How a power dialer can increase your sales

Automated dialers are a very great way to improve sales. Generally speaking, it is a numbers game. The more leads you speak with, the great the number of interested people you will find, in other word you can qualify leads quicker. Using a power dialer for standard outbound dialing is a simple function which increases the sizes of the entire sales funnel. If the funnel is bigger you can push in more leads in a shorter amount of time and get more results. Using a power dialer in this manner does not improve the percentage of leads converted, it only increases the number because you are doing things faster than you normally would. If this is your only function for the dialer, a predictive dialer may have advantages. With a predictive dialer lead lists can be called faster than from a power dialer. The downside is that the percentage of leads converted goes down with a predictive dialer even though the number of qualified leads goes up. For more information on this, see my last post.

As a stand alone system, a power dialer is a useful tool. By themselves, however, they are limited in their capabilities. Even from a power dialer you quickly reach a limit to how many leads you can call per day. Ultimately, it isn’t the size of the funnel that can achieve the results every one wants, it is the quality of the funnel. When a power dialer is integrated into a CRM, results improve dramatically. This is because leads can be called while they are fresher or “hot” as some would say.

The most dramatic increase in sales, however, is with a complete Lead Response Management system. This because such a system has a built-in dialer which gives the dialer capabilities that a dialer integration would not have, or would require costly coding to have. A built-in dialer has the capability of having dynamic lead lists which can be refreshed at specified intervals. On top of that, such a power dialer will also be able to call leads immediately after they are posted to you LRM system because the LRM can push the new leads to the top of a lead list that is being called. With such a system, response times are reduced from hours, for fresh leads, to mere minutes or even seconds. This is vital because in our fast paced world, the longer you wait to call a lead, the greater the chances that they have already purchased from a competitor.

Furthermore, the longer you wait to get a hold of a lead, especially a web lead, the greater the chances are that they will no longer be at the number they specified as a contact. So generally speaking, quicker response times equal more leads from your list actually contacted, which in turn leads to more sales.

The difference between a power dialer and a predictive dialer

Many tools in exist in the sales industry that help to improve sales. They focus on various aspects of the lead to actual sale process. There are two main types of dialers, power dialers and predictive dialers. Each of these has a different function.

A predictive dialer places many calls at the same time. It is an automated system for placing calls that searches for people who pick up their phones. It is used when sales teams have a long list of leads to call and they want to find people that they can speak with and try to make their sales pitch to on the spot.

So how does it work? Simple. The system will place many calls at once from a list of phone numbers to call and then it will attempt to recognize when a live person picks up the phone. As soon as the system detects that a person has picked up their phone it will connect them to the waiting agent who will then make their sales pitch. From the sales perspective, the only problem that may arise with this scenario is that as soon as a predictive dialer connects the agent to a live person it drops all of the other calls. Thus, the agent using the system may unknowing be burning leads that may have led to a sale if the lead had just picked up the phone faster. Not to mention the legal issues associated with this so-called abandonment.

A power dialer works a little differently. The down-side of the power dialer is that there are less calls placed per hour. In return, however, every person who picks up the phone and is ready to buy is able to speak to the agent and work through the sales process. Because of this one to one ratio, leads are not burned through and money is saved this way. Another benefit of a power dialer is the elimination of “telemarketer’s pause.” Many people hang up their phone as soon as they hear the pause after they answer their phone because they know it is a telemarketer on the line. A power dialer enables the sales rep to get on the phone with the potential client as soon as they pick up, giving the rep a better chance to work the sale through.

All in all, both types of systems have their pros and cons. In my humble opinion, the better of the two is the power dialer. Insidesales.com has a great power dialer built in to their LRM software, its worth checking out. My next article will speaks of how using a power dialer correctly can increase you sales significantly.

What is the difference between LRM and CRM software?

Well, I won’t say that comparing an LRM and a CRM is like comparing apples and oranges, but I would say that it is like comparing Grapefruit and Oranges. Both are citrus, but they have very different flavors. An LRM would be the grapefruit in this example, it has the elements common to all citrus fruit, but there is a whole lot more on the inside.

