Tips On Improving Your Outbound Calling Strategy

Outbound calling is still an effective way to identify new prospects for your business. But there is just one problem:

You can’t call people willy-nilly and expect effective results - you need a carefully curated strategy. Wrong practices could lose you a potential client. Considering that many people don’t like being disturbed, without a proper set of moves in place, you’re bound to fail. 

Fortunately, you can use these outbound calling strategy tips to finally start seeing results in your outbound campaigns.

1. Define your goals and decide on a sales strategy

Before making any calls, the entire sales team should be on the same page. Every good strategy starts with clearly defined objectives. Decide whether you’re trying to gather more marketing information, close more sales, or book more appointments. All of these are valid in isolation, but it’s impossible to meet them all at once. 

Once you’re aware of your goals, you can reverse-engineer a strategy that is likely to get you there. 

In addition, define your key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate how effective your sales agents are in your sales campaign. The most important ones across industries are conversion rates, occupancy rates, average handling time, first call close, and so on. 

2. Use a call list

Shooting in the dark never works, and a similar thing applies to your outbound call strategy. Before dialing a long list of numbers, carefully consider your ideal customer profile. Instead of randomly choosing numbers, create a list of qualified leads nurtured by marketing reps.

This call list can significantly impact the success of your outbound calling efforts. For instance, if you're selling office supplies, focus on reaching out to prospects that you know have the need for your offerings. Targeting these leads adds a personalized touch to calls, thus justifying your use of them. 

More importantly, taking this approach avoids wasting efforts on individuals uninterested in your products or services.

To make this process easier, consider utilizing a CRM system as it improves your chances of connecting with qualified prospects. Effective CRMs offer means for grouping and categorizing leads, streamlining your outreach efforts.

3. Refine your call scripts

Using call scripts is nothing new in this industry. Make sure not to go overboard, though. While scripts can serve as guides, sales representatives should avoid sounding robotic by reading them verbatim. Instead, adopt a conversational and friendly tone, using scripts as frameworks to ensure key points are covered.

The best thing you can do is edit the existing scripts in order to strike a balance between informative while also keeping them adaptable enough for your reps to interject some personality into the call. In other words, these scripts aren’t set in stone. Rather, they’re frameworks and should only be there to make certain that sales reps hit crucial points consistently. 

Inform your sales reps to adopt a conversational and friendly tone while also emphasizing the essential points and allowing the conversation to flow naturally from there.

4. Conduct thorough research

Just because you're initiating a conversation with a new prospect doesn't mean you should enter it uninformed. Prioritize research before making the call, exploring various avenues to gather information about your prospect. Examine the lead's LinkedIn profile and their company's social media presence to discover relevant personal details.

This is also where CRM software can come in useful. A quality CRM offers a range of digital resources that make it easier to recognize the pain points of potential clients. 

Conducting thorough research equips you with valuable insights, ultimately allowing you to tailor the conversation to the customer's specific needs and maintain its relevance to them.

5. Explore alternative channels

While initiating a cold call is one approach, you can also diversify your communication with potential clients to establish a warmer connection. Before placing a call, consider leaving a voicemail on their phone, introducing yourself and expressing your interest in connecting.

Furthermore, SMS message campaigns can also serve a purpose introducing leads to your company. Building brand recognition serves as an effective way to initiate conversation over the phone. 

This proactive approach provides prospects with a preview and motivation to engage with you, particularly if they are already familiar with your offering.

6. Maintain Engagement

Beyond discussing the offerings of your product or service, you can use additional strategies to sustain the prospect's interest and prevent them from ending the conversation prematurely. Since the initiation of the call is a critical point in your outbound calling strategy, try to engage the prospect purposefully and work hard to capture their attention. Before starting your pitch, inquire about their availability. This demonstrates you’re thoughtful of their time.

Focus the conversation on the prospect, and make them feel valued by introducing specific facts about their company that align with your objectives to infuse your call with more context. 

A word of warning: once you engage the customer, avoid over-promising. You don’t want them to become disappointed. Only commit to guarantees within your capacity to deliver, thus you’ll ensure that your and your client’s goals align.

Additionally, don't overlook the importance of scheduling a follow-up call or a meeting to advance the conversation further.

Get into the driver seat of your success

By taking the steps to improve your outbound calling strategy, you’ll avoid wasting your hard-earned resources. Let’s face it, you may convert a few customers by firing blind calls, but the overall return on investment (ROI) will likely leave you feeling disappointed. 

On the other hand, creating and sticking to a solid outbound calling strategy will provide you with consistent results. You can then fine-tune your approach further until you achieve your original goals. 

If you don’t have enough resources or in-house capabilities to support a full outbound campaign, you can always outsource to a third-party provider. There’s no shame in this, and you’re likely already making full use of other professional services. 

Doing so also has many benefits, including minimizing overhead and maximizing your budget, while at the same time providing better results. In other words, you’ll get better ROI without all the hassle. 

Here at Aspen Media, we’ve been providing outbound call center services to organizations around the USA for over thirty years. Every agent working for us is trained and an expert at the most effective calling techniques currently available. Best of all, we know exactly how to build a strategy that works. 

Contact Aspen Media at 800-853-2240 or fill out our contact form and get into the driver's seat of your success.