Performance-wise, every marketer would want to see excellent outcomes from their marketing efforts- good performance equates to profits, after all. Having quality leads will surely help you close a lot of deals, but for you to do that, you’ll need an efficient marketing strategy.
Your campaign’s performance depends on the marketing approach you apply. In this case, you might already have tried some of the most commonly used marketing strategies like telemarketing.
Telemarketing refers to the process of selling products and services over the phone. It may take place from an office, a call center, or even a home. It is a popular way to reach out to individuals in order to sell products or services, collect funds for charity, gather information, generate leads, or conduct surveys. With modern technology, the phrase also refers to video conferencing calls, which occur in the great majority of situations with current clients.
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If this strategy hasn’t worked for your business, maybe it’s time for you to consider using pay-per-performance telemarketing. What happens here is this: Instead of settling on a price for a whole campaign ahead of time based on call volume, duration, and other criteria, you only agree to pay the vendor a flat fee for each appointment they book for you.
Pay-per-appointment telemarketing is a form of telemarketing where telemarketing companies or individuals are paid based on the number of appointments they set for their clients. This means that the telemarketer is paid only if they successfully book an appointment with a potential customer for the client.
The procedure often entails a telemarketer calling a list of prospective clients to promote the client’s product or service. A predetermined fee is given to the telemarketer if the potential client shows interest and consents to a meeting or appointment with the client.
This type of telemarketing can be attractive to companies that are looking to generate leads or acquire new customers, as it allows them to outsource the task of appointment setting to experienced telemarketers. However, it is important to ensure that the telemarketing company or individual is reputable and follows ethical practices to avoid negative consequences such as damaging the company’s reputation or violating laws and regulations related to telemarketing.
Companies trying to generate leads or get new clients may find this sort of telemarketing appealing since it enables them to delegate the process of making appointments to professional telemarketers. To avoid negative outcomes like damaging the brand’s reputation or breaking telemarketing rules and regulations, it is crucial to make sure the telemarketing organization or individual is respectable and adheres to ethical procedures.
The pay-per-appointment model: What you need to know
The pay-per-appointment (PPA) model is a marketing strategy wherein a company pays marketing or a lead generation company only when they’re able to generate qualified appointments with potential customers.
This implies that the business paying for the appointments only has costs when a lead has demonstrated a high degree of interest and agrees to schedule a follow-up meeting with a salesperson.
The PPA model is often used in industries where generating high-quality leads is critical to business success like in healthcare, insurance, and financial services.
This model is frequently regarded as a more cost-effective approach compared to traditional pay-per-click (PPC) or pay-per-lead (PPL) models since it decreases the risk of paying for unqualified or low-quality leads.
The lead generation company, in this model, typically utilizes a variety of marketing channels like email marketing, telemarketing, or digital advertising, to generate interest from potential customers.
These companies then follow up with those prospects who show a high level of interest. They then qualify them before setting up an appointment with a sales representative from the company who’s paying for the appointments.
It’s important to note however, that while the PPA model can be a cost-effective marketing strategy, it’s crucial to ensure that the lead generation companies you work with are reputable and make sure that the appointments generated are of high quality and correspond with the company’s target market and goals.
Appointment setting is a crucial stage in every business’ sales process and B2B lead generation strategy. Once you’ve identified your target audience and prospect, the next step is to reach out to them and make them aware of your brand, the products and services that you offer, and the solutions you provide to help address their pain points.
This process, however, is quite an expensive way to get deals. Retainer-based companies, for instance, can get you more than twenty appointments. Now, that sounds impressive, but the underlying problem is: even if it supplies you with a lot of appointments, there’s no guarantee that they’ll all convert to sales. You’d be lucky enough if you get one or two successful sales.
Pay-Per-Appointment (PPA) makes appointment settings all about “quality over quantity”. It’s better to have five sure and qualified deals rather than twenty uncertain ones. Also known as cost per appointment (CPA), PPA is an internet advertising model wherein an advertiser explicitly pays for a sales meeting (appointment) by a business or consumer that expressed interest in the advertiser’s offer. It’s also known as online lead generation.
In a PPA pricing model, advertisers only pay for qualified demos, sales meetings, or consultations. It works quite differently compared to pay-per-lead (PPL) and cost-per-click (CPC) pricing models where advertisers are charged for clicks and impressions or “views”.
Take a look at how PPA works:
- You decide how much a single appointment for a customer costs. Then you work up a profit margin and come up with a “per appointment” charge.
- You arrange a contract with a customer.
- You schedule the appointments, and the customer pays you regardless of the outcome.
Why employ the pay-per-appointment strategy for your B2B business?
One of the most likely reasons why companies support the pay-per-appointment model of B2B telemarketing is that it’s a financially low-risk option since they only pay for scheduled appointments set for them. They can clearly see where their money goes, so it is far more cost-effective than traditional packages.
The standing question, though, is whether or not this kind of transaction can produce the same quality of appointments, the same approach towards telemarketing, the same follow-up mechanism, and the same impression from prospects. You see, pay-per-appointment contracts aren’t exactly what B2B telemarketing agencies shoot for, as they would rather have a conventional-type model. That, itself, can be a factor to consider.
If you’re planning to employ this method in your marketing mix, here are some points to ponder on:
Is it okay for you that your callers are going to be aggressive?
