The Pros & Cons of Hiring an Appointment Setting Company
- Scott Peterson
- Dec 19, 2023
- 2 min read
As a growth-minded leader of a B2B services firm, one of the primary challenges is generating high-quality leads and securing appointments with potential prospects. In today’s crowded, noisy and highly competitive marketplace, this problem is common.
Personally, it’s remarkable how many emails I get each day from appointment setting companies promising to fill the top of my sales funnel with qualified prospects & opportunities.
Additionally, my clients often ask for my feedback & experience on working with an outsourced appointment setting company to bolster their top of funnel efforts.
Here are the Pros & Cons I’ve observed within the outsourced lead generation model.
The Pros:
Focus: These companies dedicate their time and resources to appointment setting, leveraging tested strategies and staying current with best practices.
Volume: Many B2B firms lack dedicated business development reps, leading to minimal or sporadic prospecting. Outsourcing provides an active outbound sales arm targeting their market.
Consistency: Unlike firms that prospect sporadically (prospect when empty, don’t prospect when working in-process opportunities), these outsourced companies maintain consistent outreach efforts.
Hiring & Onboarding: They have an existing team ready to set appointments and a streamlined process for onboarding more as needed.
The Cons:
Misaligned Prospects: Casting a wide net (to hit their “scheduled appointment” goal) can yield low-quality meetings with prospects that don't align with your ideal client profile. (I have yet to hear about a “Blue Chip” client win through an outsourced appointment setting company.)
Conversion Challenges: As a result, many of these “Scheduled Appointments” lack quality, resulting in poor conversion rates.
Communication & Control: As they operate independently, visibility and control over their activities are limited.
Limited Talent Development: Outsourcing can hinder building an internal sales engine and developing future sales talent (Account Executives & Account Managers). Some of these organizations will let you hire your appointment setting individual, but not without a hefty placement fee.
Premium Price: Typically, the B2B company double what the BDR makes. In other words, they are paying $80K - $100K for an appointment setter making $40K - $50K.
Impact on Exit Strategy: Having an outsourced model may not align with the requirements of potential buyers looking for an in-house sales engine.
The Bottom Line
While there are pros & cons to this appointment setting model, it's often unsuitable for firms lacking a refined strategy, repeatable processes, and an aligned sales structure. Rushing into outsourcing without these foundations can lead to wasted time and resources.
For those well-prepared with a “Blue Chip” strategy, process and structure, outsourcing could be a viable option. However, investing in a full-time Business Development Rep might be a wiser long-term choice.
Regardless of the chosen path, refining and aligning your sales strategy, processes, and structure are crucial steps forward.
Thank you for sharing your insights on the pros and cons of hiring an appointment setting company. I appreciate your point about misaligned prospects, as it resonates with my own experiences. I’ve often thought of these services as a sort of "girlfriend generator " for sales leads—promising connections but sometimes yielding mismatched results. Ultimately, ensuring a solid sales strategy seems essential before outsourcing.