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What Can a Virtual Appointment Setter Do For You

In this guide, we’ll break down why appointment setters are game-changers for growing businesses, what they do day-to-day, how their impact compounds over time, and how to hire one (without breaking the bank).

Why an Appointment Setter Is a Growth Game-Changer

Growing a business is all about momentum. An appointment setter adds fuel to your sales engine by keeping your calendar filled with qualified meetings. Here’s why bringing one on board is a no-brainer for companies aiming to scale:

  • They Keep Your Pipeline Full: Appointment setters prospect for new leads and reach out to potential clients daily. While you’re focusing on strategy or closing deals, they’re busy opening doors – making cold calls, sending introduction emails, and LinkedIn messages to drum up interest. This constant activity means your sales pipeline never runs dry. It’s like having someone plant seeds every day so you can harvest deals continuously.

  • They Ensure No Lead Gets Left Behind: For inbound inquiries, an appointment setter acts fast. When a prospect submits a website form or downloads a whitepaper, your appointment setter promptly follows up—often within minutes—to initiate engagement and move the lead forward. That speed matters – responding to a new lead within 5 minutes can make you dramatically more likely to qualify that lead compared to waiting even an hour. Dedicated appointment setters make sure hot leads don’t go cold by giving them prompt, personal attention.

  • They Free Up Your Sales Team: Without a dedicated appointment setter, your high-value sales closers could be spending valuable hours prospecting or managing their own calendars—time that would be better spent closing deals. By delegating outreach and appointment scheduling to a specialist, your account executives or closers can spend more time selling – doing demos, handling negotiations, and signing deals. 

In other words, appointment setters let your sales team focus on what they do best (closing), while they handle the legwork of filling the top of the funnel.

  • Consistent Outreach = Compounding Growth: Appointment setting functions much like a flywheel—or even a compounding savings account. Each day of consistent outreach may generate just a few leads, and not every prospect will convert right away. But over time, these daily efforts accumulate, creating steady momentum and long-term pipeline growth. An appointment setter who books say 5 meetings a week is adding ~20 extra sales conversations per month. Maybe only a fraction turn into customers right away – but some will, and others go into nurturing for future deals. 

This consistent flow of meetings creates a compounding effect on your growth. Instead of the feast-or-famine cycle (where you’re either swamped with leads or staring at an empty pipeline), you get steady, predictable growth. One founder described hiring an appointment setter as “finally getting off the revenue rollercoaster and onto a steady climb.” 🎢➡️📈

  • Better Customer Experience: Reaching out to prospects promptly with a warm, human touch signals that your company is responsive, organized, and serious about earning their business. An appointment setter’s personal touch – a warm call or a helpful email – can impress potential clients. Even if they’re not ready to buy yet, they’ll remember the positive interaction. This kind of attentive engagement can differentiate you from competitors who make leads wait days for a response.

In short, appointment setters are the unsung heroes that keep the wheels of growth turning. They hustle so you don’t have to, ensuring you always have new prospects in the pipeline. For a growth-focused company, that’s gold.

What Does an Appointment Setter Do All Day?

Appointment setters have a very focused mission: connect with prospects and get that first meeting on the calendar. But how they do that can span a variety of tasks. Let’s break down their day-to-day responsibilities:

  • Outbound Prospecting: A big part of an appointment setter’s day is proactive outreach. This means researching and building lists of potential customers (often using tools or platforms like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, CRM data, etc.), then reaching out via cold calls, emails, or social media messages. They are skilled at grabbing a prospect’s attention quickly – with a catchy opening line or a value-packed email – to spark interest. 

Once they have someone on the line, they’ll give a quick elevator pitch and qualify the lead (make sure there’s a potential fit and interest). If it looks promising, they’ll go ahead and schedule a call or demo with your sales rep or team. Essentially, they hunt for opportunities so your closers can swoop in at the right time.

  • Inbound Lead Response: On the other side of the funnel, appointment setters also manage inbound leads. Whether a prospect downloads your e-book, registers for a webinar, or submits a website inquiry, the setter steps in immediately to qualify the lead and schedule the next step. They’ll quickly follow up with an email or call (“Hi! Saw you checked out our site… how can we help?”) to engage the lead while it’s hot. They respond to initial inquiries, provide a brief overview of your services, and—most importantly—aim to schedule a meeting or discovery call to connect the prospect with a sales representative.

Speed is crucial here; by being responsive and helpful, an appointment setter ensures interested prospects aren’t kept waiting – which greatly increases the chance of eventually closing the deal.

  • Nurturing and Follow-ups: Not every lead says “Yes, let’s talk” on the first attempt – and that’s okay. Appointment setters will often nurture leads that aren’t ready yet. This could mean sending a polite follow-up email next week, sharing a useful article or case study, or calling back at a later date the prospect requested. They keep track of leads in the CRM, set reminders, and stay persistent (without being pushy). 

