Executing an outbound call campaign is probably one of the most challenging things in sales. There are a lot of factors at play, but its success would ultimately boil down to a well-thought-out strategy.
Some might argue the ineffectiveness of outbound cold calling saying only 2% of sales happen during the first contact. However, studies are suggesting that salespeople just need to be more eager. This is because 92% of them easily get disheartened and give up after four failed attempts, while 80% of the average customer base typically says ‘yes’ after the 5th follow-up.
This is why planning your outbound call campaigns should be done the right way. Here are effective ways on how you can improve your outbound call campaigns.
Table of Contents
1 – Set clear objectives and goals
When setting goals, learn how to gauge your numbers properly. Tracking the right call campaign metrics must be done in complete sync with setting competitive goals for your business.
Before you set your goals too high, learn how to track your own metrics to see where you are exactly in your business. Do some benchmarking after you have determined your own performance, and see to it that you are setting expectations realistically. Communicate these goals to your entire sales team and make sure that everyone’s plans and actions all align.
2 – Use smart dialers
When setting your first goals and quotas for outbound calling, you should also consider the type of dialer to use. There are usually four types of sales dialers that can bring you different call outcomes. However, you have to be very careful in choosing which one fits your business the most.
Power dialers are very reliable if you want faster and smarter dials for your call campaigns . These dialers dial numbers automatically while keeping you connected to quality calls in your list. It does that by skipping bad numbers and unavailable contacts while giving you the option to drop voicemails as well. It dials the next number on the list as soon as you are ready to take another call. This gives your agents ample time to engage with high-quality calls.
3 – Integrate your CRMs
CRMs are not a new thing to sales. However, having a CRM that integrates with tools that are necessary for your call campaigns and overall processes is crucial. This will help your team be more productive and save you a lot of additional expenses.
Your CRM should be able to run with different third-party applications essential for your outbound call campaigns. For starters, having CRM work together with your dialer does the trick. A sales dialer tool that seamlessly integrates with top CRMs can make dials and call campaigns easier than ever.
4 – Optimize your script
Your call script serves as your agents’ guide during an outbound call campaign process. Developing your call script requires experimenting, changing, and adding things to it along the way. This is completely necessary because it sets real-life responses your agent needs.
Scripts also come in handy during sales objections. This helps your agent come up with multiple angles on how to tackle high-value prospects to turn them into instant customers. This is most effective if call scripts are hosted inside your sales dialer, like with Aloware. Workflows between agents and the whole organization are made more efficient through customizable tools offered.
5 – Time your calls
In outbound campaigns, timing is everything. This is entirely why planning your call campaigns should be done in accordance with your prospect’s available hours. If your business has prospects in different time zones, it is all the more necessary to look for a dialer feature that can address these complexities.
Aloware’s power dialer offers a lot of nice-to-have features for every salesperson and growing business. It has the ‘Follow The Sun’ feature that recognizes numbers in your contact list that are outside business hours in their respective time zones. This feature lets you automatically separate o contacts that are not available for a call during a campaign, helping you save time and effort.
6 – Run split tests
Thing is, you can’t really do actual split tests during your call campaigns. What you can do, however, is to do split tests with other channels that are associated with your outbound call campaigns. Run your split tests using channels like email, text messages, landing pages, or ads.
Plan your call campaign follow-ups based on the responses your prospects make on these sales channels. To do this effectively, it’s best to have a dialer that supports and syncs with other channels that are included in your campaigns. Aloware’s overall contact center solutions offer calling, texting, and omnichannel integrations for your productivity.
7 – Automate your follow-ups
When doing automated follow-ups, it is necessary to plan effective sales cadences behind it. Sales cadences allow you to use scalable communication touchpoints that you can automate and track as you go along. This helps in building up your prospect’s decision-making and engagement while keeping yourself busy with other tasks.
It’s easier to execute sales cadences if you can build automated follow-up sequences right inside your contact center. With Aloware, you can draft your very own follow-up sequences with an easy and customizable tool. You can also schedule each action or task based on the cadence you’ve built, may it be a week-long or a month-long campaign (maybe even longer).
8 – Track your performance
Tracking your outbound call campaign metrics is one, tracking your agent’s performance is another. Your sales representatives must know their goals and KPIs, so you can strictly implement your business goals alongside them. Tracking your sales representative’s performance must be done using a tool that runs with your contact center activities.
Monitoring calls, pick-ups, call handling, and other agent metrics help you gauge campaign performance and quality. Aloware’s in-app performance tracking and reporting tools can make everything easier for you. You can check out the dashboard and agent wallboard for quick status, or create your own reports which can be emailed to you securely.
9 – Train your team
Apart from all that was said, a successful outbound call campaign all boils down to the people behind it. Make sure you are providing them ample training, materials, and tools to keep up with work. Build them a good foundation, from teaching them cold calling etiquette to clarifying the technicalities of your business. Keep them aware of the changes in your work system and keep an eye on customer interaction.
To almost all organizations, leading by example is a fool-proof way of training sales representatives to become outbound call experts. Establishing a shadowing program is key, wherein pairing seasoned agents with new hires to observe and listen during real calls is done. To do this, you also need to have tools for call listening, agent whisper or even call barging during a first live call. Aloware offers all these tools and more.
Running outbound call campaigns will never be perfect from the get-go, but with the right tools, plans, and data, you’ll be seeing better results in no time. No effort is ever wasted if you have a well-crafted outbound call campaign strategy for your business.
The right tools will always be handy for outbound campaigns. Find one that offers the complete contact center solutions you’ll ever need like Aloware. Schedule a demo to learn more about its features today!
