Gartner interviewed over 130 sales leaders, and they found that it currently takes 18 dials to get a response from a prospect. That might seem unnecessarily taxing, but 82% of buyers say that they do accept appointments from a sales representative after a series of invites. This goes to show that cold calling, when done right, can still significantly help with sales development.
To help sales representatives execute multiple touches per lead, there are different communication tools that can reliably increase their daily capacity. These tools enable them to accomplish tasks faster while also giving them better focus to conduct meaningful calls.. Most businesses today choose cloud-based solutions like softphones. A softphone functions like a traditional telephone but with value-added capabilities to up your game. It can integrate with your CRM, automatically log all communication, and support remote work among many things. On top of the advanced features, softphones are cost-effective, maintenance-free, and highly scalable for many types of businesses.
Table of Contents
Factors to consider when choosing a softphone application
There are a lot of softphone applications to choose from in the market today. Now, you might be wondering what qualifications should your business look into when buying one? Here are the things to consider when choosing the best softphone application for your sales team.
1. Cost-effective
Having softphones cut costs on hardware, phone service lines, server maintenance, and instead of paying per minute, you are paying for the bandwidth because the calls made through the VoIP are unlimited. Moreover, hardware updates are hardly necessary for softphones and major updates are done in the cloud instead of in the hardware.
Some softphone applications are on a contract basis which means you need to stay with their service for a period of time. This can be tricky if you are no longer satisfied with their service. Make sure to look for a softphone that is on a monthly subscription basis so that you can easily change providers that can fit into your budget.
2. Scalable
If your business is growing rapidly in size and sales representatives are continuously joining your team, then scalability with your softphone application should matter. Scalability means that your provider can easily adjust their service-level agreement with you with ease. Beware of providers that are trying to add extra costs whenever they feel like your business is booming. Choose a provider who can scale up with your business and adds value to their service when you scale with them.
Scalability also refers to whether your softphone provider can tailor, add, or customize some features that are essential to your daily operations. Look for a provider that offers inbound and outbound calling separately. Some businesses start off with outbound calling for the call campaigns and later add the inbound calling to establish their customer service and support.
3. Easy to set up and use
Softphones are very easy to implement and adopt. Its interface typically looks the same as in mobile phones and it comes with advanced telephony features such as call forwarding, conferencing, and recording. Most can be installed on any operating system, from Windows and Mac, to iOs and Android.
With cloud-based solutions, you should be able to use your softphone anywhere there is internet. This also means that companies can now make and receive calls without spending extra fees on international roaming rates. All you need to do is provide a working computer, a steady internet connection, and a pair of headsets.
4. 24/7 technical support
Never overlook after-sales service when it comes to choosing a softphone app. This would come in handy when you need troubleshooting with your phone system. Although you can self-troubleshoot with the help of a knowledge base and frequently asked questions (FAQs), human assistance is always preferable. You should be able to get live support whenever there are issues with voice quality, dropped calls, and compliance among others.
For businesses with multiple locations, round-the-clock virtual support is definitely ideal as you can reach them anytime and anywhere. This is extremely beneficial to telecommuters or frequent travelers who are occasionally offsite working in remote locations. Consider this like roadside assistance: whenever technical problems occur, help is just one call away.
Best softphone applications for higher sales conversion
Softphone applications are undeniably meant to replace hardware phone systems in the future and this reason alone is enough to invest in cloud telephony. Here are the best softphone applications you can invest in for your business.
1. Aloware
Aloware is a contact center software that supercharges sales operations with unlimited calling, texting, and sales automation. It comes with a softphone you can use on your favorite web browser, desktop, or mobile device. Paired with local presence and automatic spam call detection, it helps representatives work more efficiently.
Aloware provides two platforms with different functions: Aloware classic for administrators and Aloware Talks for representatives. Aloware Talk lets a representative dial a call, send SMS, and review all contacts. They can also manage their audio settings and notifications for incoming calls, voicemails, or texts. Aloware Talk’s Focus Mode feature can show the assigned or unassigned contacts to work on.
Using Aloware Talk, a representative can receive calls anytime and anywhere. Depending on IVR configurations (set by the Aloware Classic administrator), they can also communicate through company lines. Its suite of native integration allows syncing of newly added contacts from CRMs like HubSpot, Zoho, and Pipedrive. This eliminates the need to manually update your phone book. With built-in sales automation tools, leads are nurtured through pre-programmed call and text follow-ups. You can also drop a pre-recorded voicemail to an unattended number to increase your callback rate.
