--- title: "Appointment Setting Virtual Assistant from £5/Hour | Ant Assist" description: "A dedicated appointment setting virtual assistant for your UK business from £5 per hour: prospects qualified, discovery calls booked into your diary." url: "https://ant-assist.com/services/lead-generation/appointment-setting/" --- Lead Generation VA · Appointment Setting # Appointment Setting Virtual Assistant Qualified conversations in your diary, booked by one dedicated person who works your leads every day and sounds like your business. Here is how appointment setting runs and what it costs. Lead qualification · Call booking · Confirmations and reminders · No-show recovery [Calculate your savings](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) · [Book a free 15-min call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) ✓ From £5/hour · ✓ UK-managed · ✓ Dedicated VA, not shared · ✓ 3-month probation, no penalty to leave Rated 5.0 on Google. · Trusted by our clients Updated 19 October 2026 Trusted by businesses ## Our Clients What They Handle ## What an appointment setting VA does ### Qualifies inbound leads Every enquiry, form fill and reply gets a same-day response and the qualifying questions you set, so only prospects who fit reach your diary. ### Books the discovery call Manages your booking link, finds the slot, books it in your calendar and confirms with the prospect, with the notes attached for you. ### Sends prep and reminders The agenda, the joining details and a reminder the day before, so the call happens and starts well. ### Recovers no-shows Missed calls are rebooked the same day with a polite chase sequence; the ones who go quiet move into nurture rather than being lost. ### Keeps the CRM straight Every touch logged, every stage moved, every booked call recorded against the source, so you can see which channels produce meetings. ### Follows up after the call Sends the agreed next steps, books the second meeting and keeps the deal moving while your attention is elsewhere. Dedicated vs agency ## A dedicated appointment setter vs a pay-per-meeting agency A pay-per-meeting agency is paid for booked meetings, so the qualification is loose and prospects are often surprised to be on the call. A dedicated VA is paid for the hours and measured on the meetings that happen and convert, working inside your CRM. If the fit is wrong, we replace the person and carry the handover. Ant Assist ### Dedicated setter VA **How it is paid** Paid for the hours **Measured on** Meetings that happen and convert **Qualification** Your ideal customer profile and qualifying questions **Ant Assist fit** Provided; replaced with handover if the fit is wrong ### Pay-per-meeting agency **How it is paid** Paid for booked meetings **Measured on** Booked meetings; the no-show rate tells the story **Qualification** Loose; targeting is theirs **Ant Assist fit** Not provided by Ant Assist [Book a free 15-minute discovery call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) ## Explore more VA types Not the right fit? Compare other VA types - [Explore E-Commerce](https://ant-assist.com/services/ecommerce/) - [Explore Admin Support](https://ant-assist.com/services/admin/) - [Explore Customer Service](https://ant-assist.com/services/customer-service/) Who It's For ## Who appointment setting is for 1. Founders and consultants who sell on a call Your VA keeps the calendar full of qualified calls. 2. Sales teams losing leads to slow follow-up Inbound leads answered within the hour, before they go elsewhere. 3. B2B services with a discovery-call funnel One VA runs qualification, booking, reminders and no-show recovery. 4. Businesses already running outreach Your VA turns cold email and LinkedIn replies into booked meetings. Cost Comparison ## What an appointment setter costs With Ant Assist the entry rate is £5 per hour for the first 6 months on the Entry tier, 3 months on Mid, 1 month on Expert. A dedicated Ant Assist VA compared with a UK in-house hire and a UK agency, full time. | What you get | Recommended Ant Assist | UK in-house hire | UK agency | |---|---|---|---| | Monthly cost | Standard price £880 a month, introductory price £800 for the first 6 months | ~£3,363 | approx. £3,500 to £4,500 | | Who manages the work | Included Our UK team supervises | Not included You do | Partly The agency | | Recruitment and onboarding | Included Included | Not included You recruit and train | Included The agency matches | | Employer NI and pension | Included None to pay | Not included You pay both | Partly Built into the rate | | Office and equipment | Included Included | Not included You provide | Partly Varies by agency | | Holiday and sick cover | Included Cover provided | Not included You find cover | Partly Varies by agency | | Replacement if it is not right | Included Replaced, no restart cost | Not included Re-hire from scratch | Partly Varies by agency | | Contract | Included 12-month term, 3-month probation | Not included Employment contract | Partly Varies by agency | Entry offer: standard rate £5.50, introductory offer £5/hour for your first 6 months. UK agency figures are an approximate range around the £25 per hour agency benchmark our calculator uses. [Book a free 15-min call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) ### What the £5/hour entry rate includes - Dedicated VA, never shared - UK-hour aligned support - Management and supervision included - Recruitment and onboarding included - Office infrastructure included - VA replacement available - No NI, pension, or holiday costs - 3-month probation, no penalty to leave These are typical estimates. Get your exact numbers in the full calculator. Or read [how much a virtual assistant costs in the UK](https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-assistant-cost-uk/). [Calculate your exact savings](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) Process ## How to hire an appointment setter 1 First call A short call about your tasks, your tools and the hours you need covered. 