquidated all assets. End of story.The level of responsibility you decide to call on directly effects your 1st appointment to proposal ratio. Here are (8) diagnostic tips to improve your ’1st Appointment to Proposal’ ratio.1. Employ an ROI-based lead generator system that contains data recognition, classification, and custom extraction specific to your business offering2. Internally define what the objective of the 1st appointment is; a demo, a site visit, a survey or a proposal, set a benchmark of success and universally measure it.3. Promote your Product/service offering in a way to provide a measurable soft or hard dollar ROI over time.4. Call on the ‘Highest appropriate level of contact’ for your offering; one that that has fiscal authority if a proposal make business sense. 5. Use a diagnostic approach in your sales appointment to understand what your Prospect’s business objectives are in the short and long term.6. Get some ‘Business Acumen’ training to become proficient in understanding how fiscal people measure their business and support your business offering with relevant terms such as ROI, IRR and Payback Period.7. Don’t sell your product or service on the 1st appointment. Promote ‘the diagnostic steps of your process’ to evaluate the opportunity to increase performance, efficiencies or reduce costs. 8. Utilize a software proposal generator (non-Boiler-plate) that develops custom proposals specific to your Prospect’s required deliverables and how your solutions will facilitate them getting there sooner rather than later. Show examples during your 1st appointment process.Defining a specific objective for your 1st appointment, setting a realistic benchmark of achievement and measuring the outcome will begin to get you on track to an 80%+ 1st appointment to Proposal ratio. Then support the sales objective by developing or outsourcing quality tools tied to technology and best practices to allow more of your sales employees to achieve superior benchmark results.

SLC Global Lead generation and Appointment Setting

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:43:04 +0000

www.slcgs.com Amy Linger, Office Manager at Senior Level Communications, Inc., gives and overview of the lead generation and appointment setting services available at SLC Global, Inc.

Powerful “New” Marketing Strategy: Setting Expectations

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 01:40:37 +0000

Sometimes the most profound “new” marketing strategies strike you at first as not new at all. “Hey, I knew that already” doesn’t disqualify something from dramatically changing your business.
Enter setting expectations. Or more accurately, setting the right expectations. Or even more accurately, NOT not setting expectations. As a small business marketing consultant I pay a lot of attention to this stuff!
Problem: When you install an enterprise software system, the vendor must convert all the user company’s data to conform to the new system. This is normally cumbersome and takes lots of fine-tuning to get right. Meanwhile, the decision-makers at the user company start thinking, “Wait a second, this new expensive software can’t even handle the data our crappy current software handles just fine. What are we getting ourselves into.” And eveything about the installation after that seems to go a bit rockier. Why? Everything is seen through what-are-we-getting-ourselves-into eyes.
Solution: Let me tell you about one part of the installation process that can be frustrating. Data conversion takes a lot of fine-tuning. In fact, you may wonder at times why the new software can’t handle data your old system handles just fine. Don’t worry. This is a natural part of every installation and nothing to worry about.
Setting the right or more realistic expectations can improve the customer experience even though what actually happens to the customer doesn’t necessarily change. You’ve experienced this. You “get off on the wrong foot” with a vendor or customer and then notice every time there is a small glitch in the relationship. And the glitches reinforce your growing concern about their reliability. Your frame of reference: the customer or vendor is unreliable. You “get off on the right foot” and those same small glitches don’t reinforce anything. Your frame of reference: they can be trusted and a little glitch here or there doesn’t matter.
I don’t mean setting high expectations.
Problem: When a landscaping contractor remodels your back yard, the place looks awful (all torn up) for about 80% of the time. During that time the homeowner starts to question whether the contractor knows what he’s doing. After the homeowner arrives at that conclusion or level of discomfort, they notice every little imperfection.
Solution: Let me tell you how you’re going to feel throughout some of the project. Your back yard is going to look completely torn up for a long time. You’ll be thinking hey, they’re supposed to be done is three days and it looks like World War Three out there. Don’t worry. Everything comes together during the last few days of the project. I know it’s hard to imagine, but that’s just the way these projects work.
My experience is that most companies don’t set too high an expectation going into new customer relationships, it’s that they don’t set any expectations.
Problem: When a new patient comes into an Oncology practice (after they’ve been diagnosed with cancer) the first two contacts they have are with a scheduler (appointment setting, forms to fill out, medical information to bring) and a financial counselor (insurance, reimbursement). Patients can start to feel like the practice is more interested in getting paid than curing them. This can lead to the patient questioning their quality of care when they experience the little bumps that are part of any healthcare process.
Solution: All of us in the practice are here to help you beat your cancer. As you come into the practice, you’ll find there will be a lot of paperwork to get past at first. That’s just part of the system so please bare with us. We like to get all that handled up front so you and your care team can focus on one thing, your healing.
Without an attempt by the practice to set expectations, the cancer patient is left on his or her own to make sense out of what happens.
Look at the customer experience through the customers’ eyes. There are typically small “interventions” you can make early in the relationship that can help set realistic expectations. Realistic expectations foster comfort and a comfortable prospect or customer is a much happier prospect or customer.