Okay, enough with analogies. Lets get down to the basics. First of all, Customer Relations Management (CRM) software helps you manage your contacts so you don’t lose track of them. It may have some reporting tools and automated email capabilities, but its main purpose is to track progress and organize it. This in and of itself causes a significant raise in sales (I’ve heard it said that it is somewhere between 15-20%). In the sales reporting world, this is great.

Lead Response Management (LRM) software, on the other hand, is a bit different. It also will help you to manage your contacts, whether they be leads, prospects, or clients (No difference here). The end purpose of LRM software, however, is to cause the progress of the leads into customers by contacting and qualifying them. If your business has a CRM in place, you may need to purchase a separate dialer system, which may include hardware and software installation, just to get the contacting and lead qualifying you want done. There is no need for this with an LRM; it’s built right in.

LRM software has a dialer built in. There is not need to purchase more software of hardware, qualifying and managing are all done from the same place. This is not the only thing that makes LRM software different from CRMs. An LRM can have the capacity to trigger inbound calls from webform submissions, or trigger various actions to be performed on leads or contacts data based on certain criteria. This can range from specific email templates in the form of a drip campaign, or even create scheduled events and tasks automatically. Lead Response Management software will also enable you to do voice broadcasting, leave automated voice messages and do complete reporting on all of these various features.

This does not mean that CRM software is subpar or inferior to LRM software in the realm of Marketing Software. Some people do not need an LRM to get the job done. If you do use or have a need for all of the features provided by a complete LRM, the best thing is to consolidate all the features into one program. Youreally just have to know what you want, some people don’t like grape fruit.

Drip Marketing Tips

As Promised in my last article, this one will be devoted to speaking about some good tips in developing a successful Drip Marketing Campaign. Here are a few easy steps to making a campaign increase your returns.

KEEP EMAILS SIMPLE

Avoid using a lot of images when you are creating an email template. A good email template is neat and may have a picture or two but lots of graphics and HTML formatting just lowers the success of an email. Everyone thinks that the most professional looking and wonderfully designed email templates are the ones that have the most success. It is actually the opposite. The simpler an email template is, the greater the likelihood that someone will actually take the time to read it. Also, an overload of pictures and lots of HTML formatting are exactly what SPAM filters look for when they are deciding whether to throw your message in the junk email box or not.

KEEP VOICE MAILS SHORT

No one likes to listen to a long voice message. In fact, studies show that significant interest is lost of the listeners attention every second after the 30 second benchmark. So the ideal is to keep your VM short and sweet. You will have a much greater chance of the phone call being returned if you do. Also, reiterate important information in case the listener may have missed the first part of your message.

SOUND DOWN TO EARTH

No one likes wordy advertisements and memorized scripts. It is important to sound down to earth. If you are talking to someone over the phone, don’t sound like you are reading a script, even if you are. For that matter, don’t write a script that sounds like it is rehearsed. Also, when you are creating an email template, make sure that the template is concise and personable. The potential customer has to know that you are interested in more than just getting another sale for the day. I have seen cases where the most successful email was one that had a misspelled word or used slightly bad grammar, because it made the sender of the email more human.

All of this requires thought, effort, and ultimately, time. You may feel you don’t have time to implement these kinds of things into a drip marketing campaign. There are solutions that can help save you time. A complete Lead Response Management software and automate phone calls through a dialer, emails through a CRM, and really Lead Nurturing in general. It’s something to look into, because we all have time to make more money.

What is drip marketing and how do you do it?

Lots of people in sales nowadays talk about drip marketing and how important it is, but what is drip marketing? Simply speaking, drip marketing is a method of maintaining constant contact with potential buyers. Have you ever received a birthday card from your dentist? That was an effort at drip marketing. The dentist was trying to make sure you don’t forget him next time you need a checkup. There are a few forms of drip marketing, some of them are not very effective.