2 Matching We pick a VA from our in-house team for your work and introduce them to you. 3 Onboarding Together we write down your rules and set up your access before day one. 4 Live Your VA starts on your hours from our managed office, supervised from the UK. 5 Ongoing management A UK team reviews the work each week; hours scale up or down as you need. ## Guides for this service - [How to hire a VA for lead generation: the UK guide](https://ant-assist.com/resources/how-to-hire-a-va-for-lead-generation/) - [Inbound vs outbound lead generation: where a VA fits](https://ant-assist.com/resources/inbound-vs-outbound-lead-generation/) - [Lead list building virtual assistant: what good looks like](https://ant-assist.com/resources/lead-list-building-crm-data/) - [Virtual sales assistant: tasks, cost and hiring](https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-sales-assistant/) Why Managed ## Why a managed appointment setter beats an agency or a freelancer Managed, not just placed. Your VA is recruited, trained and supervised from our own in-house office. Not a shared pool, not a freelancer profile. Replaceable without restart cost. If the fit is wrong, we replace the VA and carry the handover. No re-recruitment, no starting from zero. No NI, pension, or holiday overhead. One hourly rate; the employment costs sit with us. Language and cultural alignment with UK prospects. Trained on your tone and your market before they speak to anyone on your behalf. Your data stays yours. Every VA signs an NDA and a data-processing agreement, works inside your CRM through password managers, and you can revoke access at any time. 3-month probation, no penalty to leave. The initial term is 12 months, including a 3-month probation in which you can end the engagement without penalty. After 12 months it continues monthly with 30 days' notice. FAQ ## Common questions about hiring an appointment setting virtual assistant ### What does an appointment setting virtual assistant do between a lead arriving and a call happening? Qualifies the lead against your criteria, books the discovery call straight into your diary, sends the prep note and the reminders, chases the no-show for a second slot, and logs every step in your CRM. After the call, the follow-up you agree is sent in your name. You turn up to booked, qualified calls and see the pipeline in one place. ### Does the VA work my inbound leads, my outbound replies, or both? Both. Inbound enquiries from your forms, ads and inbox are qualified and booked within your response standard; replies to your outreach are picked up and converted to calls; and prospects who went quiet are re-approached on a schedule you set. One person owns the diary, so a lead never falls between two tools. ### How is a booked call judged as a good one? By the criteria you write down before the first booking: company type, role, need and timing. The VA books only prospects who meet them and records why each one qualified, so a poor call can be traced to the rule that let it through and the rule tightened. Volume is reported alongside show rate and qualified rate, never on its own. ### Can the VA book into my calendar and send from my email? Yes. Access to your calendar, your email and your CRM is granted at the level each task needs, through a password manager you control, and can be revoked at any time. Confirmations, reminders and follow-ups go from your domain in your voice, using templates you approve before the first one is sent. ### What happens with no-shows and reschedules? The VA chases every no-show the same day with a second slot, moves reschedules without you touching the diary, and records the pattern so a slot or a source that keeps producing no-shows is changed. Show rate is in the weekly line, so you see the number rather than feel it. ### How much does an appointment setting virtual assistant cost? The entry rate is £5 per hour for the first 6 months on the Entry tier. After the promotion the lead generation rate card applies: £5.50 per hour full time, £880 a month for 160 hours, or £6.50 per hour part time, £520 a month for 80 hours. Your calendar, CRM and email stay in your name. The initial term is 12 months, including a 3-month probation in which you can end the engagement without penalty. After 12 months it continues monthly with 30 days' notice. Didn't find your answer? Browse [more common questions](https://ant-assist.com/help/) in the Help Center. Get Started ## Fill your diary with the right calls. One dedicated appointment setter, from £5 per hour. Book a free 15-minute call. [or book a free 15-minute call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) [Calculate your savings](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) Discovery call · Role brief · VA matched · Onboarded into your tools A free 15-minute call, no obligation. Or get an instant estimate with the calculator.