A key element for most lead generation or appointment setting initiatives involves the setting of a next step for sales to engage with the prospect either by phone or F2F. What can be immensely frustrating to marketing and sales teams alike is when that conversation or meeting does not take place for some reason or another. Through our experience in the industry, we’ve seen 3 common pitfalls that occur during the sales engagement process, and can offer advice as to what steps marketing and sales can take to avoid them.
Key Pitfall 1: Sales is unable to confirm meeting time, and meeting does not occur.
Recommendation: The teleprospector (aka cold-calling agent) should own this process on all short-term leads by sending an Outlook meeting notice to the prospect (upon verbally confirming the date/time), copying the sales account executive who will be involved in the subsequent discussions. This performs two functions – it places the date/time for the meeting or call onto the prospect calendar and it provides the prospect with the Sales rep contact information should they have any questions prior to the call/meeting.
If the lead is longer-term and the teleprospector is not able to confirm an exact date/time, but rather determines a broader timeframe for sales engagement (for example- week of), it is important for the sales account executive to reach out to the prospect more than one time to solidify the date/time for the next step. Typically, it takes on average 5-7 attempts to reach a Manager/Director level and 12+ attempts to reach the C-Level. Calling and emailing the prospect once is not enough! Another solution is to keep longer-term leads with the telepropsector for nurturing until a firm