Boost Your Outbound Call Strategy To Enhance Business Outcome

For many businesses, outbound calls are the primary method for agents to interact with customers. Hence, it is crucial to design a comprehensive outbound call strategy. This post will define an outbound contact center software solution and types and provide tips on enhancing your company’s outbound call strategy. Let’s get started.

What Is An Outbound Call Solution?

In an outbound call center, agents dial outbound calls for telemarketing, telesales, and collections. Outbound call center software streamlines and enhances this process by automating dialing, filtering answering machines, and giving agents a click-to-dial option. These and other outbound contact center features improve agent productivity, call center operations, and connect rates.

Types Of Outbound Calls

Post-Sales Follow-Up

To retain customers, companies must provide superior and impressive after-sale service. Thus, contact center agents make outbound calls to existing customers to inform them about the company’s after-sale services. Sometimes, the contact center uses these calls to get client feedback about the sold product. It helps understand the customer’s requirements and expectations, leading to product improvement.

Surveys

Collecting a large sample via outbound calling is key to conducting an effective survey. Contact center agents call customers to get their opinion on specific topics. These topics range from product use and politics to public welfare and customer satisfaction. 

Non-Profit Or Charity Funding

In search of funding from the general public, non-profit organizations make an outbound call. They want to attract potential contributors by showcasing the charitable work done by their businesses. These calls help the contributors and the person in need of these solutions.

Marketing Research

Connecting with the public is crucial to understand the market trend. Outbound phoning is the most effective method of connecting with the public, and many of these businesses prioritize this method. It is common to get calls, SMS, and emails asking about your preference in today’s environment. Outbound call center companies perform these surveys to collect market preferences.

Customers Service Calls

Customer service refers to services offered to customers before, during, and during the purchase process. From a salesperson’s perspective, customer service significantly impacts a company’s sales and revenue generation. Companies that offer outbound calling services provide solutions to customer inquiries and questions. Not only do these services help in customer retention, but they also improve consumer loyalty. The effectiveness of these services depends on the customer connection skills of the individual making these calls.

Sometimes, clients have difficulty understanding the instructions for a product or service. An outbound call service solves customer issues and queries in such a case.

Payment Reminder

Credit card companies and companies that sell products on credit often use outbound calls to remind customers of payments or installments. They may make these calls before or after the installment due date.

Telemarketing

Telemarketing is contacting, qualifying, and canvassing a potential customer. In telemarketing, a salesperson conducts outbound calls to potential clients to inform them about the company’s product or service. Salespersons try to convince customers to purchase the product by describing its applications and advantages.

How You Can Improve Your Outbound Calling Strategy

Specify Your Goals And KPIs

Effective marketing campaigns are laser-focused; you need well-defined outbound sales to plan to increase your outbound calls. If you want to be successful with your calls, you must have a well-defined goal, which may change as your business grows.

KPIs, or key performance indicators, measure your outbound calls strategy’s effectiveness. You don’t need to measure every aspect of the campaign, but just the most meaningful ones, like:

Occupancy Rate

The occupancy rate measures how much time your agents spend on calls and time spent unavailable. A low occupancy rate indicates that an agent may have difficulty completing after-call work.

First Call Close

A high percentage of first-call closure indicates that your agents are selling effectively, making the most of their and your customers’ time.

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is a very easy KPI that compares the number of sales to the total number of outbound calls. It evaluates how successfully your agents can close a sale; low conversion rates imply you may need to improve your outbound calls strategy.

Average Handle Time

The average handling time is the duration of all calls in proportion to the total number of calls. If the average handling time is excessively long, this may indicate ineffective closing skills or a lack of understanding of the product or service the agent is trying to sell.

Engage The Prospect

Customers appreciate unscripted calls because they are more real and make them feel valued and respected as individuals compared to sales prospects. The most crucial element of a successful outbound call is engaging the prospect and grabbing their attention from the beginning of the conversation.

Bringing up a neutral but positive topic is an effective approach to begin. Try not to sound generic and personalize your script to the prospect’s interests and background. 

With business intelligence software, social media, and various digital resources at your fingertips, you may gather a wide range of information about your prospect before making your first outbound call.

Before calling prospects, examine their social media to determine what interests them and their pain points.

However, do not pretend to know everything about your prospects; being genuine and sincere is the key to being a great closer. The text should thus be an integral part of your sales cadence.

Be straightforward to acquire your prospect’s trust and avoid bluffing in conversation.

It also contributes to the second point: making your consumers feel valued. Make it clear to the prospect that your outbound call has a reason; mention your business or the product/service you’re selling, but focus on their pain areas.

The key to having a successful phone call is to promise less and deliver more. Whip up a prospect’s interest, but don’t oversell your product’s features.

Create Improved Call Lists

Regarding your outbound call strategy, quality is more important than quantity. A list of quality leads generated by marketing efforts may help agents succeed.

This call list should include research on product requirements, location, industry, and internal organization. It ensures that you only contact relevant prospects. Meanwhile, the additional context enables agents to develop more empathetic connections. Asking for “the proprietor” and then launching into a sales pitch is the quickest way to lose a potential customer.

The proper call center recording software makes the recording of this information easy. CRM solutions may link directly with your cloud contact center software, enabling you to effortlessly manage and rank leads and make calls with a single click.

Pass The Gatekeeper

The contact center instructs the receptionists to avoid forwarding marketing calls to their managers and to refuse to provide information over the phone. Handle the ‘gatekeeper’ by timing and arranging your outgoing calls smartly.

Try calling before the company’s official opening or half an hour after closing. Most receptionists keep official hours. However, managers and directors often work earlier and later.