This way, leads that might have gone cold get gently warmed up over time. A good appointment setter has a bit of a memory of an elephant – they remember to circle back with folks who showed interest but needed more time.

  • Calendar Management & Coordination: As the title suggests, setting appointments is the core of their role. They coordinate calendars between prospects and your team. If you’ve ever played email tag trying to find a meeting time, you know it can be tedious. 

An appointment setter handles all that: proposing times, sending calendar invites, and even rescheduling if needed. They make sure everyone is on the same page. This seems simple but saves a ton of hassle and ensures that hard-won prospect actually makes it to a meeting.

  • CRM Updates & Reporting: Behind the scenes, appointment setters also keep records of their activities. They update lead statuses in your CRM system (like Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.), add notes from their conversations (so your sales reps are prepped before the meeting), and often track metrics like how many calls made, emails sent, meetings booked, etc. 

They might prepare a weekly report of meetings set or new leads added. This data is useful to you as a manager to see the pipeline building activity in action. Plus, maintaining clean records means no prospect slips through unnoticed.

In essence, an appointment setter’s day is a blend of salesperson, detective, and concierge. They investigate who might be a good potential customer, reach out and engage them in conversation, and then smoothly hand them off into a scheduled meeting with your team. They are persuasive communicators who know how to qualify a lead and excite them just enough to take the next step.

The “Compound Interest” of Daily Outreach

If the steps above seem routine, that’s intentional—because the real strength of an appointment setter lies in consistency. Much like going to the gym, a single session won’t deliver results, but a steady, disciplined approach over time drives meaningful growth. Each call or email might only move the needle a tiny bit: one more lead, one meeting booked, one follow-up scheduled. But these actions compound. Over a month, daily outreach could result in dozens of extra sales conversations. Over a quarter, that could translate into a significant boost in qualified opportunities.

Here’s a quick mental model: This consistency can translate into a significant increase in qualified opportunities. Here's a simple mental model: if an appointment setter books 10 meetings in a month and your close rate on qualified leads is 20%, that’s potentially 2 new customers—month after month. The compounding impact on your pipeline and revenue can be substantial. Even at that rate, those 10 meetings could yield 2 new customers. Two new customers every month means 24 new deals a year – from just one appointment setter’s efforts! And if your deal size is large, that’s potentially hundreds of thousands in revenue.

That’s the compounding impact. Small efforts each day build on the previous ones, creating an ever-growing pipeline. It’s like rolling a snowball down a hill – it might start small, but it picks up mass and momentum as it rolls. An appointment setter gets that snowball rolling for your sales pipeline. The longer they’re at it, the larger your pipeline becomes, and the more your revenue can grow quarter after quarter.

So when we say hiring an appointment setter is one of the best moves for a growth-focused company, we mean it. You’re investing in consistent pipeline generation. It’s an investment that keeps paying dividends over time, as each meeting set can turn into a new deal, which then can lead to referrals or upsells, and so on. This is how their impact multiplies and compounds.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Appointment Setter?

Alright, let’s talk numbers. Hiring any new team member comes with the question: “What’s this going to cost?” The good news is that if you’re open to hiring remotely (which many companies are, post-2020 world), you can get fantastic appointment setters at a fraction of the cost of a U.S.-based hire. Let’s break down typical monthly salary ranges for full-time appointment setters in three talent-rich regions: the Philippines, Latin America, and South Africa. We’ll also compare these to U.S. salaries to highlight the cost savings.

  •  Philippines: The Philippines is famous for its large pool of English-speaking, customer-savvy professionals. It’s one of the top destinations for virtual assistants and sales support roles.

A full-time remote appointment setter in the Philippines will usually earn somewhere around $900 to $1,200 USD per month. For many small businesses, paying roughly $900 a month for a dedicated Filipino appointment setter is common and provides incredible value. (Yes, you read that right – about nine hundred per month, not per week!). 

Despite the lower cost, you’re often getting folks with college degrees and experience in sales or customer service. The Philippines offers competitive talent at an affordable rate, thanks to the lower cost of living and strong outsourcing industry.

  •  Latin America: Latin America is a broad region, encompassing countries like Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and others. It’s quickly becoming a hotspot for remote hiring due to time zone compatibility with the U.S. and a growing number of skilled professionals in sales and marketing. Appointment setter salaries in Latin America can vary by country and experience, but a typical range is about $1,200 to $1,800 USD per month. 

For example, a junior appointment setter in Nicaragua or Honduras might be around $1,000, whereas a more senior SDR (sales development rep) type in Mexico or Argentina might command $1,500-$1,800. On average, many companies find great talent around the ~$1,000/month mark. 

One cool thing: many Latin American team members can work U.S. business hours with minimal issue, and cultural alignment is often strong. So you’re getting convenience along with cost savings.

