Setting appointments for pay is a legitimate work from home opportunity that can help supplement your income. Overhead costs are minimal as long as you have a phone. A computer is helpful, but a few companies will do business via the mail. You will also need a quiet place from which to make your calls.
If you have small children at home, you might want to wait until they are taking a nap or another adult is home to help occupy them while you are busy. If you have pets like a dog you may want to put them outside while you are placing calls so they do not bark or cause distractions. You want to sound professional to your contacts even if you are calling from home.
You will need to be highly organized so you can track your calls. If you can invest in a database program that would be a bonus, but most companies will provide you a calling list. If they do not have a calling list for you, then you will have to determine how you will locate the numbers of your potential appointments. There are organizations that provide databases with customer information for sale. If you invest in a lead list database this could be a selling point to your potential clients.
Types of companies that can utilize this skill are charity organizations looking for donations, home improvement companies looking for appointment setters or other professionals in a selling industry. Think of businesses like mortgage, real estate or insurance brokers. These professionals might be willing to pay you per customer you can gain for them or by appointment/quote you can set for them. Use your imagination when thinking of who would benefit from this service.
Now you have to locate the jobs. Sometimes these jobs are posted on avenues such as Craigslist.org. Sometimes the only way to hear of these jobs is through word of mouth so start asking people if they know of any work opportunities. Join the local Chamber of Commerce. Cold call companies from the local phone book, or scour local ads and identify potential clients that could use your services. Then get busy calling them. Opportunities such as this usually require you searching them out.
Be prepared and research what the going rate is for an appointment setter so you don’t over price your service. You want to be competitively priced with others offering similar services. You may also want to make a flyer outlining what services you can offer and the benefits of using you to set appointments. Ask satisfied clients for referrals that you can provide to other potential clients. And consider investing in business cards if you find this is something you like to do. You can purchase business cards from local office supply stores and have the store print them very inexpensively. This gives you that extra professional touch.
While the business may be slow to start, with some hard work, good work ethics and a professional attitude you can grow this business to become a substantial income supplement.
Kristie Monroe
Freelance Writer
Kristie Monroe
Freelance Writer
