1. Experience in your industry vertical
Getting appointments with decision makers is hard work. It takes resources, time, patience, skill and tenacity. Knowing the industry you’re selling into is also important. Understanding the decision making process and who makes decisions is key. Companies that provide b2b appointment setting services to businesses that sell into hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living, medical practice and other healthcare providers should know who the final decision maker is.
2. How many years are they in business
Longevity in business is also an important question. If the business just started, or has less than 5 years & has not been in healthcare for a long period of time, they could face challenges. Not knowing the landscape, vocabulary, pain points and what’s currently happening in the industry could make it difficult for them to get the meeting
3. Are the sales reps U.S. based
Some b2b appointment setting companies in health tech will use overseas callers or online staff to get appointments. Many of these sales reps don’t know the healthcare industry and have accented English. This English as a second language weakness shows up in their live phone conversations and also in their writing. This leads to a lack of confidence by decision makers, i.e. lost calls (hang-ups) and no responses to email or social contacts.
4. Guarantees
Is the health tech appointment setting company providing any guarantees? Will they put in writing, how many appointments or qualified demos they will get for you during a particular time frame? Additionally, who is the person they are guaranteeing the meeting with? What happens when a decision maker does not show up to the meeting?
5. Scripting
The company you hire should create the script of talking points and share the value of your product or service that will benefit the decision maker. The initial script should be shared with you for your input and modification. A revised script should be created after a few weeks of testing in response to feedback from the sales teams, if needed.
6. Geography
Where the U.S. based sales reps are located is important. if what you’re selling will require a face to face visit to get the appointment. Many times calls, emails and social will work with certain products/services. But, if it’s a product that needs to be used in a healthcare setting, the decision makers may want to see a sales rep. This is more of a short meet and greet. Then a call with the business selling the service or product can be arranged at that time.
7. Years of sales rep experience
Sales reps should have a few years of sales experience under their belt. Selling into healthcare as a portion of that experience would be ideal. Stay away from new college graduates that land in sales as a stop gap to other employment. Try to find sales reps that have sold b2b services that can easily translate into what you sell into the healthcare industry.