Seems to me that if you are calling a prospect and you build enough of a rapport that you can get the qualifying information from them, then it is a risk to then have an additional representative call them back again to close on an appointment who may then send yet another representative to actually meet for a sales call.

More than price, quality or any other consideration, consumers of every industry really want one thing (even if only subconsciously)- make their lives easier. Being contacted by three company reps before even having the option to say “yes” isn’t a simplification of the prospect’s life.

Just my own thoughts.
L

1. What industry is this?
2. Product, one-time service, or ongoing service?
3. What’s the normal value per sale?
4. How is it financed/paid for?
5. Is this a one-time sale or will there be significant repeat and referral business as part of your business model?
6. Who is providing the customer service after the sale?

Qualifiers: Prospecting a cold list to filter likely candidates for sales meetings. Compensated hourly and based on final total sales figures multiplied by a percentage factor of successful appointments (to prevent them throwing everything to the Appointment setters)

Appointment setters: Call qualified leads and set appointments. Compensated based on final total sales figures multiplied by a percentage factor of successful closes.

Closers: Go to/on appointments and make the sale. Compensated based on the percentage that they personally close.

In some companies, the qualifier, appointment setter, and closer might all be the same person. But in my opinion and experience these are very different skills. Some may be good qualifiers while others good closers and some good at getting the appointment, but these might not all be the same person.

One can also leverage economies of scale here. A small number of people can qualify a very large pool. A small number of appointment setters can work off a well-regulated qualified lead list. A small number of sales people can work off a well-regulated number of appointments. And all compensated based on results.

Just a thought. Keep up the good work!

“Let’s say you have a bunch of folks doing cold calling with the expectation that all they are doing is qualifying. How do you measure they’re results?”

Your question made me think.

I’m more talking about a salesperson who manages his sales cycle from first contact to customer service after the sale… and therefore is judged by the numbers he or she brings in. This salesperson has a strong incentive to maximize the effectiveness of their cold calls and not spin their wheels talking to people who aren’t qualified or willing to consider making the improvements that you have to offer/sell.

So for them, setting up an appointment may feel good, yet if it’s with someone who they don’t think would benefit from their offer, then it’s pointless.

In the case of hiring a group of people to do prospecting calls for salespeople who complete the latter stages of the process, developing a compensation plan is always going to be a challenge regardless of whether their goal is appointment quality or quantity.

I remember one job I had as a telephone prospector for a residential and business security systems company. Our compensation plan was hourly plus a bonus not per appointment, but per sale. And the more sales made by the outside salespeople in a given month, the higher the bonus paid per transaction.

This made me focus on booking quality appointments and setting the appointment up in such a way that the prospect was positively disposed to making a decision when the salesperson gave the presentation… instead of just “thinking about it.”

It worked very well for me and seemed to work well for the company.

If you had folks that were just qualifiers, how would you compensate them based on results?