Work-at-Home Appointment Setting Jobs

In this post: Today, we are talking about some of the many appointment setting jobs you can do from home. These gigs often pay well and can be great for those who don’t mind making calls and building rapport with customers.

Do you enjoy talking to people? Do you have a quiet space for talking on the phone regularly? If you answered yes to both questions, you might be a great candidate for a work at home appointment setter position. This is typically an entry-level position that requires a high school diploma, though some companies require some experience as well.

An appointment setter contacts leads and generates appointments for their client. Your work hours will be filled with making phone calls, leaving voicemails, and trying to convert leads into appointments.

Some companies provide you with a list of warm leads. These are people who have indicated interest in some fashion but haven’t yet scheduled an appointment to learn more. Other companies require you to make cold calls. This means calling people who may or may not be interested.

No matter who you talk to, your goal is the same – to get them to schedule an appointment to learn more.

Skills You Need As an Appointment Setter

Though this is an entry-level position, there are still some skills you should have to be successful as an appointment setter. Since at least part of your pay will be tied to the number of appointments you secure for your company, you want to have some basic sales skills. However, many companies will offer training to help you develop these skills.

Also, it’s important to note that you won’t actually have to sell anything to the lead. Your job is just to set the appointment, at which a salesperson will take over.

Organization is another crucial skill. You will need to keep track of leads, attempted contacts, and results. This way you can pass the data onto your client as required. Creating a spreadsheet is one option, as is utilizing a client-provided database. This means you need to know your way around a computer.

People skills and professional phone skills are also important for appointment setters. You need to quickly establish rapport with strangers on the phone and answer any of their basic questions.

How Much Do Appointment Setters Make?

Pay structure varies from company to company, but these are two common structures for appointment setters:

1. Hourly Rate + Commission: You will receive a small hourly rate ($10-15 per hour is common), along with a flat fee for each appointment you successfully set.
2. Commission Only: You will only receive payment for the appointments you successfully set, and that actually occur.

Make sure to talk to your potential employer about pay before accepting the position, so you know what to expect. You should also ask about paid training, and how many hours you can expect to work each week. If you will be working as a 1099 contract employee, remember that you will need to save part of your pay to put towards taxes.

Depending on the structure of the company you work for, this can be a high-pressure position if you don’t consistently reach your quota. Make sure you get all the details of your pay and expectations before you take a position.

The Importance of Your Script

Talking to leads will be the main part of your job, so you will want to ensure you master this. When you first begin making phone calls, pay attention to what works and what does not.

Some companies provide scripts for you to use, and with other companies, you will need to write your own. If you write your own, keep refining it until you get it to sound just right. You don’t want to sound like a robot reading something to the person you are talking to, so make sure you practice until you sound natural giving your pitch.

Your tone matters. If you’re dry, people will hang up before you finish. Let your excitement for this product or service shine through the call. Don’t let your nerves get the best of you and cause you to rush through your pitch.

As an appointment setter, your listening skills are just as important as your speaking ones. You need to listen for cues your lead is sharing, and make changes to your script as needed. This might mean cutting off your script early so you can schedule an appointment with someone who can really answer this person’s questions.

On the other hand, if you keep talking when the person has already shown interest, you may annoy them to the point that they just hang up and go somewhere else for the information they want. Don’t be so attached to your script that you can’t move forward.

Gather the Necessary Information

Once your lead has indicated they’d like to schedule an appointment, make sure you gather all the information you need to pass on. Otherwise, you will have to call them back, which is unprofessional and might lead them to cancel.

Your company will likely provide you with a list of questions to ask, but here are some common ones to give you an idea:

• The time and date for the meeting
• A phone number for the callback
• The name of the person who will be taking the call
• An email address so you can send a confirmation

This way you can send everything you need over to your client all at once.

Don’t Take Rejection Personally

No matter how warm your leads are, you will experience rejection. You cannot take this personally. The lead is not objecting to you, but rather to the product or service you are pitching. As much as you’re able, adopt the “bless and release” approach to anyone who turns you down.

When you get a definite “no,” thank the person for their time, and don’t let yourself get involved in a shouting match or name-calling debacle. People sometimes Dealing with rejection will become easier in time, but it’s important to know how to handle it from the start.

Where to Find At-Home Appointment Setter Jobs

If you’re ready to work from home as an appointment setter, here are four of the best places to look for your first job:

• Blue Zebra – a company offering professional cold calling and appointment setting, Blue Zebra often hires appointment setters.
• FlexJobs – Though the jobs on FlexJobs aren’t limited to Appointment Setters, you can search for these by typing “appointment setter” into the search bar.
• Paragon Planners – a company in the financial wholesaling and financial advisor industry, Paragon Planners frequently hires appointment setters for up to 35 hours a week from the following states: AZ, CA, FL, KS, MO, NC, OH, OR, PA, TX, WA.
• ManageYourLeads.com – a lead generation company, ManageYourLeads.com frequently adds qualified appointment setters to their team.
• SalesRoad – a B2B appointment setting & lead generation business focused on mid-market and enterprise level organizations, SalesRoad often hires appointment setters.

Will you be applying for a job as an at-home appointment setter? Even if it’s not what you want to do forever, it’s a great way to gain some experience. You can use this time to help you further a career in sales or customer service.