By Appointment Only, also known as BAO, is an established appointment-setting and lead-generation provider for high-tech sales and marketing teams. It makes sense if you want a mature appointment-setting partner, public-sector coverage, SmartLeads, and a larger managed prospecting operation.
Coseek is narrower. It is built for B2B teams that want decision-makers reached by phone, qualified meeting criteria defined upfront, no retainer, no setup fee, and payment tied to qualified meetings booked.
The right choice is not "performance or not performance." BAO also describes its model as performance-based. The real question is how much scope you want to buy, and what counts as the result.
Coseek lens
The useful comparison is not who has the bigger team. It is what you pay for before a qualified sales conversation exists.
By Appointment Only vs Coseek at a glance
| Dimension | By Appointment Only / BAO | Coseek |
|---|---|---|
| Primary model | Appointment setting and custom lead generation | B2B cold calling for qualified meetings |
| Main audience | High-tech sales and marketing teams | B2B teams that want qualified meetings from phone-led outbound |
| Channels | Phone-led appointment setting, SmartLeads warm introductions, and public-sector support | Phone, with responsive post-call emails after real conversations |
| Pricing posture | Public pages say performance-based and pay for results, not time | No retainer, no setup fee, pay per qualified meeting |
| Best fit | Larger tech teams, public sector, SDR augmentation, and enterprise account access | Teams that know their ICP and want qualified meetings without buying a broader program |
| Qualification focus | Appointments, introductions, and post-meeting quality tracking | Qualified meeting criteria defined upfront |
| Follow-up | SmartLeads can email the prospect and SDR for scheduling | Responsive post-call emails after real conversations |
BAO is the broader appointment-setting engine. Coseek is the narrower cold-calling model.
If you need public-sector coverage, SDR augmentation, or a larger high-tech partner, BAO belongs on the shortlist. If you want phone-led outbound judged by qualified meetings, Coseek fits.
What By Appointment Only does
BAO sells appointment setting and custom lead generation for high-tech companies. Its public pages describe services for sales and marketing teams, including Appointment Setting, SmartLeads, and a Public Sector Practice.
That matters because BAO is not a generic lead vendor. Its site positions the company around technology markets, executive meetings, sales-team support, and account access. The company also cites long category history, including a 1997 founding date and more than 200 sales professionals on its story page.
BAO's official pages also emphasize scale. The homepage and about pages cite 550,000+ appointments secured and a 55% conversion from secured meetings into second sales activities. Its appointment-setting page reinforces the same large-operations positioning.
Those are strong fit signals for a buyer who wants a large, established appointment-setting operation. They matter less if your buying question is narrower: can a provider reach the exact buyers you name, book qualified meetings, and bill only when the agreed standard is met?
By Appointment Only pricing and commercial model
BAO does not appear to publish a simple official price sheet in the checked pages. Its public services overview says the company is performance-based and that clients pay for results, not time. A third-party Salesforge profile lists BAO as project-based, but final pricing should be confirmed directly with BAO.
Do not compare BAO and Coseek as "activity versus performance." The better question is what counts as the result.
With BAO, the public model sits inside a broader appointment-setting, SmartLeads, and high-tech prospecting operation. That can be right when you want account access, SDR support, public-sector reach, and a larger vendor relationship.
With Coseek, B2B pricing is $500 to $2,000 per qualified meeting. There is no retainer, no setup fee, and no B2B success fee. The first invoice arrives after the first qualified meeting is booked. Qualified meeting criteria are agreed upfront.
Where By Appointment Only is likely the better fit
BAO is likely the better fit if you want a mature appointment-setting partner with broad scope.
Choose BAO if:
- You are a high-tech company and want a provider with long category history.
- You need FED/SLED or public-sector appointment-setting support.
- You want to augment an existing SDR or BDR team with warm introductions and prospecting support.
- You want a larger provider with hundreds of sales professionals.
- You value BAO's public claims around secured-meeting conversion into second sales activities.
- You want appointment setting plus lead generation support from one vendor, not a narrower cold-calling partner.
That is a real buying need. Some teams want a managed engine around appointments, introductions, account access, and reporting.
Where Coseek is likely the better fit
Coseek is likely the better fit if your buying job is narrower.
