Calling tools – it is more than just your voice
Calling customers, vendors, and stakeholders is a vital part of any business. Without communication, any business would struggle, and the key tool for communication is the telephone. There are of course other tools for communication, which we will also look at, however, calling, and the tools for doing so, are the most important tools within communication.
First let’s look at the different reasons why calling tools are important, and then we can look at the best ways to improve the service and the tools used. Just like all business owners, we are always looking to improve our business, and improve the tools that can drive our success. It makes economic and commercial sense to improve our calling tools. Calling tools are not just the voice at the other end of the phone!
Inbound versus outbound calling and the calling tools used.
The Inbound call is important. Being contactable by people interested in your business is vital. Without an inbound phone line, how would customers contact you? How would people discuss your amazing products and services? How would staff, vendors, investors, and anyone else that could be a part of your business get in touch?
There are businesses that focus on the Inbound call. Companies that focus on in-bound calls spend more money on marketing than companies that have a good outbound sales team. Generating in-bound calls costs money, a lot more money than picking up the phone! Inbound calls must originate from somewhere. How do people find your phone number to call it? Businesses need a website, marketing campaigns, marketing materials and an online presence so that people can find the phone number to call it. These costs add up. The average conversion rates from in-bound marketing are far higher than outbound calling, and taken on a single sale level, it does work out cheaper, but looking holistically at inbound marketing, it is more expensive.
For inbound call tools, we need a phone, a phone number and some way of the customer getting to know that number! Sounds simple right? When a call comes in we don’t know much information about the caller, other than their number. If it is the first time that number has called, we have no historic information, and a CRM solution can not help.
If the inbound call is a repeat customer, or at least someone who has called before, there could be a record of them in the CRM System, and we might be able to answer the phone with at least their name.
For In-bound calling tools, if you can answer the phone and immediately say “Hello John, how are you today?” followed by “How is Jane and the kids?”, that customer knows that you are listening to them, respecting them, valuing them, and they are much more likely to remain a customer.
How do you know about Jane and the kids? Taking notes in the CRM Solution, supporting your call tools!
The Outbound call is important. Being able to contact customer, resolve complaints, generate more sales, and build your brand is vital. Outbound marketing is often called cold calling, and it is not appropriate for every business, but it is a vital tool nonetheless, and one that is used by most companies. Companies that use outbound cold calling well, experience nearly 50% more growth than companies that do not implement it or implement it poorly. Calling out from your company to sell your product, educate people, or build your brand is the most common form of marketing. Even if you are just returning a call, or phoning someone who has emailed you, an outbound call is a way of ensuring that your company reaches that person.
Calling tools needed for outbound calling, again, are a phone and a phone line, but this time, you also need a call list and data about that call list. The more data that the caller has about the customer being called, the more they can build a rapport, and the better the call is going to go.
As we said above, Jane and the kids can help to seal the deal.
Now that we have shown the 2 different channels for the phone call, let’s break it down a bit further.
The phone call is an important part of business.
Without a phone, customers can read about your company online, message you, but there is no human interaction. If the mantra “People buy from people” is true, without a phone, how do you know you are buying from a person?
Both in-bound and outbound phone calls have many benefits but to put it another way – can you think of a successful business that does not have a phone system? It might take a long time to reach customer support from Amazon, but they have a phone service for people to reach out!
The phone call is an important part of customer service.
Over 60% of customers prefer to talk to the company that they are buying from. This statistic gets lower across different age ranges, to as low as 20% of the youngest generation. The younger generation prefer to text than call. Since most buyers need money, and the older generation are generally wealthier than the younger generation, it makes sense to target the generation with the spending power. And the older generation likes to talk to companies they are buying from or doing business with.
Knowing your customer and how they like to communicate with you means that you can maximize that customer involvement with your business.
This also brings us into some other calling tools. If people do not like to speak on the phone, there are other tools to use. Knowing if your customer wants to text, Live Chat, email, speak, or visit face to face means that you are respecting their choices and the sale is more likely to complete.
Keeping detailed records of your customers will help you get to know Jane and the kids, and will give easy ice breakers to use when these customers call in. Detailed records are always kept on good Calling tools, like CRM Solutions.
