Cold Caller / Appointment Setter

Remote – Full-Time Contractor Industry: Payments / Merchant Services Schedule: Eastern Time Business Hours

About the Role

The Cold Caller / Appointment Setter will own the outbound calling function end to end, working an assigned segment of the merchant list, qualifying prospects live on the phone, booking appointments for the partnership team, and accurately documenting every call outcome.

This is a high-volume, metrics-driven outbound position requiring consistency, resilience, strong communication skills, and a high degree of personal accountability.

The role is measured not only by appointment-setting results, but also by honest and verifiable activity. Accurate call logging is a core responsibility of the position.

The contractor will work closely with the organization's partnership and account leadership, handing off qualified, booked appointments and escalating higher-value or complex conversations through an established escalation path.

Partnership strategy, ISO/referral relationship management, deal closing, and payments product ownership remain with the organization's leadership team and are not part of this role.

Key Responsibilities

Outbound Calling & Merchant Qualification

• Dial an assigned segment of the organization's merchant list daily.
• Work toward a target of approximately 100 outbound calls per day.
• Qualify each merchant contact live on the call according to established qualification criteria.
• Identify the appropriate decision-maker.
• Confirm basic account details before booking an appointment.
• Maintain a consistent and professional calling cadence.
• Work through the assigned merchant list systematically.

Appointment Setting & Scheduling

• Book qualified appointments directly onto the partnership team's calendar.
• Confirm appointment details with merchants before the scheduled appointment.
• Follow up on no-shows.
• Reschedule appointments as needed to protect the appointment pipeline.
• Ensure qualified opportunities are properly handed off to the partnership team.

Call Logging & Documentation

• Log the outcome of every call without exception.

• Maintain accurate, real-time records of:

  • Call status
  • Call outcome
  • Notes
  • Next steps

• Ensure no outbound activity goes unrecorded.

• Maintain accurate documentation that allows leadership to verify calling activity and pipeline progress.

• Flag recurring objections or response patterns to leadership to support script refinement.

Merchant List & Pipeline Management

• Work the assigned portion of the merchant list systematically.
• Avoid duplicate or redundant outreach.
• Track progress against the broader merchant list to ensure complete and methodical coverage over time.
• Escalate high-value or complex merchant conversations through the established escalation path.
• Maintain accurate visibility into the status of assigned merchants.

Call Quality & Script Adherence

• Follow the approved outbound calling script.
• Follow established objection-handling guidance.
• Adapt tone and pacing based on each merchant's responses while remaining within approved talking points.
• Participate in call reviews.
• Apply coaching feedback to improve booked-appointment conversion.
• Maintain a professional tone and brand voice on every call.

Reporting & Analytics

• Submit a daily call log summarizing:

  • Calls made
  • Call outcomes
  • Appointments booked

• Track personal performance against established activity and conversion targets.

• Work toward approximately 100 calls per day.

• Track performance against the 2–3% call-to-booked-appointment conversion target.

• Participate in weekly performance and pipeline reviews with the assigned account lead.

• Contribute call outcome data to weekly appointment-booking reporting.

Additional Responsibilities

• Support onboarding of additional team members as the outbound calling function scales.
• Provide feedback and recommendations for script and process improvements based on day-to-day calling experience.
• Maintain a professional tone and brand voice consistent with organizational standards.
• Communicate recurring merchant objections and patterns to leadership.
• Participate in coaching and call-review sessions.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in outbound calling, appointment setting, or telesales.
• Experience in financial services, payments, merchant services, or a similarly regulated industry is preferred.
• Comfortable working from a cold, static contact list without relying on a CRM to automatically prompt next steps.
• High personal integrity and accuracy in call logging and reporting.
• Strong verbal communication skills in English.
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.
• Resilient and consistent when working within a high-volume, rejection-heavy calling environment.
• Comfortable using AI tools to accelerate research, drafting, and routine work.
• Working proficiency with ChatGPT or Claude.
• Able to maintain consistent activity and performance against measurable daily and weekly targets.

Typical Work Day

A typical workday may include:

• Logging in and reviewing the assigned merchant segment.
• Reviewing the day's calling priorities.
• Working steadily toward the approximately 100-call daily target.
• Qualifying merchants during outbound conversations.
• Booking qualified appointments.
• Logging every call outcome in real time.
• Following up on relevant opportunities or no-shows.
• Flagging escalations or notable merchant objections to the account lead.
• Submitting an end-of-day call log summary.

Typical Workweek

A typical workweek may include:

• Completing approximately 500 outbound calls per week, distributed across business days.
• Booking and confirming qualified merchant appointments.
• Participating in one weekly performance and pipeline review.
• Attending scheduled coaching or script-refinement sessions.
• Contributing call-outcome data to the weekly appointment-booking report.
• Reviewing calling performance and identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Providing leadership with recurring objection and response-pattern feedback.

Performance Evaluation & Accountability

The contractor will report to the organization's designated Account Lead for day-to-day direction.