Choose Coseek if:
- You want focused B2B cold calling.
- You want no retainer and no setup fee.
- You would rather pay for qualified meetings than buy a broader appointment-setting program.
- Your ACV supports $500 to $2,000 per qualified meeting.
- You already know the ICP, account type, and buyer persona you want to reach.
- You care more about qualified meeting criteria than broad appointment volume.
- You want call context from real conversations: pain, current stack, objections, and next step.
- You want responsive post-call emails after real conversations, not broad outbound email.
Coseek is built for the part many B2B teams want to isolate: phone conversations that become qualified meetings.
The real difference is scope and qualification
Both models use performance language. That makes the usual "pay for results" comparison too shallow.
The real difference is scope.
BAO's public model attaches performance to a broader high-tech appointment-setting operation: appointment setting, SmartLeads, public-sector practice, SDR support, and a larger managed prospecting system.
Coseek attaches payment to one narrower output: qualified B2B meetings booked from cold calling. The buyer defines the meeting standard upfront, then pays only when meetings clear it.
Use the math to decide whether that narrower model fits.
If your Coseek price is $1,000 per qualified meeting and 10 qualified meetings produce 1 closed deal, meeting-fee CAC is $10,000 before your internal sales cost. If first-year ACV is $50,000+, that can be a defensible acquisition cost.
That is not a promised close rate. It is the model to test against your ACV, sales cycle, and /roi-calculator assumptions.
Appointment quality standards to compare before choosing an agency
Before choosing BAO, Coseek, or another appointment-setting partner, define the billable unit.
At Coseek, a qualified meeting has to clear four checks:
- Title or role matches the agreed list.
- Company matches the agreed target criteria.
- Specific date and time confirmed.
- Calendar invite sent.
Then ask every vendor the same questions:
- What exactly counts as a payable result?
- Is the result an appointment, introduction, qualified meeting, opportunity, or second sales activity?
- Who decides whether the account and contact matched the ICP?
- What call notes or conversation intelligence arrive with the meeting?
- What happens after no-shows and cancellations?
- Does the vendor send broad outbound email, or only responsive post-call email?
- Who owns prospect relationships and CRM data?
The wording matters. A meeting can look good on a dashboard and still be wrong if the title, company, or buying context does not match the agreed standard.
Is Coseek the right By Appointment Only alternative?
Coseek is worth a call if you sell B2B with meaningful ACV, know the market you want to reach, and want phone-led qualified meetings without a retainer or setup fee.
BAO may be the better choice if you are a high-tech company looking for a larger appointment-setting provider, need public-sector experience, want warm introductions for your existing SDRs or BDRs, or want broader appointment-setting and lead-generation support.
The clean split:
- Choose BAO if you want a larger high-tech appointment-setting engine.
- Choose Coseek if you want focused B2B cold calling and only want to pay when qualified meetings are booked.
FAQ
Is By Appointment Only the same as BAO?
Yes. BAO is the short name used by By Appointment Only on its own website and service pages.
Is By Appointment Only a cold calling agency?
Partly. BAO is phone-led, and its story page discusses cold calling. Its public service model is broader than a narrow cold-calling partner because it includes appointment setting, SmartLeads, public-sector support, and lead generation.
How much does By Appointment Only cost?
BAO does not appear to publish a simple official price sheet in the checked pages. Its public pages describe a performance-based model where clients pay for results, not time. A third-party Salesforge profile lists project-based pricing, but buyers should confirm current pricing directly with BAO.
Does By Appointment Only charge per appointment?
BAO's public pages say the model is performance-based and that clients pay for results, but they do not define a public per-appointment price in the checked sources. Ask BAO what counts as billable before signing.
What is the best By Appointment Only alternative for B2B cold calling?
It depends on the scope you want. If you want a broad appointment-setting partner, BAO may fit. If you want focused B2B cold calling, no retainer, no setup fee, and pay per qualified meeting, Coseek is built for that narrower buying job.
When should I choose By Appointment Only instead of Coseek?
Choose BAO if you want a larger high-tech appointment-setting partner, FED/SLED experience, SmartLeads, or SDR augmentation. Choose Coseek if you want focused B2B cold calling with qualified meeting criteria defined upfront.