Securing appointments has at all times been a gross sales problem, however in media gross sales in the present day, it’s reached a breaking level. The  sixth Annual Media Gross sales Report exhibits that reserving conferences, advancing offers, and shutting enterprise require extra persistence, higher instruments, and sharper methods than ever earlier than.

Right here’s what the information from the Setting Appointments & Gross sales Course of part tells us—and what gross sales leaders should do now to maintain their pipelines full.

Reserving Appointments is the High Bottleneck

75% of salespeople say it’s tougher than ever to e book conferences, and a fair higher proportion of managers (85%) agree. For a lot of sellers, it takes 5–9 makes an attempt simply to land a primary appointment, and 14% battle to get conferences in any respect.

Motion for Gross sales Leaders:

• Construct persistence into your prospecting playbook—5+ touchpoints ought to be normal, not distinctive.

• Prepare sellers to mix channels (calls, electronic mail, LinkedIn, video) for max influence.

• Monitor exercise metrics to make sure follow-up sequences are being executed totally.

Proposal Quantity is Too Low

Most sellers (57%) submit only one–2 proposals per week. However 76% of managers imagine this quantity is just too low to maintain a wholesome pipeline.

Motion for Gross sales Leaders:

• Set minimal proposal benchmarks tied to your group’s shut charges and income objectives.

• Use CRM reporting to identify proposal bottlenecks and coach for earlier qualification.

• Create urgency by setting proposal deadlines and monitoring turnaround instances.

Communication Instruments Are Caught within the Previous

Telephone calls and electronic mail stay the dominant outreach strategies—however 93% of sellers aren’t utilizing 1:1 video messaging, probably the most private and fascinating methods to attach with prospects. LinkedIn is underutilized too, with solely 15% utilizing it “on a regular basis.”

Motion for Gross sales Leaders:

• Prepare sellers on learn how to create efficient, quick, customized video messages.

• Make LinkedIn outreach a part of each prospecting cadence.

• Audit outreach patterns month-to-month to make sure channel variety.

CRM and AI Instruments Are Underused

Whereas CRM entry is excessive (88% of sellers, 83% of managers), 28% of sellers and 45% of managers admit they don’t use it successfully. AI adoption is much more restricted—50% of sellers by no means or solely sometimes use AI for duties like prospecting, automating follow-ups, or producing concepts.

Motion for Gross sales Leaders:

• Prepare your group on how to make use of CRM and AI instruments within the context of their every day workflow.

• Set up a normal CRM utilization coverage and observe compliance weekly.

• Determine high-impact AI purposes—like automated follow-up emails or lead scoring—and pilot them together with your group.

Gross sales Cycles Require Higher Course of Self-discipline

For many sellers (61%), the gross sales cycle from discovery to shut is 1 week to 1 month. However almost a 3rd (31%) face longer cycles of 1–3 months, including strain to take care of constant exercise and pipeline protection.

Motion for Gross sales Leaders:

• Use gross sales cycle information to set clear expectations for deal development.

• Determine the place offers stall and coach sellers on shifting them ahead.

• Encourage multi-threading—constructing a number of relationships in the identical account—to hurry up decision-making.

Remaining Thought: Appointment Setting is a Talent—and a System

The information exhibits that securing appointments isn’t simply tougher—it’s slower, much less constant, and overly reliant on outdated strategies. Sellers want structured, multi-channel outreach methods, stronger proposal self-discipline, and higher use of the instruments already at their disposal.

Leaders who modernize their method won’t solely e book extra conferences—they’ll speed up your entire gross sales course of.

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For extra insights on how main media gross sales groups are adapting their processes, prospecting smarter, and leveraging expertise, obtain the whole 2025 Media Gross sales Report right here:
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