All you need to know about Appointment Setting

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:41:34 +0000

Know more on www.generationsalesgroup.com Over the past few decades many inventions have occurred that have eased many immensely difficult tasks into being mere childs play. With all this shrinking, it could not have been possible for the business world to stay apart and businesses to stay independent of each other. With everyone looking for the others time, appointment setting itself has turned into a business needed by most businesses.

Telecommuting Idea: Appointment Setter

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:43:45 +0000

Most small business owners are very busy people who don’t have a lot of extra time on their hands. They will happily outsource some of their daily time-consuming tasks to a telecommuter. One of these time consuming tasks is setting appointments. Appointment setting is a perfect occupation for a telecommuter. The employer doesn’t necessarily need a full-time employee to set his appointments, but at the same time needs someone that is available the majority of business hours in case his clients call in, or to make calls at different times of the day.
A telecommuter is the perfect candidate for this position. As a telecommuting appointment setter you can work with your employer’s schedule. If he needs a few calls made in the morning and then wants you to be available for callbacks in the afternoon, you are there to help. Best of all, you are not limited to just one employer or client. You can easily work as an appointment setter for several business owners at the same time. This will allow you to make a fulltime income while allowing each employer to only pay you for a few hours per day or week.
Setting appointments is something you can easily do from home. All you need is a phone and some way to organize yourself. A computer with Microsoft Outlook, or an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of your clients’ schedules would work well. You could even do this with a good paper calendar at first.
You should have good telephone and written skills to work as an appointment setter. Previous experience as an administrative assistant or secretary is not necessary, but is definitely a plus when it comes to the skills you need and when you are approaching prospective employers or clients. You should also be fairly organized to be able to keep up with multiple appointments for multiple clients each day.
As an appointment setter you will be spending a lot of time both on the phone and on email. You will be checking in with your clients (the small business owners) on a daily basis and then spend the rest of your time contacting their clients, setting up and later confirming appointments. Of course you will also keep your own clients or employers informed of any changes or cancellations throughout the day.
If this is something you are interested in doing, here’s how to start. Determine your hourly rate. You should take the going rate for a task like this in an office setting into consideration and then up it from there. Your employer does not have to provide you with an office, a computer, telephone or any other equipment. You are also most likely going to be an independent contractor, which means he does not have to pay for any of your benefits or taxes. You will be responsible for all this, keep that in mind when determining your rate.
Now it’s time to approach small business owners in your area with what you have to offer and start building a client base. Once you have a few happy clients, word of mouth advertising should start to bring you even more business.

4More Appointments, Inc. March Madness Update

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:45:23 +0000

There are several of you who have inquired about the status of your team in our 1st Qtr. 2010 March Madness contest. If your supervisor reached Our Sweet 16 you do get a free campaign equal to your original.

The battle has been brutal. The objective was to put the supervisors head to head in a contest that would see which teams could get the most appointments or live phone transfers Each supervisor was given an equal amount of campign hours to call and each were allowed to draw up to 8 players on their roster but could only use 6 of their statistics for each day’s performance.

The contest began immediately with some upsets because of overtime. We had reps running until 9pm for at least 4 solid nights in the first week of the contest. We got alot of good feed back from the clients but it was really the performance that made them get up cheer. We wish you all the best with your success and hope that the hard work we do for you can yield results, with or without a win in our 1st Qtr. 2010 March Madness contest.

