Inbound sales calls are the top sources of your qualified leads. More qualified leads indeed guarantee higher conversions.
According to market statistics, the probability of conversion of prospects is much higher in inbound sales calls as compared to outbound calls. It may seem that the customer these days are more social media engrossed and calls are an outdated, thing of past.
But to the surprise, inbound sales calls still remain an all time high. The credit for this goes to the increase in mobile adoption that has made dialing a business easy, with just one click.
Kelsey companies predict that inbound calls will more than double by 2017, reaching 65 billion annually.
Furthermore, by 2019 these numbers will go up to 162 billion phone calls. However, if you are new to sales and probably scratching your heads, here’s what you need to know:
What are inbound sales calls?
Inbound sales calls are those phone calls that your contact center receives from your potential customers.
Why are Inbound Sales Calls Important? |
According to a survey conducted by Forbes, 71% of all leads generated from contact forms do not get any response at all. Furthermore, up to 34% of the live chat communication is considered dead, and messages remain unanswered.
So, as compared to these channels, Sales calls are much more beneficial and help in live conversions. It is also preferred by customers as they get their questions quickly answered.
Image source: Hubspot
It is an important moment when the customer calls. In most of the cases when a customer calls, they are ready for a serious conversion.
So your sales rep must be prepared to distinguish your offerings from other competitors in the market.
But the real question is how to maximize the potential of these inbound sales call for your business?
Clients prefer a phone conversation instead of an email or a chat forum if they are looking for things such as complex products like corporate software, something important or expensive like real estate or urgent services like repairs.
In these cases, it’s best to have a competent representative who can understand the customer’s issue in no time and provide a quick and satisfying consultation to the customer. Sometimes, you might have the calling customer’s data if the customer is loyal to your business.
Other days, there might be just bits of information available on the contact form. That should be just fine. Since inbound sales call provide the benefit of preparation, even your prospect’s name or location should be good for a head start.
When a lead call, put all your information to work. Use all the tiny bits of data that you have about your prospect to handle their needs in a personalized and effective way.
Once you begin talking to your prospect, try to pull as much data from them so that you present your best products, suited for their needs. This way your prospects find the desired attention and have an urge to convert.
The goal of an inbound call is not usually ‘sales’ but more ‘customer service’ or ‘customer success’. “Would you be interested?” is a very different conversation from “How can I help you? – Steven Benson, CEO, Badger Maps
Image source: vincidigital.com
What if you don’t have an answer to your prospect’s query? Instead of simply beating around the bush and providing incorrect information, route the calls to the correct department of your business.
I know, as a customer it is frustrating to be on hold when the representative is unable to find out the information you are looking for. Prospects are put on hold for all sorts of reasons that lead to frustration in them. Many prospects hang up the call, waiting for the correct person to address their issue.
If you want to evade such problems in your business, you can take the assistance of various call routing services available in the market.
The call routing services have also advanced with technology and resulted in an efficient device that can automatically guide the prospects to the right steps.
In other cases where an automated system is unable to solve the problem, route the customer’s call to the best available representative.
Tip: If the customer calls you regarding a question, route the call to a representative who has the experience to answer it.
Smedvigcapital.com
When customers call the sales department of a company, they do not simply want to know the product’s name and cost.
Fact: If a customer is making an inbound call with you, there are 99 percent chances that they have gone through your competitors as well.
Instead of simply offering a black box view (price and tag) of the product, differentiate yourself by adding some value points. The sales rep should have an in-depth knowledge of the products so that they convince the buyer to convert.
It is crucial that you have someone answering the phone that is extremely knowledgeable in your business. Even though you don’t have information prepared, like an outbound call, if you can answer all questions right when the person calls in, it will improve your chances of closing. – Jason Parks | President, Media Captain
Source: callamaker.net
It is observed that most experienced sales person start making assumptions about a prospect. This can prove fatal the prospect might feel that you have already made up your mind about them.
“As an inbound sales professional, don’t make assumptions about your prospect and their request just because you think you’ve heard it all.”- Nick Kane,
Wondering how is that bad at all? Making assumptions forces you to skip analyzing your prospects and simply jump to selling your product. There are possibilities when you might even appear rude to the customer. This can turn to a diminishing credibility for you as well as for the business.
Image source: Pinterest
Inbound sales calls are highly valuable for any business. This is the reason you need to be well prepared and handle them differently than outbound calls.
It is true that inbound calls require increased efforts and patience. But these hard working steps are bound to earn you profits with a significant number of converting prospects.
Are you confused that how to make your email marketing compelling and from where you need to start? In this guide,...
Do you ever find yourself thinking about how to build a healthy email list quickly to boost the...
Email marketing is the most cost effective method which never grow old. All what we need is to connect all elements...