Use Automated Dialers To Save Time

Automated dialers are calling software for call centers that can transform your outbound calling strategy by decreasing total downtime and enhancing operational efficiency.

The automated outbound dialing procedure is time-consuming and goes beyond simple cold calling when done correctly. There are campaigns to manage, customers to acquire, and records to maintain.

Analyze And Optimize

Knowing your prospects and company is key to a successful campaign.

Penetration reports provide a clear view of the dialer’s performance and infrastructure and may help you identify sales trends and organize your data most efficiently.

Spread Out

Outbound calling is often associated with a single type of contact. However, spreading and combining more channels may further improve it.

Engage your prospects through email or SMS — send a text message before the call to “warm up” a consumer and boost the chances that they will pick up and listen. Professional writers can help you produce appealing email and SMS templates to attract new customers. Using research and preparation to develop more personalized phone messages can increase your chances of closing the sale.

Be Natural

Outbound calls are a combination of science and art.

Coaching and training your sales representatives is the key to closing outbound sales successfully. Train your agents to speak slowly and clearly since nervousness often makes even natural speeches seem forced and unnatural.

A smart trick is to lower your arm to your side, which produces pressure on the diaphragm and helps you become more conscious of your speaking pace. A more natural speech rate sounds sincerer, and sincerity encourages trust; in this business, trust translates to more sales.

Do Not Trash Your Competitors

Avoid trashing your rival during the outbound call.

It is not only highly unprofessional, but it also destroys the prospect’s trust in your company. It is due to spontaneous trait transference — your audience subconsciously sees those traits in you when you criticize someone.

Instead of concentrating on why your competitor’s product is worse to yours, highlight the features that make your product better. Even if the prospect brings up your competitor, remain polite and say “no comment.”

Fewer Is More

You may optimize your outgoing calls by streamlining your options. When presented with several options, most individuals find it challenging to choose.

Streamline the process and make it simpler for your prospects to rationalize, pick, and confirm their decision by providing them with the necessary basic information.

Focus on a few features instead of all to avoid overwhelming your prospect and closing you down before you’re finished.

Empower, Engage, And Entice

Empowering customers is the simplest way to improve the productivity of your outbound calling strategy.

Nobody likes to get tricked into doing anything, but people enjoy discovering things that make them feel good or solutions that immediately solve their problems. As many businesses adopt a subscription-based business model, establishing long-lasting customer relationships is essential.

Forcing a prospect to make a purchase will not only result in the loss of the sale but will also persuade the customer to never do business with you again. Provide your customers with space, freedom, and the option to make decisions whenever and whenever they want.

Ask for their feedback and offer them at least some control over the problem-solving process, but be sure to direct the conversation toward your proposition. Knowing with whom you are talking is an effective way.

Use Region-Specific Numbers

Regardless of your identity or origin, you are more likely to answer the phone if you know the caller’s area code. People are wary of foreign phone numbers for two reasons: first, there is a small possibility that they may see the person on the other end of the line, and second, depending on their carrier, these kinds of incoming calls can incur huge fees.

Also Read: How Voice Calling API Can Boost Your Business Growth

Evaluate Results, And Don’t Be Afraid To Make Changes

As with many business strategies, adaptability is crucial to an effective outbound call strategy.

Does a high hit rate not result in a high conversion rate? Change your focus and attempt to track different KPIs. Your predictive dialing system is causing an excessive number of dropped calls. Try using a power dialer to see if it gives better results.

Each contact center is different; what works well for one group may not work well for another, and vice versa. Regularly solicit input from your employees and stay flexible; the ideal strategy for your contact center may be just around the corner.

Use A Power Dialer

A power dialer is a simplified version of a predictive dialer. Power dialers dial one number per agent sequentially until the establishment of connection, but predictive dialers use algorithms to dial multiple numbers per agent in search of a connection.

When your connect ratio is below 30 percent, you should use predictive dialers, and when it is over 50 percent, you should use a power dialer. In addition, predictive dialers perform better in contact centers with a high call volume, while power dialers perform better in contact centers with a lower call volume.

Offer Incentives And Training

With a record number of people switching jobs, you must build an engaged team that attracts great salespeople. In addition to hiring skilled employees, you must also nurture talent.

Regular training is essential for agents to develop their skills. Instead of depending on rehearsals, put training into real-world circumstances by using live coaching tools. These tools enable team leaders to listen in, and “whisper” features enable coaches to give real-time help without alerting the customer.

Once a team is at peak performance, feed the fire. Clap for wins. Use incentives, healthy competition, and commissions to incentivize excellent performance. The goal is to create a growth-promoting culture.

Do Not Call Lists

Numerous countries have adopted regulations limiting the number of cold calls businesses and contact centers can make. For example, in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission maintains a Do Not Call Registry, a list of telephone numbers that telemarketers don’t have permission to call. The federal trade commission compiled the list in 2003 and significantly changed the way contact center marketers do business. A lot of other companies have a similar list.

Conclusion

So these are the tips to improve the outbound calling strategy. Outbound sales may be successful when a customer feels valued and sees your solution as the best fit for their problems, pain points, and values. Any prospect will happily become loyal clients if you make them feel important and find their core values and the brands they connect with. Show that you’ve done your research and care about them.

Your mindset is a crucial component of the puzzle. However, you may also have the best call center software solutions that facilitate the development of strong customer connections. It is a data-driven phone system that shows all pertinent consumer information before a call. Therefore, you are always well-prepared for an effective outbound call.

If you found this blog helpful then we recommend you to go through our latest blog on What Is Call Forwarding and How Is It Different From Call Transfer? This blog will help you to know widely used call management functions by organizations and how these functions help them to deal with high-volume customer calls.