Without further hesitation:

The are only 4 Sups left standing in our contest. Pat Murphy, Erik Lind, Steve Piersanti and Per Vanreekden (We had a super quick elimination process that left several supervisors staying late to get the most live calls transferred or appointments set in the very beginning of our contest.) Murphy advanced with a stunning upset of Hammerin’ Herb Wells and his crew. Nice job with the extra effort. Erik Lind, my brother, also managed to get his team into the finals. He is the center director but wanted to get a team to compete. In a miracle he has taken 6 campaigns running on fumes and a handful of reps from the sales floor and upset Kelly Drew and his team. Kelly has yet to recover. Steve Piersanti is on fire. Steve has a team full of straight up sizzlers on the phone and basically are the team to beat. Per Van Reekden on a service campaign and is being goaled on AHT (Average Handling Time. Great Job Team. Good Luck

Kristina

Encino Dentist, Encino Cosmetic Dental Group, Is Now Offering Online Appointment Requesting Via The Practice’s Website

admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 13:41:27 +0000

West Orange Cosmetic Dentist Now Accepting Online Appointment Requests

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:42:47 +0000

“There’s no excuse to put off making an appointment with our new and easy to use appointment requesting feature,” said Dr. Feldman. “Visit our site, fill out the appropriate information, and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible with your confirmed day and time. The best part is that busy patients who can’t make an appointment during our regular hours can easily request an appointment in the middle of the night if they so choose.”

Dr. Feldman has been providing general and cosmetic dental care since 1983 for patients of all ages. Providing a variety of professional cosmetic dental care, including whitening, contouring, veneers and crowns, this cosmetic dentist in West Orange, NJ is experienced and highly qualified to serve every dental need. To further testify his superior dentistry skills and expertise, Dr. Feldman was named one of America’s Top Dentists by the Consumer Research Council of America from 2005-2009.

The practice’s comprehensive website is rich in valuable information about cosmetic dentistry, practice details and service descriptions. The patient education library allows patients to access information on symptoms, treatments and prevention, while the educational videos provide a visually stimulating look at how to achieve the best dental health possible. From office hours and staff bios to practice directions and new patient forms, this easy to use website has all the information a patient in West Orange will ever need for healthy teeth and gums.

The new website for Dr. Feldman’s practice was designed by dental website and Internet marketing expert, Officite. From stunning designs and advanced search engine optimization strategies to local pay-per-click advertising and social networking, Officite has helped over 4,600 dentists and doctors grow their practices and increase patient flow for nearly a decade.

“A dentist’s website should highlight more than basic office details and dentist bios. It should empower patients to make informed decisions about their dental health and make achieving dental care easy and convenient. Officite’s new appointment requesting tool has permitted dentists to streamline dental care while making appointment requesting easier than ever for the patient,” said Glenn Lombardi, President of Officite.

Dr. Feldman and his team of dental professionals strive to provide exceptional dental care and healthy smiles for patients in West Orange. The new, convenient online appointment scheduling combined with Dr. Feldman’s genuine concern for every patient makes this dentist in West Orange the best choice when it comes to dental care in West Orange, NJ.

How Online Appointment Software Can Streamline Your Auto Repair Business

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:41:59 +0000

One of the best businesses to enter into, if you are a certified mechanic and have an entrepreneurial spirit, is an auto repair business. People will always drive cars, and cars will always break down, meaning that you provide a service that people will always need. Especially in these hard economic times, people are far more likely to keep their current cars and trucks in good repair, rather than let them wear down in order to buy replacement vehicles. However, if you are currently running your own auto repair business, you have already likely discovered the one thing that pretty much overwhelms your entire business – administrative tasks. The fact is that, with any small business, the management of administrative tasks is likely to take up more of your time than actually repairing cars and trucks will. But never fear. The 21st century has an answer to this problem, and it is surprisingly simple. Online appointment setting and scheduling software is making it easier than ever for businesses like yours to manage their administrative tasks and focus on the actual details of the auto repair business.Online Software Allows Your Clients To Set Appointments AutomaticallyThis online booking software allows you to let your clients go to a Web site, see the available appointments you have, and then set them. This is a far sight better than the customer bringing in the car and having it sit there for days until you are able to get to it. In that time, you have to store it, secure it and you are responsible for its safety. Through the online software, your customers will know when you are available to work on their car, and they can bring it in at that time without hassle for efficient repairs.Automatically Let Customers Know When Repairs Are CompletedAnother great feature is that through the use of automatic updates, you will be able to instantly inform your customers that the repairs of their car or truck are entirely complete. Simply set the status of your online appointment to “complete” and an electronic update will be sent to the customer. In this age of smart phones and instant email, your customer will know right away that the car is done, and to pick it up as soon as possible.