  • South Africa: South Africa has a highly educated, English-speaking workforce and is emerging as another excellent source for remote talent, especially in roles like sales and customer support. South African appointment setters typically earn around $1,500 to $2,000 USD per month on average. Some may be a bit lower or higher depending on experience or specialized skills (for instance, B2B tech outreach experience might push it higher). 

South Africa’s time zone is closer to Europe, but many professionals are willing to adjust hours for U.S. companies, or you can leverage them for EMEA region outreach if that suits you. Quality-wise, you’ll often find folks with a professional corporate background, given the strong call center and financial services industries there. The slightly higher cost (compared to Philippines) comes with excellent communication skills and business acumen. It’s still drastically more affordable than hiring within the U.S.

Now, let’s compare these with U.S.-based appointment setters. 

In the United States, an appointment setter (often called a Sales Development Representative or Business Development Rep if it’s more specialized) typically has a base salary of around $3,000 to $4,000 per month, which is about $36k–$50k per year. 

And that’s just the base salary—once you factor in benefits, taxes, and performance-based incentives like commissions or bonuses for setting qualified appointments, the total cost rises significantly. In fact, many SDRs in the U.S. have on-target earnings (OTE) exceeding $60,000 annually, or over $5,000 per month. So let’s conservatively say $4,000/month for a capable U.S. appointment setter versus maybe ~$1,000/month for an overseas one. You’re looking at a 75% cost reduction in payroll on that role by hiring remotely. 😮

In simple terms, hiring an appointment setter in regions such as the Philippines, Latin America, or South Africa can save you thousands of dollars each month per hire, without compromising on quality or efficiency.

Over a year, the savings could fund other hires or more marketing spend – fueling even more growth. Somewhere.com’s clients routinely save 70-80% on payroll costs by hiring globally. And those savings come without sacrificing quality. It’s truly the best of both worlds: you get the talent you need to grow, and you keep your budget in check.

Quick example: One Somewhere.com client (a U.S. tech startup) was considering a local SDR at $50k/year. Instead, they hired a seasoned appointment setter from South Africa for about $1,100/month (roughly $13k/year). That’s roughly 75% less cost, for a person who was equally skilled and effective. The kicker? With the savings, the company reinvested in additional lead generation tools and ended up growing even faster.

Of course, salary is just one aspect of the equation. Equally important is the return on investment (ROI). A skilled appointment setter will more than justify their cost by consistently generating new business and contributing to your company’s growth. If an appointment setter on a $1k/month salary helps close even one mid-sized deal, that deal’s revenue likely covers their cost for the whole year. Everything after that is gravy. When you crunch the numbers, it becomes clear why hiring an appointment setter (especially a remote one) is such a smart financial decision for growth-minded companies.

Why Somewhere.com is the Best Way to Hire a Remote Appointment Setter

By now you might be thinking, “Okay, hiring a remote appointment setter sounds fantastic – but how do I actually find a good one?” This is where Somewhere.com comes in as a total game-changer in the hiring process. (Yes, here’s our shameless plug – but we promise, it’s worth it!).

Somewhere.com isn’t just another job board or faceless recruiting agency. We’ve built a specialized service for companies exactly like yours, to help you hire top-notch remote talent quickly and confidently. 

Here’s why Somewhere.com is hands-down the best solution for hiring an Appointment Setter (or any remote role, for that matter):

  • Access to Elite, Pre-Vetted Talent: We’ve done the heavy lifting of building talent networks in the Philippines, Latin America, South Africa, and beyond. Over 50,000 candidates per month enter our screening process, and only the top 0.5% ever get presented to clients. 

When you partner with Somewhere.com, you’re gaining access to top-tier talent. Our candidates undergo a thorough vetting process, ensuring they possess the right skills, experience, and communication abilities to drive success. You won’t have to wade through hundreds of mediocre resumes or gamble on unproven candidates. We’ll send you a shortlist of A-players ready to set appointments and drive growth from Day 1.

  •  Experience with 3,000+ Businesses: We aren’t newbies at this. Somewhere (formerly known as Shepherd) has helped over 3,200 businesses hire more than 6,000 remote team members. From agile startups to well-established enterprises, we’ve worked with a diverse range of organizations and understand the unique needs of each. This experience means we understand exactly what makes a remote hire successful. 

We’ve fine-tuned our hiring process to minimize time-to-hire and maximize success rates. Our track record is our proof point – if 3,000 other companies entrusted us to build their remote teams, you can feel pretty confident we know what we’re doing.

  •  Hire at 80% Less Cost (Seriously!): We’ve talked about cost savings, but it’s worth noting that Somewhere.com is explicitly designed to help you capitalize on those savings. Our whole model is about connecting you with global talent so you can save 70-80% on payroll compared to hiring in the U.S.

