7 Ways to improve your outbound calling strategy
Cecily Giancaterino
May 15, 2023
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13 min read
B2B
For years, outbound calling has proven itself an effective way to find new prospects for your business. The cold calling method of telemarketing can certainly put you in touch with potential customers, but it requires careful planning to be successful.
An outbound sales call is much like a game of chess. There are rules and right moves to make. One wrong step could cost you a client. You’re also at a disadvantage because people generally don't like being disturbed by strangers selling products they didn't ask for. If they see a call center trying to reach them, they may be even more leery of talking to you.
Here is a collection of tips to keep you from getting hung up on and make your cold call a successful one.
Key Takeaways
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Define Clear Objectives: A successful outbound calling strategy starts with defining clear objectives. Determine the specific goals you want to achieve through outbound calling, whether it's generating leads, nurturing prospects, setting appointments, or closing sales. Clear objectives help guide your approach and measure success.
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Targeted Data and Segmentation: To maximize the effectiveness of outbound calling, focus on targeted data and segmentation. Identify your ideal target audience based on relevant demographics, preferences, or buying behaviors. Segment your contact list accordingly to tailor your messaging and increase the chances of connecting with interested prospects.
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Personalize Your Approach: Personalization is key to engaging prospects during outbound calls. Take the time to research and understand each prospect's needs, pain points, and prior interactions with your business. Tailor your messaging to address their specific concerns and highlight how your product or service can provide value to them individually.
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Effective Call Scripts: Developing effective call scripts is crucial for maintaining consistency and ensuring key points are communicated during outbound calls. However, scripts should also allow for flexibility and adaptability to engage in meaningful conversations with prospects. Balancing structure and personalization is key to success.
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Active Listening and Building Rapport: Outbound calls provide an opportunity to actively listen and build rapport with prospects. Listen attentively to their responses, ask open-ended questions, and engage in genuine conversations. Building a rapport establishes trust, increases receptiveness, and enhances the overall customer experience.
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Follow-Up and Persistence: Persistence is essential in outbound calling. Be prepared to follow up with prospects who express interest or require more time to consider your offer. Implement a structured follow-up system to nurture leads and maintain ongoing communication, ensuring you stay top of mind throughout the buyer's journey.
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Continuous Monitoring and Optimization: Monitoring and optimizing your outbound calling strategy is vital for ongoing improvement. Regularly review key metrics such as call conversion rates, appointment setting rates, and sales closures. Identify areas for improvement, adjust your approach as needed, and leverage data-driven insights to refine your strategy over time.
Define your sales strategy
Before you make that first call, every sales rep needs a clear sales strategy. Strategic planning should start with stating your goals. Is your sales team trying to book more appointments? Close more sales? Gather more market information?
All of these are worthy goals, but you can’t meet all of them at once. Focus your call script on one goal at a time.
If you have a sales-focused strategy, think of some reasons your product or service will interest potential leads. Why are you selling this product or service? What is the objective of this call? Who are the people you are contacting, and why?
At the same time, think of the metrics you will use to measure the success of your strategy. What exactly do successful outbound calls look like for you? Define some key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge how well your salespeople do with the campaign.
There are many KPIs you can track and analyze but some of the most pertinent ones include the Conversion Rate, First Call Close, Occupancy Rate, and Average Handling Time of The Call.
Qualified leads only
Just because you are cold calling, it doesn't mean you need to take a complete shot in the dark. Before using your dialer to call a long list of phone numbers, think about who your ideal customer is. Will your calling strategy help you reach them?
To make sure, only use qualified leads nurtured by marketing reps. Don't call people randomly. A well-targeted call list can make the difference between successful outbound sales and a weak outreach program.
For example, if you are selling office supplies, it makes sense to target purchasing agents in your campaign.
Pursuing qualified, targeted leads also adds a bit of personalization to the calls. Even though your company may never have talked to this potential customer before, they will at least know why you are calling them. Purchasing agents make deals to buy office supplies all the time, so it will make sense that you called them. Reaching out to busy people with no interest in your products or services is a surefire way to waste a sales pitch.
The best way to make sure your callers are reaching qualified prospects with potential is to use a CRM system. The best CRMs have excellent tools for grouping and categorizing leads.
Work on your call scripts
Scripts are a great way for sales reps to stay on track during a conversation and help them keep all important points in order. But sometimes these very scripts become the reason for the failure of a cold call. The trick is to maintain a balance between the two and keep your scripts flexible.
Sales reps should use scripts as guides instead of reading them word for word. Scripts can help as conversational formats so the rep doesn't forget to mention any vital points. But reading them out makes you sound like a robot and makes the conversation feel impersonal.
Instead, speak in a conversational, friendly tone. Prioritize your points and take the conversation from there!
Do your research
Just because you are calling a new prospect, doesn't mean you need to go into the conversation clueless. Doy our research before you pick up the phone. There are many ways you can find out about your prospect.
Check out the lead’s LinkedIn profile or their company’s social media. See what bits of personal information you can glean from their online presence.
With good CRM software and a multitude of digital resources, you can easily learn about the pain points of any prospective client and offer them your services. This research will help you keep the conversation on track and only focus on things pertaining to the customer, making it relevant to them and keeping them engaged.
Don’t give too much information
The product or service you offer may have a lot of features, but you only need to highlight key features that will likely appeal to the lead. In the case of outbound calling, less is always more. Presenting customers with too many options can confuse them and make it harder to close a deal.
