With digital marketing adopted by almost every business on the planet, you may think the sales call is an outdated marketing strategy. This isn’t true because many customers still prefer to call a company and speak to a human being. Also, cold calling is still very much effective today.
Many sales agents spend a lot of time calling and trying to close deals over the phone. They often have to punch in numbers, wait through ringtones and leave messages or voicemails. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can automate the process with a sales dialer.
Some Statistics on Cold Calling
Over the years, we’ve heard experts say cold calling is dead. But that isn’t the case as many sales professionals are still using sales calls for their marketing. According to Rain Group, 27% of sales reps say cold calling is still effective.
According to Sales Insights Lab, 41.2% of sales agents believe that their phone is the most effective tool for the job. Other stats show that 69% of shoppers accepted a cold call from sales reps over the past year and 49% of customers prefer to be contacted by phone.
How can you become more effective at sales calls?
Cold calling is one of the best ways to connect with your customers. However, you should be willing to adopt some modern practices in order to achieve desirable results. Below are some tips for using sales calls for your business:
- Train your sales team to conduct sales calls the right way
Sales calls can be quite difficult for those who have little to no experience. So your sales reps need to understand the best practices for cold calling. They should prepare an agenda for the call, have a good introduction, describe how your product or service can solve problems, ask the right questions and proceed to handle all objections. You can show your team how sales calls are done and let them practice.
- Invest in the right technology, like a sales power dialer.
Several companies are using technology to make sales calls more efficient and effective. For example, power dialers can automatically dial phone numbers so your sales team won’t have to do that anymore. Once you find a good power dialer for your business, you should train your staff on how to utilize it. Many power dialer software also provide training resources, live chat, and other forms of customer support too.
What is a power dialer?
A power dialer is a software that sales agents can use to automate phone dialing so they can focus on speaking with the customers. Once an agent completes the call, the power dialer will proceed to dial the next number on the list.
This software is useful for both sales and call center reps. They no longer have to spend time looking through contact lists. And when a call isn’t answered or the line is busy, the software automatically moves on to the next number.
There are different types of sales dialers that sales agents can use for cold calling. For example, predictive dialers dial multiple numbers at once and use algorithms to predict agent availability. But power dialers are a better option because they dial one number at a time and allow agents to easily keep track of calls.
How can your business benefit from a power dialer?
A good way to improve outbound calls is to invest in a power dialer for sales teams. It helps to eliminate the need for manual dialing and offers many other benefits. Here are some of the reasons why you need a power dialer:
- Boosts productivity.
The dialing system automatically dials the next number. Your sales reps won’t have to punch in numbers before they make calls. It also helps to skip unavailable contacts and voicemails. As a result, power dialers increase the number of outbound calls made in a day.
- Increases connection rates leading to more sales.
Sales dialers help to improve connection rates. For example, predictive dialers can determine the best time to place calls. Some other dialers are able to display area codes that match the customer’s location. You should choose a power dialer with intelligent features.
- Can be integrated with a CRM system
You should integrate your sales power dialer with a CRM software. This is useful because it allows your sales agents to manage the entire sales process from lead generation through to customer acquisition.
- Increase call-back rates.
Power dialers can record calls that were unanswered or went to voicemail and continue and automatically redial the number later on. This helps your sales agents to reach out to almost everyone on the contact list.
- Provide sales managers with data on call metrics, customer interactions, success rates, and agent performance.
Sales dialers allow sales teams to keep track of customer interactions. They provide features such as reporting and analytics that allow you to access information about call history, call outcomes, success rates, and other metrics.
Conclusion:
Outbound sales calls are still a worthwhile marketing strategy. Whether you have a small, medium, or large business, cold calling should be an important part of your marketing plan.