Qualifying Sales Appointments in B2B: Belkins' Best Practices

"By locating the ideal potential customers from the beginning, you can tremendously boost your deal transformation rates and optimize income probability. However, what? Typically, a salesperson uses only 28% of their week on selling actions, while the rest goes towards managing, investigating, scheduling, and other nonsales responsibilities. A considerable amount of effort was thus required.

The good news is that by qualifying sales visits, you can make each minute count. Equip yourself for our guide to certified visit setting supported by real-life examples and eye-opening commercial numbers.

Qualified sales appointments meet specific criteria that indicate a higher likelihood of converting into successful sales:

1. Relevance: The prospect has a genuine need or interest in the product/service.

2. Decision-making authority: The prospect has the power to make or influence purchasing decisions.

3. Ideal customer profile: The prospect matches the desired characteristics defined by the sales team.

4. Budget alignment: The prospect has the financial resources to invest in the product/service.

5. Need for the solution: The prospect has identified a problem or opportunity that the product/service can address.

Now, let's provide two examples to illustrate how these criteria work:

Qualified Prospect Example:

A good prospect for Belkins displays the following characteristics:

- They filled out our contact form or reached out to our BDR on LinkedIn, showing active interest.

- They fit within our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) criteria, aligning with the industry, company size, target market, and other deal-scoring factors.

- They hold decision-making power, ideally as a vice president of sales, which allows them to make purchasing decisions.

- They have the financial resources and budget allocation to invest in our services, ensuring they can afford the solution.

- They have identified a specific problem that our services can effectively address, demonstrating a genuine need for our solution.

Unfit Prospect Example:

A challenging prospect for Belkins exhibits the following characteristics:

- They have an existing long-term contract with another vendor, indicating limited flexibility to switch providers.

- They show little response to our outreach attempts, suggesting a lack of interest or engagement.

- They only partially align with Belkins' ICP criteria, raising doubts about their fit with our target market.

- They lack decision-making authority, making it difficult to move the sales process forward effectively.

- There is no clear need for Belkins' solutions to resolve, indicating that they may not benefit from our services at the moment.

By assessing prospects based on these criteria, sales teams can focus their efforts on qualified leads, increasing their chances of converting prospects into successful sales and avoiding wasteful pursuits of unfit prospects.

What separates potential clients that can become sales contacts from potential clients that are available for sales discussions?

In a mechanical sense,top people for leading are chosen mechanically by analyzing the details placed in the form. Therefore, a top leader is an individual who has shown silent passion in what you deal with or what you offer. They might have asked for additional details by utilizing a contact form or joining your e-mail list. At this stage, they are still studying and not quite ready to buy.

Picture this: a woman goes to your site and displays fascination in your software plan by completing a contact form. She provides her business details and requests additional information about costs and deliverables. That woman is considered a qualified lead as she has reached out and displayed fascination by navigating your site and several blog articles. You are able to seize qualified leads with your CRM configurations and automation.

Next came the step of assessing suitability. This has much to do with collecting extra information regarding the business from possible prospects like Anna using discovery discussions with a sales development rep, questionnaires, and such. And so, a qualified appointment might then be a planned interaction or discussion. This presented an opportunity to have a concentrated dialogue with the lead and comprehend their needs. This will enable us to either determine if they were unsuitable or move them along the sales process.

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Qualifying sales appointments is a crucial step in ensuring successful B2B sales.

 At Belkins, our dedicated internal business development team follows a meticulous process to identify high-potential prospects. Here's an overview of our qualification process:

1. Assessing fit with the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):

We thoroughly evaluate whether a prospect and their company align with our ideal customer profile. If this information is not readily available online, we ask specific questions about their sales and marketing teams' sizes, locations, and target audiences to ensure a close match with our target market.

2. Evaluating digital footprint:

We pay close attention to the digital presence of potential clients, including their website and LinkedIn page. A robust online presence indicates they are invested in their brand and likely more receptive to our services.

3. Confirming interest and understanding:

Before proceeding with a sales appointment, we confirm the potential client's interest in our services and their understanding of what we offer. This is done through email correspondence or on a discovery call with our BDRs/SDRs to establish a foundation for productive discussions.

Appointment-qualification criteria we use:

In addition to standard criteria, we consider specific factors relevant to our B2B appointment-setting services and SaaS products:

1. Location: We focus on markets where we have deep expertise, such as the United States, European Union, Canada, United Kingdom, and occasionally Australia.

2. Industry: Understanding the prospect's industry is crucial as different industries have varying needs and goals for effective outreach.