We don’t just send you resumes—we guide you through the entire hiring process, including salary expectations and overall value. Our goal is to help you make a smart hire that fits both your budget and your business needs. One of our core values is making remote hiring affordable and sustainable for small and mid-sized businesses. We even often highlight how much you save per hire on our platform. It’s like having a cheat code for hiring – get the same quality of talent, pay a fraction of the usual cost.

  •  Fast & Hassle-Free Hiring Process: Traditional hiring can take months – posting jobs, screening, interviewing, etc. We’ve streamlined this. When you partner with Somewhere.com, the process begins with a kickoff call where we take the time to understand your specific needs—whether it's the role, ideal candidate profile, time zone preferences, or other key factors. From there, our global team of recruiters quickly springs into action, presenting you with a curated list of top candidates, often within days. You then interview the candidates you’re interested in (via Zoom or your preferred platform) and select the best fit for your team.

We handle things like offer letters, negotiations, and can even advise on market rates. It’s a concierge service for hiring. Our goal is to make hiring an appointment setter as seamless as ordering a product online. You simply tell us your requirements, and we deliver a fully-qualified candidate ready to hit the ground running. In fact, many roles are filled in just a few weeks or less.

  •  Quality Guarantee and Support: We’re so confident in our talent that we back every hire with a 6-month guarantee. That means if, for any reason, the hire isn’t working out, we’ll replace them free of charge within the first 6 months. It’s essentially a safety net, giving you the confidence to hire with peace of mind. Plus, we provide ongoing support throughout the process—whether you need guidance during onboarding or encounter performance challenges months down the line, we're here to help. Noticing a performance issue at month 3? 

We’re your partner through it all. Our business succeeds when you succeed with your new team member, so we go the extra mile to help make that a reality. (Try getting that kind of commitment from a typical freelancer marketplace or a job board!)

  •  Global Reach, Local Fit: Our candidates may be halfway across the world, but we ensure they seamlessly become an integral part of your local team, driving collaboration and success from anywhere.We prioritize finding people with excellent English and cultural fit for Western businesses. We also make sure candidates are willing to work your hours. Whether you need someone on East Coast time or Pacific or anything in between, we have candidates who can align with that. We've successfully placed talent from South Africa working U.S. hours and skilled professionals from the Philippines covering EU hours—no matter the time zone, we’ve got you covered.

The result: you get a “remote” hire who in practice works just like someone a few cubicles away (minus the cubicle). Many of our clients tell us they sometimes forget their appointment setter is remote at all – they’re just part of the team.

  • Proven Results and Testimonials: We could go on and on, but nothing speaks louder than real success stories. For instance, a SaaS company that hired an appointment setter through Somewhere.com saw their weekly sales meetings jump 3x within the first two months – translating to a significantly bigger pipeline. Another client, an e-commerce store, credits their Somewhere-hired appointment setter with helping boost their monthly revenue by 25% by reactivating dormant leads. We have dozens of success stories like these (check out the Success Stories section on our site if you’re curious!). 

The common thread: hiring the right appointment setter through Somewhere.com has tangible impacts on our clients’ growth metrics – from lower CAC (since you’re converting more existing leads) to higher close rates (since reps talk only to warmed-up prospects) and of course more revenue.

In summary, Somewhere.com offers a done-for-you, reliable way to hire remote appointment setters (and many other roles) without the usual risks and headaches. Our unique value props – vast talent pool, rigorous vetting, massive cost savings, speedy hiring, and post-hire support – set us apart from trying to DIY or using generic platforms. Here’s how we see it: focus on growing your business, and let us focus on finding you the people who will make that growth happen.

Ready to Supercharge Your Sales Pipeline? 

Hiring an appointment setter could be the missing puzzle piece that takes your company’s growth from good to extraordinary. It’s one of those decisions that, in hindsight, you’ll wish you’d made sooner. By freeing up your time (and your sales team’s time) and by ensuring a steady flow of new prospects, a great appointment setter can dramatically accelerate your journey toward your revenue goals. And thanks to remote hiring through Somewhere.com, bringing this rockstar on board is easier and more cost-effective than ever.

If the idea of having qualified sales meetings magically appear on your calendar each week excites you (and it should!), then it’s time to take action.

Book a call with Somewhere.com today. Let’s talk about your needs and how we can find you an amazing remote appointment setter who’ll start delivering results in no time. We’ll handle the hard parts – sourcing, vetting, and matching you with the perfect candidate – so you can f

Take the leap and supercharge your sales pipeline. Your future self (and your sales team) will thank you. 

