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Appointment Rate
The appointment rate – i.e. the fraction of contacts that result in a qualfied appointment – is a direct function of the ability of the telemarketer to uncover needs and build value during the call. The more skilled the telemarketer is at asking good questions, and the better they understand your business and why someone should buy from it, the higher will be their appointment rate.

Knowing how to ask good questions takes years of training. And even then, it's all too easy for a telemarketing firm to just give a telemarketer a script that spews features, handles a few objections, minimally qualifies the prospect, and accomplishes nothing. But is it reasonable to get someone on the phone with the kind of experience needed to persuade a business owner to meet with you if you're paying them minimum wage?

Certainly, not every prospect is qualified, or worth meeting, so the appointment rate will never be 100%. But if someone has a need, you want the telemarketer to find it, and be able to persuade the prospect to talk to you about how you can help. Finding candidates who know how to do this is the greatest challenge for a telemarketing firm.

To figure out your Expected Appointment Rate, assume you have a list of 100 companies who ought to be interested in buying your product or service. Reduce it by taking out companies that are realisticlly locked into another solution (e.g. they already buy from a competitor who's a family-member, they have a large capital investment in an alternative, etc.,) or can't buy (not enough money, timing issues, etc.) Of those that are left, how many do you think your telemarketing firm reasonably ought to be able to get into? Put that in (as a percentage,) in the JV/M column. In the other column, put in (as a percentage,) how many you think someone can get into who doesn't know how to conduct a good sales call.

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