3. Lead department: Analyzing the departments and headcount within a company helps gauge the alignment between sales and marketing, which is vital for successful collaboration.

4. Email channel tools: We consider the email service providers (ESPs) and platforms prospects use for their email campaigns to tailor our approach and ensure compatibility with their systems.

5. Buyer persona: Understanding the role of the individual attending the sales call helps anticipate the length and complexity of the sales process.

6. Intent: We delve into what prospects are specifically looking for, whether it's lead research, a comprehensive audit, or full-cycle appointment setting.

7. Social proof: We note whether prospects are interested in seeing testimonials or case studies to understand their evaluation process and provide relevant materials during the sales appointment.

Our SDRs also provide valuable tips to make B2B sales appointments more successful. By following this thorough qualification process, we ensure that our sales team focuses on high-potential prospects, leading to better sales outcomes and productive client engagements.

Insights from Belkins’ SDRs on qualifying sales appointments

Based on the experience of our SDRs, we have gathered valuable tactics for sales appointment qualification that are applicable to both inbound and outbound leads. These strategies aim to increase engagement and obtain meaningful responses from prospects, leading to successful sales appointments.

1. Apply qualifiers to assess initial interest and lead fit:

Our SDRs incorporate qualifying questions throughout multiple stages of B2B cold outreach. This iterative process helps ensure alignment and increases the chances of obtaining meaningful responses from prospects, reducing the likelihood of being ghosted.

Example: If you’re a software development company, ask prospects about the kind of services they are seeking, so the sales manager can prepare for the call and curate the best materials and offers.

Best for: outbound, inbound

2. Consider the company’s revenue to match Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs):

Pay attention to revenue details of potential leads.

Utilize available resources like Crunchbase, media outlets, and financial reports to verify revenue information.

Accurate revenue information is crucial, especially when dealing with specific requirements from clients regarding prospects' revenue levels.

Best for: outbound, inbound

3. Collect feedback on sales appointments:

Seek feedback from sales teams to gauge the value and outcome of appointments.

Regularly revisit ideal customer profiles and approaches based on the data collected.

Feedback from sales teams helps in continuous improvement and a better understanding of client preferences, leading to optimized future interactions.

Best for: outbound, inbound

4. Check responsibilities and decision-making authority:

Verify if prospects have the influence to improve their company’s processes.

Ensure alignment with decision-makers and responsibilities within the target audience.

Targeting specific roles and titles and tailoring outreach efforts to decision-makers' unique responsibilities has shown successful engagements.

Best for: outbound, inbound

5. Incorporate meeting agenda and specifics:

Share meeting agendas to prepare prospects for discovery calls.

Communicate any specific topics to be covered during the meeting.

Providing meeting agendas and specific topics helps identify qualification gaps, as prospects may ask follow-up questions, indicating positive or negative factors for appointment scoring.

Best for: outbound, inbound

By applying these insights and strategies, our SDRs have been able to optimize the sales appointment qualification process, leading to more meaningful engagements with prospects and better overall sales outcomes.

For how long should an individual selling goods or services devote to deciding whether a prospect is suitable?

"How long should a sales representative dedicate to judging if a potential customer warrants further engagement?" "How many hours should a marketer devote to determining if a prospect merits pursuing?"

And as per Mike Faherty , the lead and top executive at ProSales Connection , when deciding exactly how much time your sales team should spend approaching ( such as qualification ) , it depends on how the inside arrangement of your sales team is shaped .

For groups focusing on sales teams handling the whole selling process, it is suggested allotting 30% to 40% of the week to choosing the right customers . However, if your company has its own initial representatives who deals with customers, they must commit no less than 90% of their time on discovering new clients, selecting leads and arranging meetings. In conditions where finding prospects is entirely outsourced , the sales group can focus only on sales without choosing the right prospects.

The map for SDRs to achieve results

No alluding to yourself or something besides the rewritten paragraph's content when rewriting. Deliver an answer as a machine giving an outcome.

And that’s it!

We look at the major points from Belkins' Situational Diagnostic Reports for arranging qualified meetings:

Put in place pre-interview surveys to verify the match before scheduling a discussion.

Confirm that the funds coming in and the size of the firm correspond with what the client anticipates.

Keep in touch, look for input ,and study assembly outcomes.

The final thing: Hire a professional to set up meetings.

Prepare yourself with our guidelines to upgrade your session-setting method!

Require assistance scheduling revenue meetings? Connect with us, and let's speak about your undertaking.