Download Now

What Can a Virtual Appointment Setter Do For You

In this guide, we’ll break down why appointment setters are game-changers for growing businesses, what they do day-to-day, how their impact compounds over time, and how to hire one (without breaking the bank).
In this post, we’ll address common recruitment challenges and explain how remote hiring can solve them.
Picture this: You have a great product and interested leads are trickling in, but your sales team is stretched thin. Follow-ups get missed, and potential customers slip away. Sound familiar? If you’re a growth-focused company, hiring an Appointment Setter might be the best decision you make this year.

Why an Appointment Setter Is a Growth Game-Changer

Growing a business is all about momentum. An appointment setter adds fuel to your sales engine by keeping your calendar filled with qualified meetings. Here’s why bringing one on board is a no-brainer for companies aiming to scale:

  • They Keep Your Pipeline Full: Appointment setters prospect for new leads and reach out to potential clients daily. While you’re focusing on strategy or closing deals, they’re busy opening doors – making cold calls, sending introduction emails, and LinkedIn messages to drum up interest. This constant activity means your sales pipeline never runs dry. It’s like having someone plant seeds every day so you can harvest deals continuously.

  • They Ensure No Lead Gets Left Behind: For inbound inquiries, an appointment setter acts fast. When a prospect submits a website form or downloads a whitepaper, your appointment setter promptly follows up—often within minutes—to initiate engagement and move the lead forward. That speed matters – responding to a new lead within 5 minutes can make you dramatically more likely to qualify that lead compared to waiting even an hour. Dedicated appointment setters make sure hot leads don’t go cold by giving them prompt, personal attention.

  • They Free Up Your Sales Team: Without a dedicated appointment setter, your high-value sales closers could be spending valuable hours prospecting or managing their own calendars—time that would be better spent closing deals. By delegating outreach and appointment scheduling to a specialist, your account executives or closers can spend more time selling – doing demos, handling negotiations, and signing deals. 

In other words, appointment setters let your sales team focus on what they do best (closing), while they handle the legwork of filling the top of the funnel.

  • Consistent Outreach = Compounding Growth: Appointment setting functions much like a flywheel—or even a compounding savings account. Each day of consistent outreach may generate just a few leads, and not every prospect will convert right away. But over time, these daily efforts accumulate, creating steady momentum and long-term pipeline growth. An appointment setter who books say 5 meetings a week is adding ~20 extra sales conversations per month. Maybe only a fraction turn into customers right away – but some will, and others go into nurturing for future deals. 

This consistent flow of meetings creates a compounding effect on your growth. Instead of the feast-or-famine cycle (where you’re either swamped with leads or staring at an empty pipeline), you get steady, predictable growth. One founder described hiring an appointment setter as “finally getting off the revenue rollercoaster and onto a steady climb.” 🎢➡️📈

  • Better Customer Experience: Reaching out to prospects promptly with a warm, human touch signals that your company is responsive, organized, and serious about earning their business. An appointment setter’s personal touch – a warm call or a helpful email – can impress potential clients. Even if they’re not ready to buy yet, they’ll remember the positive interaction. This kind of attentive engagement can differentiate you from competitors who make leads wait days for a response.

In short, appointment setters are the unsung heroes that keep the wheels of growth turning. They hustle so you don’t have to, ensuring you always have new prospects in the pipeline. For a growth-focused company, that’s gold.

What Does an Appointment Setter Do All Day?

Appointment setters have a very focused mission: connect with prospects and get that first meeting on the calendar. But how they do that can span a variety of tasks. Let’s break down their day-to-day responsibilities:

  • Outbound Prospecting: A big part of an appointment setter’s day is proactive outreach. This means researching and building lists of potential customers (often using tools or platforms like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, CRM data, etc.), then reaching out via cold calls, emails, or social media messages. They are skilled at grabbing a prospect’s attention quickly – with a catchy opening line or a value-packed email – to spark interest. 

Once they have someone on the line, they’ll give a quick elevator pitch and qualify the lead (make sure there’s a potential fit and interest). If it looks promising, they’ll go ahead and schedule a call or demo with your sales rep or team. Essentially, they hunt for opportunities so your closers can swoop in at the right time.

  • Inbound Lead Response: On the other side of the funnel, appointment setters also manage inbound leads. Whether a prospect downloads your e-book, registers for a webinar, or submits a website inquiry, the setter steps in immediately to qualify the lead and schedule the next step. They’ll quickly follow up with an email or call (“Hi! Saw you checked out our site… how can we help?”) to engage the lead while it’s hot. They respond to initial inquiries, provide a brief overview of your services, and—most importantly—aim to schedule a meeting or discovery call to connect the prospect with a sales representative.

Speed is crucial here; by being responsive and helpful, an appointment setter ensures interested prospects aren’t kept waiting – which greatly increases the chance of eventually closing the deal.

  • Nurturing and Follow-ups: Not every lead says “Yes, let’s talk” on the first attempt – and that’s okay. Appointment setters will often nurture leads that aren’t ready yet. This could mean sending a polite follow-up email next week, sharing a useful article or case study, or calling back at a later date the prospect requested. They keep track of leads in the CRM, set reminders, and stay persistent (without being pushy). 

