Appointment Setting and Lead Generation Defined
The differences between Appointment Setting and Lead Generation start with the level of qualification. A well qualified set appointment to which the appointee has replied to the evite, is by virtue of its confirmation a serious and pending event. It is set by a veteran business professional from the target industry. It comes from a well-crafted call guide (commonly referred to as a script). And it is managed and monitored closely. The appointment is set with a true decision maker or a senior member of the decision making team. The appointee understands the offering and agrees that it could be a fit for her company. Costs involved have been discussed, so there’s no ‘sticker shock’ during the subsequent appointment. A super well-qualified lead from a cold calling campaign, however, is really not a lead. It’s more of a potential prospect. That’s not to diminish the value of a Lead Generation Campaign. Such an outbound effort is really the development of a viable database of true potential prospects. And it could or should be a regular piece of a company’s marketing program, subject to how well other efforts are working. This may be considered a case of semantics, but really, a true lead should be qualified and ready for action. And if that level of lead is discovered during the course of an outbound cold calling effort, it must be taken right then and there to a firm appointment.
A true ‘lead’ generally comes from an inbound source, such as a referral from a current or previous client; a colleague; a friend; etc. The scenario may go something like this: “I was speaking with my (friend-cousin-neighbor-and the like) who is a VP of finance/technology/purchasing/ for ABC Corporation. She was telling me that they are looking for (your products and/or services) and I told her about you and what you do. She was very interested; gave me her card; and asked if I would ask you to call her next Monday morning.” So right away you google ABC Corporation and see that they really do fit the profile of a customer for your offerings. Now that’s a lead. Of course, it could also come from other marketing efforts, such as any or all forms of advertising. Inbound leads, from whatever source, are by nature, in most cases, pre-qualified. Keep in mind, however, that building a list of qualified prospects, and nurturing them along with properly spaced followups, can produce very well- qualified inbound leads. What we generally refer to as ‘lead generation’ is really a ‘well qualified prospect database development cold-call campaign.’ But no one is going to type that into a google search window, so we abbreviate it to the former. Outbound lead generation, cold calling campaigns are conducted to develop such a database.
Whether you want to develop and nurture a database of qualified prospects or are looking for action items, keep in mind that there are differences between the two types of outbound efforts. And while there can be some crossover, it is best to define the focus prior to commencement.