White-glove support is available 24/7 and a dedicated technical team for API troubleshooting and other integration concerns. Aloware chatbox can be accessed through the website’s main page. Email support is available as well and self-troubleshooting can be done with its knowledge base page.
2. PiPcall
PiPcall is a business phone system dedicated to mobile users who are always away from their computers. The softphone is designed for iOS and Android systems using a global system for mobile communications (GSM) network. It means that all calls are made using the GSM mobile voice network, not data or Wi-Fi. It provides uninterrupted calling and texting features for internal or external communication. Managers and administrators can monitor, manage users, and gain insights from their online portal.
Its mobile application interface is designed to look like the Android/IOS default calling application and the ringtone assignment is great for people who deal with different contacts daily. All calls will automatically be associated to contacts in your directory. PiPcall also makes it easy to manage both personal and company voicemails in one place. Users can also choose a different geo-based or international phone number when making outbound calls apart from their personal line.
You can get call and text plans with bulk credits/minutes for your representatives In case of role changes or reorganization, supervisors can reassign numbers to new and existing users. Finally, PiPcall offers an API for other telephony system integration and private branch exchange (PBX) systems.
You can schedule an in-person training or do the onboarding via webinar. Technical support is available during business hours only through phone and email channels. FAQs, forums, and knowledge sharing are available on their website for further information and their web chat can answer general inquiries and basic troubleshooting.
3. Linphone
Linphone is a semi-free and open-source VoIP softphone that provides business communication solutions such as instant messaging, audio/video calls, and calling encryption. Contact information can be stored in their digital address book with full access to call history.
Their advanced calling features include HD calls that support various alternative codecs, audio conference calls, call transfer, multi-call management, and call recording. Its adaptive bitrate control makes sure to capture high-quality audio and video recordings with optimum compression. In addition, its HD voice with Opus support and echo cancellation ensures the highest voice quality during the call.
For managers, they can record calls, share photos or files with their clients, and monitor intuitive message delivery status (IMDS). They can also enable two-way protected communication through secure real-time transport protocol (SRTP), ZRTP, and end-to-end encryption. Finally, they have advanced IM notifications, with “reply to” and “mark as read” options.
Training options are limited as the platform is open-source. It has dedicated community forums for new users who want to learn more about the native codes of the application. Support is only available via chat and only caters to medium to high-level technical support.
4. Tragofone
Tragofone is a VoIP solution that uses a WebRTC that bridges web browsing and mobile applications with real-time communication. Their Auto Provisioning helps in enhancing their unified communication on a mobile platform. These technologies enable them to provide a VoIP softphone application for mobile users.
You can get the mobile application for iOS and Android and connect with anyone who uses the same application through call, chat, and video conference. All you need is a good internet connection. The application also comes with an extended-battery life optimization feature to ensure you stay connected with your colleagues and clients throughout the day.
Tragofone offers in-person and live online training with documentation and training videos. Their technical and customer support can be contacted via email and online helpdesk with a 24/7 live representative on the phone. There is also chat support for minor technical issues. Otherwise, users can always turn to its FAQs, forums, and knowledge base for self-troubleshooting
Since Tragofone can be used personally other than business communication, learning the softphone application can be done with just a series of demo videos. You can also hover to their FAQs and knowledge base to learn more about the software. You can reach their technical support via phone, email, and chat while a dedicated support team can be contacted for urgent technical issues.
Looking forward to using softphones?
To this day, softphones are now changing the ways in global telecommunications and how voice information is transmitted from telephone cables to a whole lot of data networks. Cloud telephony is growing faster and many industries are switching to cloud-based telecommunications. It is not going to be that long before calls can be dialed from virtual reality but until then, you have to ask yourself, what softphone technology can work best for me?
Have a hard time deciding? Try Aloware Talk, made for savvy sales teams to boost efficiency and productivity. On top of the unlimited calling and texting feature, it can do more than being your softphone application; its sales automation tools capture and nurture leads in your funnel. It also integrates with your favorite CRM like HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Zoho. Schedule a demo today and get a free trial with Aloware.