The phone call is an important part of complaint resolution.
Over 60% of complaints are resolved on the phone. It is so frustrating for people to complain in writing and get an auto-email back, saying that they will get a response within 48hrs. a phone call resolve the complaint immediately.
Having a dedicated phone line for complaints helps to resolve them even faster and having scripts, processes, allocated discounts, or tools for resolution, means that a complaint can be resolved within seconds.
Calling tools for complaints include good scripts, clear phone lines, trained staff to leave details notes in a comprehensive CRM Solution and great offers to make customers complaining feel valued and their feedback appreciated. No-one likes to complain, but everyone likes to be listened to!
The phone call is an important part of relationship management and KYC processes
Knowing your customer is a vital way of growing a business. The better a business knows their customer, the more they can sell to them, support them with and the more likely they are to get a referral from them.
If your business has a direct line for your staff, customers can have a dedicated relationship manager who can support them with their services. Knowing who is on the other end of the phone, both for a customer and for the business builds relationships.
Dedicated phone lines, together with detailed notes about conversations, emails, and all communication stored in one place, including purchase history, means that when a customer calls in, you know them so well, you can sell them exactly what they need, when they need it, and everyone is happy!
The phone call is an important part of a loyalty programme
The above points lead into a loyalty programme. If John calls in every 1st of the month, asking for extra paper and ink for his printer, you know the order before it happens. A good CRM Solution with dedicated phone lines can help to keep John happy.
If Jane calls every 15th of the month asking for a Spa Day for her and her friends, giving vouchers for spa treatments on the 14th of the month will make Jane and her friends very happy. This builds loyalty and trust. This means that all the friends of Janes friends will also come to you, because you have treated Jane so well.
Dedicated phone lines, specific phone numbers offering a VIP Service builds loyalty to a brand.
If customers can not speak to someone in the company, and there are several companies offering similar services, customers do not hang around for long! After 2 failed attempts, that customer is lost forever. Do not allow for those 2 failed attempts!
The phone call can generate additional income for your business
Knowing your customer means that you can Up-Sell to them. Having a refer-a-friend program means that they can benefit from commissions and discounts linked to referring people to your business. Building an affiliate process means that customers can re-sell your products, earn a commission on the sale, and build up your customer base.
All this is only possible if people can talk to someone in your business.
The phone call is an important part of public relations and brand building
Building a list of competitors can help to keep an eye on the competition. Calling them and leaving detailed notes on their products in your CRM Tool keeps your business aware of the sector! Knowledge is power!
Knowing phone numbers to people in the media who can support you and your business is essential for PR, and to protect your brand. A quick phone call with a story, or a news release can boost the image of your business quickly.
Protecting your brand on-line, using analytical tools keeps your website secure and keeps customers informed, and not confused. How confusing can it be for customers to see you online, click on your advert, and get taken somewhere completely different?
More tools to support your call include good knowledge, and internet protection!
So if the phone call is such an important element of business, we need to focus on doing it better than our competition and having the best possible tools to do it.
The tools we use during a phone call are:
Listening.
We say this first because it is often overlooked and under used. People have 2 ears and one mouth, but rarely use them in that ratio. Listening to customers, brokers, vendors, competition, media outlets, the news and every source of information that pertains to your business means that your business will be successful! Keeping your ear to the ground is a great calling tool!
Voice
If you confuse a customer, you lose that customer. If your voice on the other end of the phone is calm, controlled, and clear, your customers will feel at ease. People with strong accents are sometimes hard to understand, if that is also coupled with a bad phone connection and poor service, customers will not stick around!
Phone handset
Are you desk based or mobile? Do you use handsets or headsets? Are you able to make calls on the go? All these are an important tool for improving call quality and connectivity. If your business has experienced difficult operational issues during the Covid lockdowns of 2020 to 2021, the need for a mobile, agile, and adaptable phone solution is clear! If your business has salespeople on the road, out of the office, or customer support staff working from home, a mobile solution is essential!