If you take on a pay-per-appointment deal, you should expect that telemarketing agencies would be breathing fire down their agents’ necks for them to produce appointments. That also means agents would be wearing an aggressive approach toward their prospects because of the pressure. Do you really want to be professionally represented as a pushy vendor?
How would you know if appointments are unique to you?
You may have heard through the grapevine that some telemarketing agencies sell their appointments to more than one client. This is especially suspicious in the pay-per-appointment model since they are in need of appointments, otherwise they won’t get paid. Should your contract be pay-per-appointment, do you have the means to check if your appointments are yours only?
Would you sacrifice quality just to get more appointments?
In a traditional setting, telemarketing agencies would still have the capacity to maintain their standards when it comes to lead generation and appointment setting. In a pay-per-appointment model, though, where they feed off every meeting scheduled, they have the tendency to uphold a “that will have to do” mentality. Quantity is what would drive them, and not quality. Can your business live with that?
After the appointment, what happens next?
Lastly, the pay-per-appointment model doesn’t generally support any follow-up system. As soon as the appointment is set and the money is wired, telemarketing agencies will no longer care what would happen to the lead. They’ve done their part of the deal, and you pick it up from there. If this setup doesn’t work for you, you’d be better off with a complete telemarketing package. Look for B2B lead generation companies, for they usually offer deals that take care of everything from cover to cover.
Benefits of pay-per-appointment
Here are some benefits of using PPA:
- Cost-effective: With PPA, advertisers only pay when a lead sets or completes an appointment. Since they only pay for actual results, advertisers can better see where their money goes.
- Targeted leads: Given that PPA only involves paying for appointments, the leads generated using this approach are highly targeted and show high interest in your products or services. This, in turn, can result in higher conversion rates.
- Increased ROI: PPA can help advertisers reach a higher return on investment (ROI) compared to other advertising forms since they only pay for actual results.
- Better conversion tracking: PPA makes it easier for businesses to track an advertising campaign’s performance since advertisers are able to track the number of appointments that are scheduled or completed. This can help in optimizing the campaign to achieve better results,
- Low risk: Advertisers don’t have to worry about paying for clicks or impressions that don’t convert to leads. As a low-risk advertising method, advertisers are sure where their efforts and resources are directed to.
PPA drawbacks to watch out for
While we have discussed the advantages of PPA, here are some of its drawbacks:
Detrimental to marketing efforts
In today’s digitally-driven economy, companies need proper brand management to stay relevant. However, not all telemarketing companies prioritize their customers’ branding interests. This behavior can bring more harm than good to your company’s reputation.
Some PPA practices that can damage your branding efforts are:
- Product misrepresentation to secure an appointment
- Inaccurate live transfer leads
- Harassing phone calls made to a client
It is therefore important to work with a business that accurately portrays your brand especially when it’ll have frequent contact with your potential clients.
Unsustainable
To maximize current and future business opportunities, you need to have different types of leads in your pipeline. Unluckily, PPA only focuses on today’s appointment and isn’t designed to find and nurture prospects with potential decision-makers.
In addition, PPA companies usually reduce their expenses by requiring clients to comply with their requirements, providing very minimal (or no) reporting at all, and restricting their communications.
Too good to be true
Some PPA deals are inexpensive, and this can be enticing. After all, who doesn’t want immediate results at a lower price? Availing of cheap services, however, comes with consequences, like:
- Use of pushy overseas callers.
- Agents are concerned with the number of appointments set rather than with their quality.
- Low success rates.
Related Reading: Appointment Setting: The Dos and the Don’ts
Callbox: The better way to outsource leads
B2B lead generation for your telemarketing campaign can be challenging, especially when you’re targeting a specific market.
A Pay-Per Appointment model may look desirable but is ridden with potential issues to watch out for and gives negative implications to its sustainability for your business in the long run.
Although it’s important to identify and critique poor lead gen models, it’s also a good idea to know which ones to entrust your company to. Here’s where our team of lead-generation and appointment setting experts comes in handy.
At Callbox, we help you look for quality leads and secure meetings with prospects in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. Our full suite of tailored marketing solutions can help you identify the right leads you need to grow your business and gain more profit in the end.
Find out how Callbox Singapore secured 89 sales appointments for a global Managed Security Services leader.
Callbox Singapore, since 2009, has been helping companies across all industries achieve their growth and revenue targets. Our team uses a multi-touch multi-channel approach where we combine social, email, phone, and online channels to engage, connect, and follow up with your target prospects.
After two successful years of operation and executing impactful campaigns for both local companies and multinational businesses seeking growth in Singapore and the Asia Pacific markets, Callbox Singapore has solidified its position as the company’s regional hub for Asia Pacific Lead Generation operations.
Take note: Half of your sales and marketing teams’ time is spent on researching and qualifying prospects. Our mission at Callbox is to help sales reps and marketers dedicate more time to nurturing and selling.
If you’re looking to boost your business and reach your goals, let Callbox Singapore do the legwork. Our team of experts will take care of pinpointing and screening potential customers, so you don’t have to. You can avail our appointment-setting services with flexible and customized pricing according to your business needs.
Boost your business growth with quality leads and secured appointments. Contact us today!