This way, leads that might have gone cold get gently warmed up over time. A good appointment setter has a bit of a memory of an elephant – they remember to circle back with folks who showed interest but needed more time.

  • Calendar Management & Coordination: As the title suggests, setting appointments is the core of their role. They coordinate calendars between prospects and your team. If you’ve ever played email tag trying to find a meeting time, you know it can be tedious. 

An appointment setter handles all that: proposing times, sending calendar invites, and even rescheduling if needed. They make sure everyone is on the same page. This seems simple but saves a ton of hassle and ensures that hard-won prospect actually makes it to a meeting.

  • CRM Updates & Reporting: Behind the scenes, appointment setters also keep records of their activities. They update lead statuses in your CRM system (like Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.), add notes from their conversations (so your sales reps are prepped before the meeting), and often track metrics like how many calls made, emails sent, meetings booked, etc. 

They might prepare a weekly report of meetings set or new leads added. This data is useful to you as a manager to see the pipeline building activity in action. Plus, maintaining clean records means no prospect slips through unnoticed.

In essence, an appointment setter’s day is a blend of salesperson, detective, and concierge. They investigate who might be a good potential customer, reach out and engage them in conversation, and then smoothly hand them off into a scheduled meeting with your team. They are persuasive communicators who know how to qualify a lead and excite them just enough to take the next step.

The “Compound Interest” of Daily Outreach

If the steps above seem routine, that’s intentional—because the real strength of an appointment setter lies in consistency. Much like going to the gym, a single session won’t deliver results, but a steady, disciplined approach over time drives meaningful growth. Each call or email might only move the needle a tiny bit: one more lead, one meeting booked, one follow-up scheduled. But these actions compound. Over a month, daily outreach could result in dozens of extra sales conversations. Over a quarter, that could translate into a significant boost in qualified opportunities.

Here’s a quick mental model: This consistency can translate into a significant increase in qualified opportunities. Here's a simple mental model: if an appointment setter books 10 meetings in a month and your close rate on qualified leads is 20%, that’s potentially 2 new customers—month after month. The compounding impact on your pipeline and revenue can be substantial. Even at that rate, those 10 meetings could yield 2 new customers. Two new customers every month means 24 new deals a year – from just one appointment setter’s efforts! And if your deal size is large, that’s potentially hundreds of thousands in revenue.

That’s the compounding impact. Small efforts each day build on the previous ones, creating an ever-growing pipeline. It’s like rolling a snowball down a hill – it might start small, but it picks up mass and momentum as it rolls. An appointment setter gets that snowball rolling for your sales pipeline. The longer they’re at it, the larger your pipeline becomes, and the more your revenue can grow quarter after quarter.

So when we say hiring an appointment setter is one of the best moves for a growth-focused company, we mean it. You’re investing in consistent pipeline generation. It’s an investment that keeps paying dividends over time, as each meeting set can turn into a new deal, which then can lead to referrals or upsells, and so on. This is how their impact multiplies and compounds.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Appointment Setter?

Alright, let’s talk numbers. Hiring any new team member comes with the question: “What’s this going to cost?” The good news is that if you’re open to hiring remotely (which many companies are, post-2020 world), you can get fantastic appointment setters at a fraction of the cost of a U.S.-based hire. Let’s break down typical monthly salary ranges for full-time appointment setters in three talent-rich regions: the Philippines, Latin America, and South Africa. We’ll also compare these to U.S. salaries to highlight the cost savings.

  •  Philippines: The Philippines is famous for its large pool of English-speaking, customer-savvy professionals. It’s one of the top destinations for virtual assistants and sales support roles.

A full-time remote appointment setter in the Philippines will usually earn somewhere around $900 to $1,200 USD per month. For many small businesses, paying roughly $900 a month for a dedicated Filipino appointment setter is common and provides incredible value. (Yes, you read that right – about nine hundred per month, not per week!). 

Despite the lower cost, you’re often getting folks with college degrees and experience in sales or customer service. The Philippines offers competitive talent at an affordable rate, thanks to the lower cost of living and strong outsourcing industry.

  •  Latin America: Latin America is a broad region, encompassing countries like Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and others. It’s quickly becoming a hotspot for remote hiring due to time zone compatibility with the U.S. and a growing number of skilled professionals in sales and marketing. Appointment setter salaries in Latin America can vary by country and experience, but a typical range is about $1,200 to $1,800 USD per month. 

For example, a junior appointment setter in Nicaragua or Honduras might be around $1,000, whereas a more senior SDR (sales development rep) type in Mexico or Argentina might command $1,500-$1,800. On average, many companies find great talent around the ~$1,000/month mark. 