Phone connections or the phone line
Using VoIP has drawbacks. Using copper wires or Fibre-optic cables is expensive and out-dated. Choosing the mobile networks to support your phone solution has more functionality and better performance than the other choices.
VoIP needs a continual and consistent internet connection. Without that, calls can be robotic and can easily drop, or pause mid-way through and you have to repeat yourself again. Having a clear connection, reliable, consistent and mobile, is a vital tool to keep the conversation going.
A good CRM system
Knowing a customer when they call in can convert the sale before they even know it is a sale! Knowing the emails, SMS messages, Facebook posts, previous conversations and little ice breaking notes that have been left during each interaction means that when a customer calls in, the person answering the call knows them better than their friends!
Detailed notes in a good CRM Solution, with access to everyone who has had any connection with the customer means that whoever it is speaking to the customer, they know that customer so well, it can only be a positive experience!
Educational material
Educational material on all products and services available and the ability to compare your business services against those of competitors are great call tools that can help to guide the customer’s choice and give them the best options.
Customers love it when businesses know their products and can match their products to the customers needs. But also, if a business does not match the customer’s needs, but they refer them to a business that is better suited, customers will appreciate that and remember how good and knowledgeable the first business was!
Scripts
Scrips can sound robotic and unnatural. But if the scrips are on the CRM Solution, and readily available, they can be learned between calls, they can be summarized, and shortened and made to sound much more natural.
Building good scrips are great calling tools, teaching the staff and making them sound natural is a way of improving the calling tools to convert the sales!
Call Divert
Sometimes you are not available. It is only natural. It can be anything from simply being away from your desk, to turning your phone off in a meeting, to going on holiday and wanting to switch off for a few days!
Call divert is a fantastic calling tool to support you with your calls. Being able to divert missed calls to someone else to answer them, means that customers are not lost. Remember, 2 missed opportunities and the customer is gone. Call divert means that you don’t miss the calls, and someone is available to take a message, or to handle the call for you in your temporary absence!
Call Lists
Outbound calling requires data lists. Data lists can be pulled from the CRM Solution or can be bought in. A call list needs to be as up to date as possible, since so many people change numbers on a regular basis. There are problems with opt-in and opt-out lists that always need to be considered. Having a good call list with a top phone system and controlled by an excellent CRM Solution, can be the foundation for great success.
These are the tools that we can think of that make a successful phone call strategy work well. So if you are developing your strategy and building up your phone sales team, the 2 priority tools required are a CRM and a Phone System. Which are the best?
The best CRM systems
The best CRM solutions would incorporate all these tools into one platform and allow for good phone connections to desktop, mobile and VoIP providers. We could provide a long list of quality CRM Solutions here, but let’s try to keep it short
Hubspot regularly makes the top spot, with its flexibility, range of services and integrations as standard with several top providers, it is an excellent starting place.
CloudTalk is a developing platform, very reasonably priced with some unique features that make it standout in a crowded marketplace of call centre and calling CRM Solutions.
These are 2 systems that are focused on the static environment of a call centre, or a fixed desk top solution for those people fixed at a desk and working remotely.
For a Mobile solution for people who do not want to be fixed to a desk, and need the flexibility that supports the Work from Anywhere culture there is only one Suite to consider, ConxHub. A truly mobile solution, adaptable for any country around the world, and able to offer a huge array of functionality from your mobile phone!
The best phone systems
The most important tool for calling is a good phone system and the list is a long one of companies offering this service. There are desktop phone systems VoIP systems and mobile systems. Which is best for your company, and to match the needs of those using it?
Phone systems like CloudTalk have good connectivity if they are connected to the internet. Mainly used by agents sat at desks or with a fixed and stable internet connection, they are good for the purpose that they are designed for.
Phone systems like Five9 are built with call centres in mind, for expanding businesses. With reporting tools so the management team can monitor closely the team using the phones, get detailed reports and build statistical data on call patterns
Mobile phone solutions are the future of the phone business with more functionality, more flexibility and more efficiency to handle the evolving needs of post-pandemic phone call centered businesses. ConxHub has a mobile-centric solution, a phone solution and a calling tool in the palm of your hand, flexible for today’s business and future proof since it can be used anywhere.
