Start with your own goals
Before you contact any provider, decide what success looks like. Which markets and roles do you want to reach? What makes a meeting qualified for you? How many meetings can your team handle each week? Clear answers make it far easier to compare offers, and to spot a provider who is promising something you do not need.
Your ideal customer profile is the best starting point. Share it with every provider you talk to.
Meeting quality comes first
A low price per meeting is no bargain if half the meetings are with the wrong people. Ask each provider how they qualify: which questions they ask, what information comes with each booking and whether you can reject a meeting that does not meet the agreed criteria.
Also ask whether you pay for meetings booked or meetings held. A meeting that never takes place has cost your sales team time to prepare.
Understand the pricing models
| Model | How it works | Works best when |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | You pay for the consultant's time | You want flexibility, longer sales cycles or work beyond booking meetings |
| Pay per meeting | You pay for each meeting that meets the criteria | The target group and qualification criteria are clear |
| Retainer | A fixed monthly fee for agreed capacity | You plan for a longer period and steady volume |
Ask exactly what is included: list building, messaging, project management, reporting and follow-up of leads that are not ready yet.
Who will make the calls?
The people on the phone represent your brand. Ask about their experience, whether they speak the language of your market natively, how they are trained on your offer and whether the same people stay on your campaign over time. Ask to meet the team or listen to call recordings.
Check who manages the work day to day. A dedicated project manager who knows your campaign is a strong sign that you will be more than one client in a queue.
Reporting and transparency
You should be able to see what is happening without asking. Look for reporting that shows activity, conversations, meetings and feedback from the market, ideally in real time, and regular reviews where you adjust the approach together.
Questions to ask before you sign
- How do you define a qualified meeting?
- Do we pay for meetings booked or meetings held?
- Who will make the calls, and in which languages?
- How do you build and check the lead lists?
- Who is our day-to-day contact?
- What does the reporting look like, and how often?
- How long until the first meetings are booked?
- Can we start with a trial period?
- What happens if the results are not good enough?
- How do you handle personal data and opt-outs?
Red flags
Be careful with providers who guarantee a fixed number of meetings before they understand your market, cannot explain how they qualify, lock you into a long contract with no trial or are vague about who does the work. Good partners are open about what they do not know yet and suggest a test to find out.
Still deciding whether to outsource at all? Read in-house vs outsourced appointment setting, or see how we work with appointment setting.