Appointment setters have been in use since the 17th century. Prior to that period, the average individual would personally schedule appointments with local doctors, midwives or even healers. In order to set appointments, they would have to collect all relevant information and then arrange them in a competent way. A system of appointments or a series of general consultations were arranged after the patient had recovered sufficiently from whatever illness he or she had contracted. With the advent of modern medicine, more sophisticated means of medical treatment evolved which required the use of appointment setters. Following the Right Script Appointment setters can follow a systematic script with the aim of organizing appointments for business sales representatives, gaining interest or otherwise generating interest in the services or products on offer. They organize and process the shipment of promotional material including brochures, leaflets or product samples. They also deal with the reception and correspondence tasks associated with these sales meetings. Modern appointment setters need to be skilled in persuading a prospect to attend the business development meeting which takes place after receiving a letter of acceptance or objection from a suitable prospect. They must be able to obtain a positive response from the prospects without appearing pushy and annoying. Appointment setters can also provide support during what can sometimes be difficult negotiations between businesses and their prospects. Such negotiations can be particularly difficult when businesses are trying to close sales during slow times when there are more objections than usual. Business Development with Appointment Setters Using appointment setters also enables business development professionals to obtain valuable qualified leads which they can then follow up with further contact. Appointment setters can prepare business development proposals for their sales reps to follow up. This will enable them to increase the success rate of their sales reps by substantially increasing the number of qualified leads they can contact and close. The process of qualifying leads is also considerably simplified for sales reps by using appointment setters. Qualifying leads generally refers to people who have shown an interest in buying a certain type of product or service. The process of qualifying leads is usually quite simple. For example, a potential customer calls up an appointment setter with a particular product or company. If the prospect does not have enough information about this product or company to make an educated buying decision, the appointment setter will ask the potential customer to complete a short questionnaire or to contact the business development representative. With the answers received from the potential customer the business development representative will be able to determine if the specific product or company will be suitable for the prospective customer. In many cases the appointment setter will advise the sales representative to direct the customer to the appropriate sales representative. Difficulties, and Solutions In some instances, however, it can be difficult to obtain qualified leads and the sales representatives must use other methods to qualify these leads. Appointment setting applications are one way that business development reps can obtain leads that are not necessarily motivated by the ability to purchase a product or service. Appointment setters are also used to motivate potential customers to take one step further and contact the business development rep directly. Some forms of appointment setting are more generic, requiring the names and addresses of a variety of individuals and companies. An offshore appointment setting service can help to provide the sales representative with a pool of qualified prospects. These leads can then be directed towards a lead generation company that can provide the necessary follow up on the leads. Most offshore appointment setters will offer the sales representative the ability to track the progress of the prospects and can even provide the business development representative with detailed reports about how well the specific lead has been converting. Success of Your Business with Appointment Setters Appointment setters can play a vital role in the success of a real estate sales representative or any other sales representative for that matter. Real estate agents have a large variety of duties they must meet and sometimes these duties make it difficult for the agents to concentrate on selling a particular house or area. Hiring professional appointment setters will allow the real estate agents to focus on providing quality service to their potential customers. Real estate appointment setters will not only give the sales representatives a list of potential clients but will increase their chances of closing a deal and ensuring the success of the agent as a whole. Appointment setting services are usually provided by small, private businesses that are only able to hire the best professionals due to the costs involved. The companies are well-known for the high standards of customer service they provide and can often guarantee a return on their money by offering leads to qualified prospects.