Based on a research study with Omniture performed by Insidesales.com the most successful media campaigns involve multiple angles of marketing. What I mean by this, is an email, call, email campaign, or a call, direct mail, email, call campaign, etc. Leads know that if you are taking the effort to get a hold of them by various methods that you a serious company. Furthermore, it is important that you do not try to hard sell on every contact of a drip marketing campaign, offer useful information to the customer, as a public service. Your goal is to build a relationship with the lead. Generally speaking, if your drip marketing campaign only calls a lead every couple of months to see if they are ready to buy your product yet, you are no closer this month then you were two months ago to selling the lead. If the lead has more interest in your company then they were last month because you’ve been building a relationship, then they are much closer to buying.

Let’s look at an example of a good drip marketing campaign:

1. You receive your lead and send them a direct mail piece introducing yourself and your service or product. in the mail piece also let them know that you will be trying to contact them about your offer.

2. A week later after they’ve looked at your mail piece try to make an initial contact them via a dialer. Even if they just glanced at the mail piece before throwing it away with their junk mail, they’ll remember the name of your company. This in and of itself will make your initial call more successful, because it is no longer a cold call.

3. If they don’t pick up, leave them a voice mail in which you state that you’ll try to call them back(or send them an email), be specific about when you’ll try to call.

4. Call again or email them at the specified time.

Such a process may not turn a cold lead into a hot lead (although it may), but it will more than likely turn a cold lead into a warm lead which is half of the way there! Marketing Software or a complete Lead Response Management system is a great was to automate this process. I’ll speak about some more tips in developing a drip marketing campaign in my next article.

Why are immediate response tools so important to sales teams?

Timing is everything! Leads don’t stay as leads forever. Every salesman knows that there is a window of time when a lead will buy. That window of time may be long or it may be be gone before you even find out it was there. This is why it is so important to act when the customer is ready to buy. If your timing isn’t right, the lead will either lose interest or end up purchasing from someone else.

Immediate response tools are not only necessary for those dealing with brand new leads that must be contacted immediately. Many times, your small window may appear after you have been nurturing a lead for a long period of time. Immediate response tools allow you to reach out to the potential customer at just the right time, not too early and not too late.

For those unfamiliar with the tools available, I will summarize a few:

Phone Call - Some systems have the capability of generating an automated phone call from a dialer to leads considered to be “hot” because of triggers set off the potential customer. Examples include: Submitting a webform, opening a marketing email, etc.

Email - Automatic email is a basic function of any marketing software. A good LRM tool will give you the capability of sending personalized email templates to leads whether it be for nurturing purposes or an immediate response to potential buyer that has set off some trigger.

Direct Mail - If part of your business model involves sending out informational packets though postal services, good Lead Response Management software will help you to manage and automate, at least in part, this effort. The less amount of time dedicated to repetitive paperwork, the more you can spend time on what brings in results.

Immediate Response tools also empower sales teams to make their sales pipeline more efficient. Many times an immediate response will not bring an immediate sale. What it can do, however, is improve your standing with the customer so that they will eventually buy. Customers are much more likely to purchase from someone who values their business enough to facilitate a quick response to an inquiry. It demonstrates to the customer that they are valued.

Immediate response is also important to keep your customers buying. If your business model includes continued selling to existing customers, rapid support to customers problems or inquiries will keep them satisfied and keep them buying.

All in all, improving efficiency by automating time consuming tasks empowers a sales team with the ability to focus on what really counts.

What is Lead Response Management?

Lead Response Management is a quickly growing field in the sales industry. It encompasses various others fields within the sales industry and, when properly executed, has the capacity to improve sales at a phenomenal rate. In reality, all sales teams want to use lead response management, whether they know it or not. Lead nurturing, management, drip marketing, and cold calling are all elements of Lead Response Management.

Most sales teams use a couple of elements of LRM, but they don’t quite grasp the whole picture. There is a good reason for this. LRM is not easy, it takes a lot of work! Even with the right tools and sales model it is a daunting task. Once you do incorporate LRM into your sales model and ultimately your entire business model, however, the results are incredible.