If you've taken the time to research the prospect, you can simply focus on features that your product has, which can help solve the prospect's problem. This will, in turn, help them understand your offering's benefits and make a quicker decision.
Use other avenues
Making a cold call is one thing, but to get warmed up, you can spread out your communication with the prospective client. For instance, before making a call, you can leave the prospect a message on their VoIP phone introducing yourself and letting them know you are interested in getting in touch.
SMS message campaigns can also help familiarize leads with your company. Brand recognition is a great way to break the ice over the phone.
This will give them a heads-up and incentive to take your call, especially if they are looking forward to the product or service you offer.
Keep them engaged
Apart from talking about what your product or service can offer to the prospect, there are a couple of other things you can do to keep them engaged in the conversation instead of hanging up.
Since the start of the call is the make-or-break moment, speak to the prospect with purpose and get their attention. Always ask if they have time at the moment to speak to you before you get into your pitch. This shows that you value their time as well as your own.
Keep the conversation centered on them and make them feel valued by mentioning some fact you know about their company, which matches your end goal, letting them know you are calling for a good reason.
If you manage to keep the prospect on the phone long enough and get them engaged, don't feel tempted to over-promise, as that may lead to you delivering below their expectations.
Only commit to guarantees you know you can deliver. This will help keep both you and the client on the same page.
Don't forget to set up a follow-up call or meeting to further the conversation and reach your end goal.
Using these seven tips will remove the anxiety associated with cold calling. With the right strategy, outbound calls can turn into inbound calls—after a lead has been converted to a customer. Stay calm and collected during your call, and use the information you gather from these sales calls to convert more leads.
FiveCRM helps turn outbound calls into sales
Whether you have an outbound call center or you’re a smaller business dialing numbers manually, you need to have a great sales call strategy. It’s one of the oldest ways to convert leads into loyal customers because it works.
And to have a great strategy, you need a CRM that helps you target leads and optimize your call center. FiveCRM is the only CRM solution specifically designed for telemarketing. Our outbound call center software is a simplified solution that helps turn every sales pitch into a win. Our platform is also an analytical tool, pushing through funnels with real-time business intelligence.
On top of that, we offer world-class lead generation, email marketing, and reporting products that give you a competitive edge in your marketplace. Your sales reps will be empowered to move leads through the sales funnel and increase revenue.
If you would like to turn outbound calls into more sales and increased revenue, stop by our website and have a look at our innovative set of products. Or send us a message and let us start optimizing your outbound calling strategy.
FAQs
Q: What is an outbound calling strategy?
A: An outbound calling strategy refers to a planned approach for making proactive calls to potential customers or leads. It involves identifying target audiences, crafting personalized messaging, setting objectives, and implementing techniques to engage prospects, nurture relationships, and achieve desired outcomes.
Q: Why is personalization important in outbound calling?
A: Personalization is important in outbound calling because it helps build rapport and establish a connection with prospects. By tailoring your messaging to address their specific needs and interests, you demonstrate that you understand their unique challenges and can offer valuable solutions, increasing the likelihood of a positive response.
Q: How can I segment my contact list for outbound calling?
A: Segmentation involves dividing your contact list into distinct groups based on specific criteria such as demographics, interests, or previous interactions with your business. You can use customer data, surveys, or CRM software to segment your list effectively. Segmentation allows you to deliver targeted messaging that resonates with each group.
Q: What should be included in an effective outbound call script?
A: An effective outbound call script should include a clear introduction, a value proposition that highlights the benefits of your product or service, probing questions to understand the prospect's needs, objection-handling techniques, and a strong call-to-action. However, it's important to strike a balance between following the script and maintaining a conversational tone.
Q: How can I build rapport during outbound calls?
A: Building rapport requires active listening and engaging in genuine conversations. Show interest in the prospect's responses, ask open-ended questions to encourage dialogue, and find common ground. Building rapport establishes trust and helps create a positive connection that can influence the prospect's receptiveness to your message.
Q: What role does follow-up play in outbound calling?
A: Follow-up is crucial in outbound calling as it allows you to nurture leads and maintain ongoing communication. After the initial call, following up with interested prospects reinforces your message, answers any remaining questions, and increases the chances of conversion. It demonstrates your commitment and keeps your business top of mind.
Q: How can I monitor and optimize my outbound calling strategy?
A: Monitoring and optimizing your outbound calling strategy involves tracking key metrics such as call conversion rates, appointment setting rates, and sales closures. Analyze the data to identify areas for improvement, such as refining your scripts, adjusting targeting criteria, or enhancing follow-up procedures. Regularly assess your strategy to achieve better results over time.
Q: What if prospects are not interested during outbound calls?
A: Not every prospect will be interested during outbound calls. However, it's important to maintain professionalism and persistence. Ask if there are specific concerns or objections and address them appropriately. If the prospect is genuinely not interested, thank them for their time and consider adding them to a nurturing campaign for future follow-ups.
Q: Can technology help improve outbound calling?
A: Yes, technology can play a significant role in improving outbound calling. CRM software can help manage and organize prospect data, track call activities, and provide insights for better decision-making. Additionally, call tracking tools, auto-dialers, and call recording software can enhance efficiency and provide valuable data for analysis and optimization.
Q: How long does it take to see results from an improved outbound calling strategy?
A: The timeline for seeing results from an improved outbound calling strategy can vary depending on various factors, including the complexity of your offering, the market conditions, and the effectiveness of your strategy. Generally, it's important to give your strategy time to generate consistent outcomes, but continuous monitoring and optimization will help accelerate the process.
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