One cool thing: many Latin American team members can work U.S. business hours with minimal issue, and cultural alignment is often strong. So you’re getting convenience along with cost savings.

  • South Africa: South Africa has a highly educated, English-speaking workforce and is emerging as another excellent source for remote talent, especially in roles like sales and customer support. South African appointment setters typically earn around $1,500 to $2,000 USD per month on average. Some may be a bit lower or higher depending on experience or specialized skills (for instance, B2B tech outreach experience might push it higher). 

South Africa’s time zone is closer to Europe, but many professionals are willing to adjust hours for U.S. companies, or you can leverage them for EMEA region outreach if that suits you. Quality-wise, you’ll often find folks with a professional corporate background, given the strong call center and financial services industries there. The slightly higher cost (compared to Philippines) comes with excellent communication skills and business acumen. It’s still drastically more affordable than hiring within the U.S.

Now, let’s compare these with U.S.-based appointment setters. 

In the United States, an appointment setter (often called a Sales Development Representative or Business Development Rep if it’s more specialized) typically has a base salary of around $3,000 to $4,000 per month, which is about $36k–$50k per year. 

And that’s just the base salary—once you factor in benefits, taxes, and performance-based incentives like commissions or bonuses for setting qualified appointments, the total cost rises significantly. In fact, many SDRs in the U.S. have on-target earnings (OTE) exceeding $60,000 annually, or over $5,000 per month. So let’s conservatively say $4,000/month for a capable U.S. appointment setter versus maybe ~$1,000/month for an overseas one. You’re looking at a 75% cost reduction in payroll on that role by hiring remotely. 😮

In simple terms, hiring an appointment setter in regions such as the Philippines, Latin America, or South Africa can save you thousands of dollars each month per hire, without compromising on quality or efficiency.

Over a year, the savings could fund other hires or more marketing spend – fueling even more growth. Somewhere.com’s clients routinely save 70-80% on payroll costs by hiring globally. And those savings come without sacrificing quality. It’s truly the best of both worlds: you get the talent you need to grow, and you keep your budget in check.

Quick example: One Somewhere.com client (a U.S. tech startup) was considering a local SDR at $50k/year. Instead, they hired a seasoned appointment setter from South Africa for about $1,100/month (roughly $13k/year). That’s roughly 75% less cost, for a person who was equally skilled and effective. The kicker? With the savings, the company reinvested in additional lead generation tools and ended up growing even faster.

Of course, salary is just one aspect of the equation. Equally important is the return on investment (ROI). A skilled appointment setter will more than justify their cost by consistently generating new business and contributing to your company’s growth. If an appointment setter on a $1k/month salary helps close even one mid-sized deal, that deal’s revenue likely covers their cost for the whole year. Everything after that is gravy. When you crunch the numbers, it becomes clear why hiring an appointment setter (especially a remote one) is such a smart financial decision for growth-minded companies.

Why Somewhere.com is the Best Way to Hire a Remote Appointment Setter

By now you might be thinking, “Okay, hiring a remote appointment setter sounds fantastic – but how do I actually find a good one?” This is where Somewhere.com comes in as a total game-changer in the hiring process. (Yes, here’s our shameless plug – but we promise, it’s worth it!).

Somewhere.com isn’t just another job board or faceless recruiting agency. We’ve built a specialized service for companies exactly like yours, to help you hire top-notch remote talent quickly and confidently. 

Here’s why Somewhere.com is hands-down the best solution for hiring an Appointment Setter (or any remote role, for that matter):

  • Access to Elite, Pre-Vetted Talent: We’ve done the heavy lifting of building talent networks in the Philippines, Latin America, South Africa, and beyond. Over 50,000 candidates per month enter our screening process, and only the top 0.5% ever get presented to clients. 

When you partner with Somewhere.com, you’re gaining access to top-tier talent. Our candidates undergo a thorough vetting process, ensuring they possess the right skills, experience, and communication abilities to drive success. You won’t have to wade through hundreds of mediocre resumes or gamble on unproven candidates. We’ll send you a shortlist of A-players ready to set appointments and drive growth from Day 1.

  •  Experience with 3,000+ Businesses: We aren’t newbies at this. Somewhere (formerly known as Shepherd) has helped over 3,200 businesses hire more than 6,000 remote team members. From agile startups to well-established enterprises, we’ve worked with a diverse range of organizations and understand the unique needs of each. This experience means we understand exactly what makes a remote hire successful. 

We’ve fine-tuned our hiring process to minimize time-to-hire and maximize success rates. Our track record is our proof point – if 3,000 other companies entrusted us to build their remote teams, you can feel pretty confident we know what we’re doing.

  •  Hire at 80% Less Cost (Seriously!): We’ve talked about cost savings, but it’s worth noting that Somewhere.com is explicitly designed to help you capitalize on those savings. Our whole model is about connecting you with global talent so you can save 70-80% on payroll compared to hiring in the U.S.

