12 Essential Appointment-Setting Tips

Breaking into new accounts and setting meetings can be a challenge, but it’s a necessary part of pipeline management.

You need to be able to prospect for new business with great success. That starts with turning cold and warm outreach into meetings.

The Importance of Appointment-Setting

As difficult as appointment-setting might seem, the truth is that prospects want to hear from you. According to our Top Performance in Sales Prospecting research, 71% of buyers who accept meetings want to hear from sellers at the earliest part of their buying process: when they're forming ideas.

Those prospects want much more than just an appointment—they want value. That very same research shows that 58% of sales meetings aren't valuable to buyers.

12 Appointment-Setting Tips

1. Reach out during "off hours"

Business leaders can be challenging to reach during standard working hours. If you're trying to bypass a gatekeeper to reach an insulated executive, for instance, try calling early in the morning (before 8 AM), late in the evening (after 6 PM), or during lunch.

One of my colleagues has had great success reconnecting with prospects when he sends emails first thing in the morning. I’m talking pre-dawn at 4 AM! This strategy not only ensures he gets his all-important follow-up done before the day gets away from him, but also gives the prospect an opportunity to respond that day. Often, they do, putting my colleague one step closer to setting an appointment.

Contrary to popular belief, you can reach out “off hours.” For more, download 5 Sales Prospecting Myths Debunked.

2. Pick up the phone

With so many ways to set appointments, some believe that prospecting by phone is dead. But our research shows that, out of 15 outreach methods studied (in terms of effectiveness in prospecting), three of the top five were the phone. Here’s the breakdown:

• #1: Phone calls to existing customers
• #3: Phone calls to prior customers
• #5: Phone calls to new contacts

People argue whether the cold call is dead. Whether you cold call or not is irrelevant, as long as you find a method that gets you meetings. According to our data, the phone is alive and well, both for cold calling and warm.

3. Use multiple media

Appointment setting isn't just about cold calling. It can take more than a dozen touches to get a prospect to respond to you. To succeed, you’ll likely need to reach out a number of times across multiple media.

Prospects are busier than ever and inundated with marketing and sales messages and meeting requests. You can break through the noise, but it's unlikely you’ll do so on your first try.

Get creative! Leave voicemails, send emails, drop a package in the mail, write a hand-written note, or mark up an article to send. And if you do get a "no" to your meeting request, read this post to overcome common cold-calling objections.

4. Try attraction campaigns

When people want to work with you and your brand, the process of booking appointments becomes much easier. That means capturing their attention and setting yourself and your brand apart with customized, value-focused messaging.

We call these attraction campaigns: multi-touch, multi-modal campaigns via phone, mail, email, and social media that create attraction for the right buyers at the right levels.

Learn more about attraction campaigns with our article, How to Break Through the Noise and Create New Conversations with Prospects.

5. Shore up your LinkedIn profile

Typically, sellers focus on LinkedIn as a channel for sales outreach and networking. However, our research shows that 82% of buyers will review your LinkedIn profile before reaching back to you to accept a meeting or otherwise connect with you.

And why not? Don’t you do the very same thing before reaching out to make someone’s connection? Why wouldn’t a sales prospect evaluate the digital brand you create before taking a meeting with you?

Your work experience, skills, summary, education, endorsements, headline, shared connections, number of connections, group memberships, and profile picture are all at least somewhat important to buyers in their evaluation criteria. So go ahead and take some time now to optimize your LinkedIn profile.

6. Follow marketing's lead

You'll have much greater success setting appointments with prospects who have already interacted with your company's brand. Marketing ought to be able to give you a list of prospects based on:

• Website downloads: If you offer intellectual capital such as white papers, webinars, or research on your website, the list of prospects viewing this content is prime for sales follow-up.
• Website visitors: There are many technologies that notify you when a prospect is visiting your website. This is especially useful if you’re trying to reconnect with prospects you've already spoken with. It lets you know 1) you're on their mind, and 2) they're likely at their desk or computer right now.
• Event attendees: Make sure you get the full attendee list of any events your company sponsors, or better yet, at events where your company executives speak.

7. Leverage referrals

When it comes to appointment-setting tips, remember that referrals are gold. When someone refers your name to a prospect, the trust your prospect has for the referrer transfers to you. This gives you a huge advantage as buyers will be more open to speaking with you.

If you’re having issues with appointment setting, make sure you exhaust all opportunities for referrals from your network, from your colleagues, and from past opportunities and customers before hopping back on the carousel of cold calling.

8. Ask for the meeting

When asking for the meeting, be specific. For example, don't just say, "Would you like to meet about this?" Say, "I have time on August 7th at 10 AM. Can you do it then?" Asking to meet at a specific date and time changes the question from, "Do you want to meet?" to, "When do you want to meet?"

