From Cold Calls to Closed Deals: How Client X Found Their “Don Draper” in Appointment Setting: How a Service-Based Business Turned 10 Hours a Week Into Real Sales Momentum

Andrea Goodman
May 7
2 min read

photo of Don Draper from Mad Men with the text "What if your team could book meetings like Don Draper closed deals?"

Could Your Sales Strategy Use a Little Mad Men Magic?

Don Draper didn’t waste time on lukewarm leads or meaningless meetings. He knew how to walk into a room with confidence, pitch with precision, and close with impact.

But even Don Draper needed someone to get him in the room.

That’s where Appointments by Design came in for Client X—a B2B services firm who had seen it all: flaky meetings, unqualified prospects, and “appointments” that were really just people trying to end the call.

🎯 The Problem: No Shows, No Spark, No Sales

Before working with us, Client X was frustrated. They had tried other appointment setting services, but the results were... underwhelming.

No-shows were common.
Conversations felt forced.
Prospects weren’t decision-makers—or even interested.

Sound familiar?

The client’s team was wasting time on meetings that led nowhere. Sales reps were demoralized, and real opportunities were slipping through the cracks.

✅ The Appointments by Design Solution

When Client X came to us, they asked for a trial—just 10 hours a week to test the waters.

We got to work immediately, focusing on:

✔️ Decision-maker targeting ✔️ Personalized outreach ✔️ Detailed pre-call reports so their reps walked in informed, not cold.

The Results?

They were anything but average.

📈 4 qualified leads by Month 2

💼 35%+ conversion rate from appointments to sales opportunities

⏰ 100% attendance rate during the trial period

💲 Higher lead quality, more value per meeting

No more mystery meetings. No more time-wasting intros. Just real prospects, ready to talk business.

“We’ve got a part-time source who’s already outperforming half our full-time channels.” — Sales Manager, Client X

Metric	Before ABD	With ABD
Appointment Show Rate	~60%	100%
Decision-Maker Engagement	<40%	100%
Appointment-to-Opportunity	~10%	35%+
Weekly Time Investment	30+ hrs	10 hrs

💬 “She’s outperforming half our full-time channels—with less time and no internal training.” — Sales Manager, Client X

🔍 Why This Matters

According to Cognism, the average cold calling success rate in 2025 is just 2.3%. Compare that to our 35%+ appointment-to-opportunity rate—without the awkwardness or wasted effort.

We didn’t flood their calendar. We delivered fewer, better conversations. Exactly what their closers needed to do their job—like Don Draper walking into a pitch he was born to win.

💡 What Sets Us Apart

We don’t force meetings. We earn them.
We don’t script the same message for every industry. We learn your business.
We don’t just pass along a name. We deliver real opportunity.