We don’t just send you resumes—we guide you through the entire hiring process, including salary expectations and overall value. Our goal is to help you make a smart hire that fits both your budget and your business needs. One of our core values is making remote hiring affordable and sustainable for small and mid-sized businesses. We even often highlight how much you save per hire on our platform. It’s like having a cheat code for hiring – get the same quality of talent, pay a fraction of the usual cost.

  •  Fast & Hassle-Free Hiring Process: Traditional hiring can take months – posting jobs, screening, interviewing, etc. We’ve streamlined this. When you partner with Somewhere.com, the process begins with a kickoff call where we take the time to understand your specific needs—whether it's the role, ideal candidate profile, time zone preferences, or other key factors. From there, our global team of recruiters quickly springs into action, presenting you with a curated list of top candidates, often within days. You then interview the candidates you’re interested in (via Zoom or your preferred platform) and select the best fit for your team.

We handle things like offer letters, negotiations, and can even advise on market rates. It’s a concierge service for hiring. Our goal is to make hiring an appointment setter as seamless as ordering a product online. You simply tell us your requirements, and we deliver a fully-qualified candidate ready to hit the ground running. In fact, many roles are filled in just a few weeks or less.

  •  Quality Guarantee and Support: We’re so confident in our talent that we back every hire with a 6-month guarantee. That means if, for any reason, the hire isn’t working out, we’ll replace them free of charge within the first 6 months. It’s essentially a safety net, giving you the confidence to hire with peace of mind. Plus, we provide ongoing support throughout the process—whether you need guidance during onboarding or encounter performance challenges months down the line, we're here to help. Noticing a performance issue at month 3? 

We’re your partner through it all. Our business succeeds when you succeed with your new team member, so we go the extra mile to help make that a reality. (Try getting that kind of commitment from a typical freelancer marketplace or a job board!)

  •  Global Reach, Local Fit: Our candidates may be halfway across the world, but we ensure they seamlessly become an integral part of your local team, driving collaboration and success from anywhere.We prioritize finding people with excellent English and cultural fit for Western businesses. We also make sure candidates are willing to work your hours. Whether you need someone on East Coast time or Pacific or anything in between, we have candidates who can align with that. We've successfully placed talent from South Africa working U.S. hours and skilled professionals from the Philippines covering EU hours—no matter the time zone, we’ve got you covered.

The result: you get a “remote” hire who in practice works just like someone a few cubicles away (minus the cubicle). Many of our clients tell us they sometimes forget their appointment setter is remote at all – they’re just part of the team.

  • Proven Results and Testimonials: We could go on and on, but nothing speaks louder than real success stories. For instance, a SaaS company that hired an appointment setter through Somewhere.com saw their weekly sales meetings jump 3x within the first two months – translating to a significantly bigger pipeline. Another client, an e-commerce store, credits their Somewhere-hired appointment setter with helping boost their monthly revenue by 25% by reactivating dormant leads. We have dozens of success stories like these (check out the Success Stories section on our site if you’re curious!). 

The common thread: hiring the right appointment setter through Somewhere.com has tangible impacts on our clients’ growth metrics – from lower CAC (since you’re converting more existing leads) to higher close rates (since reps talk only to warmed-up prospects) and of course more revenue.

In summary, Somewhere.com offers a done-for-you, reliable way to hire remote appointment setters (and many other roles) without the usual risks and headaches. Our unique value props – vast talent pool, rigorous vetting, massive cost savings, speedy hiring, and post-hire support – set us apart from trying to DIY or using generic platforms. Here’s how we see it: focus on growing your business, and let us focus on finding you the people who will make that growth happen.

Ready to Supercharge Your Sales Pipeline? 

Hiring an appointment setter could be the missing puzzle piece that takes your company’s growth from good to extraordinary. It’s one of those decisions that, in hindsight, you’ll wish you’d made sooner. By freeing up your time (and your sales team’s time) and by ensuring a steady flow of new prospects, a great appointment setter can dramatically accelerate your journey toward your revenue goals. And thanks to remote hiring through Somewhere.com, bringing this rockstar on board is easier and more cost-effective than ever.

If the idea of having qualified sales meetings magically appear on your calendar each week excites you (and it should!), then it’s time to take action.

Book a call with Somewhere.com today. Let’s talk about your needs and how we can find you an amazing remote appointment setter who’ll start delivering results in no time. We’ll handle the hard parts – sourcing, vetting, and matching you with the perfect candidate – so you can f

Take the leap and supercharge your sales pipeline. Your future self (and your sales team) will thank you. 

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Get the salary Philippines Hiring Guide here

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Get the LatAm Hiring Guide salary guide here

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Get the South Africa Hiring Guide salary guide here

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