When asking for meetings, be persistent. Setting appointments with new accounts takes hard work. Our research shows that 43% of buyers who accept meetings at least sometimes say it’s okay for sellers to try to contact them five or more times before they get through.

Be prepared to hear a lot more “no” than “yes,” but don’t stop at the first no unless you’re sure it’s a dead-end.

9. Share content that creates value for specific audiences

Most buyers will tell you that useful insights and capabilities capture their attention. While many sellers are told not to pitch their capabilities, buyers will want to know what you do.

The trick is how you go about it.

For example, if you sell to the executive suite, focus on content 100% customized to their specific situation and financial justifications, including strong return on investment (ROI) cases. No matter who you sell to, customize content whenever possible. Our research shows that 61% of buyers who accept meetings are very/extremely influenced to do so by content that is 100% customized to them.

10. Build trust and rapport early

In appointment setting, you're often reaching out to buyers who don’t know you, your company, or what you offer. Yet even in these early conversations, building trust is essential. It can be the difference between getting ignored and getting the meeting.

Trust starts with how you show up. Speak with confidence, demonstrate respect for the buyer’s time, and be prepared. Have a clear, relevant reason for the outreach, and show that you've done your homework on their role, company, and challenges. When you lead with insight and clarity, you establish credibility right away.

Rapport also plays a key role. Calibrate your tone and approach to the buyer’s communication style. Some buyers will want to get straight to the point, while others will appreciate a moment of small talk. Being adaptable shows emotional intelligence and puts buyers at ease.

Finally, focus on delivering value, not pitching. Position the meeting as a conversation designed to help the buyer think differently about a challenge or opportunity. When buyers sense that you're focused on their success, not just your pipeline, trust grows—even in a brief appointment-setting call.

11. Prepare for objections in the appointment-setting stage

When you're cold prospecting, objections are a normal part of the game, especially when you're asking for time on a busy buyer’s calendar. But objections don’t mean the conversation is over. In fact, how you handle early resistance can go a long way toward building trust and opening the door to future engagement.

Buyers may push back with things like "We’re all set," "Just send me something," or "Now’s not a good time." These aren’t personal, they’re often just reflexes. Your job is to stay calm, curious, and helpful.

Use this four-step approach to navigate appointment-setting objections effectively:

1. Listen fully: Avoid jumping in with a rebuttal. Let the buyer finish and listen with the goal of understanding, not responding.
2. Understand the root cause: Many objections mask something deeper: lack of understanding, a previous bad experience, or timing concerns. Ask a thoughtful follow-up like, “Can I ask what’s prompting that hesitation?”
3. Respond with relevance: Don’t pitch. Instead, connect their objection to a relevant insight or value you can offer in the meeting. For example, “Totally understand. We’re seeing a lot of sales teams in your space tackling similar issues. That’s actually why I thought a short conversation might be useful.”
4. Confirm alignment: Close the loop. Ask, “Does that sound worthwhile to you?” or “Would it make sense to find 20 minutes later this week?” This keeps the conversation collaborative and confirms if you’ve addressed their concern.

Objections during appointment setting aren't about your product, they’re about time, trust, and relevance. If you can handle them with empathy and insight, you’ll separate yourself from the noise.

12. Target key decision makers

Booking a meeting is only valuable if it moves your sales process forward. If your contact doesn’t have decision-making authority, or influence with those who do, you risk spending time on conversations that lead nowhere.

Effective appointment-setting starts with smart targeting. Before reaching out, research the organization and identify who's most likely to play a key role in the buying decision. Understand the differences between the business driver, champion, domino, evaluator, and approver. Each has distinct priorities, and your message should reflect what matters most to them.

Don’t hesitate to reach senior-level decision makers. While the C-suite may seem out of reach, many executives will take meetings if your message speaks to strategic business outcomes, not just product features. Keep your outreach brief, relevant, and insight-driven.

As the sales conversation progresses, continue building a map of the buying team. But in the appointment-setting phase, focus your efforts on those who can either make decisions or strongly influence them.

Final Thought: Appointment-Setting Is the Beginning

While it’s tempting to focus solely on filling your calendar, setting the appointment is only step one. The real impact happens in the meeting itself. Make sure you’re fully prepared to lead a high-impact conversation once the prospect says “yes.” To boost your chances of converting that meeting into momentum, read 7 Steps to a Successful Sales Meeting When the Seller Drives the Demand.

Toolkit: Simplifying Sales Prospecting

There aren't enough hours in the day to stress about prospecting. Get tips and resources for easier prospecting in this complimentary toolkit.

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