Logistics involves the planning, coordination and implementation of the teleprospecting campaign details. That’s why it’s the last step in the 4-stage process. If all the other details have been managed well up to this point, it’s time to execute.
Since our objectives are to gain access to and commitment from qualified prospects, the hand-off mechanisms must be clearly understood and executed crisply. We must have buy-in from the sales team because they must act on the leads we pass to them and lead the meetings we’ve booked for them.
So it’s critical that we have an agreement with sales on the details of arranging meetings. We’ve handled this a couple of different ways, all successful.
1. The sales team members that will receive the meetings we create set aside days and times during the work week and we’re given carte blanche to fill up this designated space with meetings. As an example, Tuesday through Thursday are designated meetings days, and all meetings may begin after 9 am local time and the last one must end before 5 pm. Meetings are one hour in length, with 45 to 60 minutes between meetings to allow the sales representative to record notes and prepare for the next call.
We’ve also booked on site meetings for reps that were traveling to a locale and wanted additional calls arranged around an anchor appointment or event. This is a little trickier, because we have to manage time and travel, allowing for distance and traffic conditions. But we’ve done a pretty good job here and creating these additional appointments makes the rep more productive and brings down the cost per meeting.
2. We have access to the sales team members’ calendars and are given permission to place meetings in open spots. Reps will give us additional parameters, like exclude Mondays and Fridays, or AM or PM meetings only.
This method requires that the sales reps keep their calendars up to date, so we have had instances where we had to reschedule because of an event or meeting that came up suddenly, or had not been noted in the calendar. And rescheduling meetings with decision makers is not ideal. We’re talking about busy people, so to avoid this misstep we now ask prospects for two meeting days and times.
3. Many of my clients give us wide latitude in booking meetings and guarantee that they’ll cover. We had one client where we could book meetings AM or PM, and day of the week, and 24 hour notice. This method plays to the busy prospect. They may be defensive to the caller who asks them “better tomorrow at 2 or Thursday at 10?” We’ve dealt with contacts that are adamant they have one time, and one time only. The confidence that my client will comply with their schedule makes our job easier, and the campaign more successful.
The details around the meeting are supplied to the sales reps. This is an area where we really shine. We include complete contact info (direct phone or extension, email), the context of the conversation including any issues or questions that need to be covered, and date and time of course.
We put ourselves in the place of our client. Before a meeting you’d want to know what to expect. Our callers don’t bail on the conversation early just because they scored the meeting. They hang in there until there’s an understanding of the prospect’s expectations, which helps the client rep prepare better.
When we’ve scheduled on site meetings we’ve included additional location details, such as directions, cross streets, parking, visitor lobby, concierge, meeting location (building number, floor number), and attendees. We will email all meeting details to the sales reps so they can call it up on their smart phones.
Our attention to detail sets us apart from the competition, but also gives our clients confidence that they don’t have to sweat the specifications and makes buy-in a given.