Ongoing oversight will be provided through performance tracking, coaching, and call reviews, with monthly written follow-ups from a dedicated Virtrify Client Success Manager.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Performance will be measured based on:

• Outbound Call Volume: Approximately 100 outbound calls per day.
• Weekly Call Volume: Approximately 500 calls per week.
• Appointment Conversion: Approximately 2–3% conversion from call to booked appointment.
• Call-Logging Compliance: 100% of calls recorded with an outcome.
• Appointment Quality: Consistent qualification and appropriate handoff of booked appointments.
• Responsiveness: Timely response to escalation requests.
• Coaching Responsiveness: Demonstrated application of coaching and call-review feedback.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to the organization's designated Account Lead for day-to-day direction.
• Submits daily call logs to the Account Lead.
• Participates in weekly performance and pipeline reviews.
• Receives monthly written follow-up from the assigned Virtrify Client Success Manager.

Software & Tools

The Cold Caller / Appointment Setter should be comfortable working with:

• The organization's ISO/processor intake system as the merchant record of reference.
• A dedicated CRM / call-tracking tool, introduced during onboarding.
• A company-provided business phone line.
• Professional headset and outbound calling equipment.
• ChatGPT or Claude for research, drafting, and routine work.

Training & Onboarding

The onboarding process will include:

Company Training

• Organizational overview.
• Company brand voice.
• Introduction to the partnership and ISO model.
• Understanding of the organization's outbound calling objectives.

Industry Training

• Payments industry fundamentals.
• Merchant-services fundamentals.
• Common merchant questions and objections.
• Understanding of the broader partnership/ISO ecosystem.

Role-Specific Training

• Approved outbound calling script.
• Qualification criteria.
• Appointment-setting workflow.
• Call-logging protocol.
• CRM and call-tracking procedures.
• Escalation procedures.

Ongoing Development

• Structured 30/60/90-day onboarding plan guided by a dedicated onboarding success manager.
• Ongoing coaching based on recorded call reviews.
• Regular feedback regarding call quality, qualification, and appointment conversion.

90-Day Onboarding Plan

Phase 1: Training & Ramp-Up – Days 1–30

• Complete company, industry, and role-specific training.
• Become familiar with the merchant list and assigned calling segment.
• Learn the approved script and qualification criteria.
• Learn the CRM and call-tracking process.
• Learn the appointment-setting and escalation workflows.
• Begin making outbound calls under structured oversight.
• Develop consistent call-logging habits.

Phase 2: Independent Execution – Days 31–60

• Progress toward the approximately 100-call-per-day target.
• Independently qualify merchants.
• Book qualified appointments directly onto the partnership team's calendar.
• Maintain 100% call-logging compliance.
• Participate in recorded call reviews.
• Apply coaching feedback to improve performance.
• Begin identifying recurring merchant objections and response patterns.

Phase 3: Full Performance & Optimization – Days 61–90

• Consistently operate at expected daily and weekly activity levels.
• Work independently through the assigned merchant list.
• Maintain the targeted 2–3% call-to-booked-appointment conversion rate.
• Maintain complete and accurate call documentation.
• Demonstrate consistent appointment quality.
• Provide useful feedback for script and process improvements.
• Support the onboarding of additional outbound callers as the function expands.

Work Environment

• Reliable high-speed internet connection.
• Quiet, distraction-free home workspace.
• Dedicated business phone line and professional headset setup.
• Availability aligned with the organization's required business hours in Eastern Time.
• Comfortable working in a high-volume, metrics-driven remote calling environment.
• Ability to remain focused and consistent throughout a rejection-heavy outbound calling cadence.

About the Company

Our client is a growing payments and merchant-services technology company operating within the ISV (Independent Software Vendor) partnership ecosystem for credit card processing and payment solutions.

The organization works through a network of referral partners and Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs). Historically, partnership leadership has personally handled outbound follow-up in addition to their core relationship and product responsibilities.

The company is now building a dedicated outbound calling function from the ground up.

This is a build-from-zero opportunity with:

• No legacy outbound team.
• No inherited backlog.
• A newly defined outbound scope.
• Direct ownership of a merchant list containing 20,000+ accounts that has largely remained untouched.
• An opportunity for experienced outbound professionals to begin contributing with minimal ramp-up.

The outbound function is being established to create systematic merchant coverage, generate qualified appointments, and provide the partnership team with a consistent pipeline of qualified opportunities.

Final Notes

This position is designed for an experienced outbound professional who can operate independently, maintain a high volume of activity, and consistently document every interaction.

Success in this role means:

• Consistent outbound activity.
• Accurate and complete call documentation.
• Qualified merchant conversations.
• Consistent appointment generation.
• Strong adherence to approved scripts and qualification criteria.
• Professional handling of objections and rejection.
• Reliable communication with the partnership team.
• Proactive identification of merchant objections and calling patterns.
• Responsiveness to coaching and performance feedback.
• Methodical coverage of the assigned merchant list.