Frequently Asked Questions

Initial Call is a boutique B2B lead generation and sales consulting firm comprised of independent sales professionals—each with years of high-level, enterprise experience—located in New York, California and everywhere in between. They work from their own offices and are closely supervised by an Initial Call manager. We do not operate a call center.

We retain experienced sales professionals who have proven success in B2B sales and demonstrated their ability to be successful in a virtual environment. We source our people in several ways. The majority are referred by other Initial Call consultants or by our clients. We also have a robust recruiting department and a rigorous interview process.

We typically have about 50 sales consultants assigned to engagements at any one time.

Our rates are commensurate with current market rates for experienced inside sales professionals. We custom design every engagement to meet clients' specific needs.

Because each sales campaign is unique, the average cost per meeting will vary depending on how difficult it is to reach a targeted executive, the complexity of the message, and the receptiveness of the market. Initial Call does not do "one size fits all" pricing. When we set appointments for management consulting or professional services clients, for example, our total cost per meeting typically ranges from $600 to $3000.

We specialize in lead generation for the complex enterprise sale. We qualify decision makers and set phone or in-person appointments with them for your field sales force. In addition, we offer sales campaign consulting services and can assist you in creating and refining your target account list. We frequently work with clients in setting up and customizing their CRM tools and databases. For more information on our services, please contact us at sales@initialcall.com.

The pace at which we set meetings also depends on several variables. Each project is different, but scheduling a qualified sales meeting can take anywhere from 5 to 40 hours. Complex sales can require at least 20 calling hours to yield one qualified sales prospect.

After we discuss your goals, an Initial Call sales executive can prepare a quote. Our services scale to meet your support and budget needs. We typically recommend our part-time equivalent—20 calling hours per week—as a starting point. Please contact us at sales@initialcall.com for more information.

Much of the challenge in sales lies in reaching decision makers. Your sales representatives should be having productive conversations and closing business—not spending hours trying to reach the right contact. However, sales prospecting must be done by an experienced sales professional who can identify decision makers, overcome objections, get referrals and set qualified meetings. Because you never get a second chance to make a first impression, you need high quality people calling on your behalf. Outsourcing your lead generation efforts can efficiently fill your sales representatives' pipelines with more opportunities than they can schedule on their own.

Initial Call has more than five years' experience representing companies in a wide range of industries, including enterprise and technology software, management consulting, medical products and professional services offerings. We specialize in representing companies with complex sales cycles.

We will be happy to explore pricing options with you. Because qualified sales appointments are only one of the deliverables we provide during our relationship with our clients, our typical pricing model is based on time and performance, much like other consulting firms.

Yes. Initial Call has extensive database resources that we leverage on your behalf. However, contact information constantly changes, and prospecting is a tough job. Because of this, we don't set false expectations about cold calling. Beware of telemarketing firms selling "secret" information or those that won't share the information they uncover with you. When you work with Initial Call, we document account intelligence and contact names in your CRM database—ensuring that it is continually populated and scrubbed for your future use.