Author: hyper_user

  • Morale Boosting Ideas for Your Inbound Call Center Workers

    Morale Boosting Ideas for Your Inbound Call Center Workers

    morale boosting ideas

    Are you killing your employees?

    Workplace stress is harmful to the physical and mental health of your employees. Coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, panic attacks, and headaches can all come from chronic levels of stress.

    Do you have a toxic workplace environment? If your workers have low levels of energy and can barely wait to leave at the end of the day, your business will suffer. Luckily for you, there is a way to get rid of negative attitudes in the office.

    You have to foster an atmosphere of happiness and joy if you want your employees to love coming to work. Happiness is a powerful force that can improve employee relationships and increase sales. On average, happy employees are 12% more productive than sad ones.

    Read on to learn about morale boosting ideas that will help your employees- convert more calls into sales.

    Benefits of Having Happy Workers

    Before you can create happy employees you should know why you’re doing it. Employees who love what they do will be better assets to your company. Here are a few benefits you’ll enjoy from having happier employees:

    • Fewer health problems
    • Better sale conversions
    • Improved productivity
    • Critical thinking and problem solving
    • Desire to grow
    • High retention rates
    • Ability to recruit quality talent

    Does your company use digital marketing tools or lead generation services?

    Make sure your employees understand the time and money that goes into generating their leads. It’s common for workers to slow down in production as the day reaches an end.

    However, your workers should treat every call with the same level of determination and enthusiasm no matter what time of day it is. You can get the most out of your digital marketing efforts when your employees have medium to high levels of energy all day long.

    Problems with Unhappy Workers

    Disgruntled, unhappy workers can spread their bad mojo through the office faster than a cold. Toxic work environments can create employees that will cost you more money than they make you. Here are a few problems unhappy workers can cause:

    • Toxic work environment
    • Negative attitudes
    • Waste time and money
    • Low sales conversions
    • Repel new talent

    Many inbound call center workers rely on commission for their pay. When workers don’t believe they can make the sales they need, they’ll stop trying. If you do pay an hourly wage, you’ll be wasting your company’s money on workers who aren’t even trying.

    Top salespeople may lose their momentum if everyone around them is constantly complaining. Instead of being happy with their sales, top salespeople will feel the need to hide their success.

    Your call center will be a dangerous blend of envy and fear. With these two emotions running the show open collaboration and exchanging of helpful ideas becomes nearly impossible.

    Let’s look at what you can do if you believe your workplace needs a positivity makeover.

    What Are Morale Boosting Ideas?

    Recognizing your call center’s missing something is the first step towards finding a solution. There are 3 main reasons people will hate their job position.

    Anonymity

    Do your workers know how much you value what they do? If not, they may feel like an invisible, entity that doesn’t have any level of significance within your business.

    It’s important to not only notice the work your employees do but to also acknowledge the existence of their personal lives. As a manager, it’s important for you to express interest in what goes on when the work day is over.

    Congratulating a worker on their new car or house can go a long way in showing you care about them as a human being.

    Irrelevance

    Have you ever felt like your employees are just going through the motions? They might feel like there isn’t any point to the work they complete. It’s important to let employees know how their work affects the entire company as a whole.

    Immeasurement

    In sales, it’s critical for your workers to know how they’re doing. If employees can’t measure their level of success they won’t have any motivation to improve. Friendly competition in the workplace is important if you want your sales team to care about what they do.

    Morale boosting ideas will help you address problems with anonymity, irrelevance, and immeasurability. First, let’s look at an idea that will help your employees know you value them not just as workers but as individuals too.

    Personalized Cubicles

    Plan a day where your employees can spend an hour customizing their cubicles. Encourage workers to put up pictures of things they want that motivate them. Having a visual goal to work towards or for can be a tremendous source of encouragement. Here are a few ideas you can suggest when your workers are designing their cubicles:

    • Use bright cheery colors like yellow or orange
    • Zen Garden
    • Inspirational quotes
    • Use calming colors like blue or green
    • Photos of family and friends
    • Magazine cutouts of dream vacations
    • Picture of a new car they want to buy

    If your workers don’t have a cubicle you can still help them customize their workspace. A desktop calendar is a great tool for visually stating and tracking sales goals.

    Create Teams

    If you want to transform the way your coworkers view each other put them on teams. Workplace teams are a phenomenal way to foster friendly competition with daily and weekly sales goals.

    You can give the teams their names or allow them the opportunity to name themselves. Have the teams meet with each other every day before getting on the phones.

    During the meetings, a team leader can guide the group in a conversation about sales goals. Team members will be able to express things that they’re having trouble with. It’s also a great opportunity for team members to share success stories and offer teammates helpful advice.

    Perhaps some of your employees are having trouble mastering the art of a warm transfer. Instead of worrying about it your employees will know they have a safe space during the team meeting to discuss what they’re struggling with.

    Remote Call Center Jobs

    Remote call center jobs can have a  difficult time making employees feel good. Not being able to physically see employees can make it hard to boost workplace morale.

    However, it isn’t impossible to create a welcoming environment for employees who work from home. If you’re employees telecommute you can foster workplace communication through telephone conferences, facetime calls, and online communities.

    Drive In More Calls

    Morale boosting ideas can help transform your company’s work environment.

    Hypertarget Marketing wants to help you grow your business. We are a performance marketing agency that can increase your daily call volume. When you hire us you’re paying to speak with customers who are genuinely interested in your product or service.

    Our process allows us to drive inbound calls to your center using mobile-optimized websites. Recent advances in technology have given us the ability to combine call metrics and paid traffic. Our marketing platform generates quality leads for you to convert into sales.

    Look at our past and ongoing projects to get an idea of what we’re capable of. In the bottom corner of the page, you’ll see our contact us button. Click on our contact button and let us know how we can help.  We look forward to hearing from you.

  • CX Tips: 8 Reasons to Mix AI with the Chance to Talk to a Person

    CX Tips: 8 Reasons to Mix AI with the Chance to Talk to a Person

    talk to a person

    Only 33% of consumers believe they use AI-enabled technology. In truth, 77% use an AI-powered service or device.

    AI and machine learning, as well as bots, are quickly becoming ubiquitous. Some believe it is only a matter of time before they fully replace customer service representatives.

    But customer service has evolved with technology trends to become something new. Customer experience (CX) is now the most competitive space among brands. Most companies recognize that creating an invaluable customer experience is the best way to differentiate themselves.

    This has spurred immense investments into AI. AI is now being used to augment messaging, route support inquiries, and help with call lead generation.

    But AI is still in its infancy. It’s useful, but the customer’s experience still depends on the human touch.

    Here are 8 reasons to make it easy for customers to talk to a person while leveraging AI.

    1. Customers Still Want to Talk to a Person

    61% of mobile users call a business when they’re in the purchase phase of a buying cycle. 57% of those do so to talk to a person.

    It’s not that AI and automation don’t serve a purpose. They’re excellent at diagnosing common problems and answering frequently asked questions. But nothing can replace the trust that’s built between a customer and a representative during a phone call.

    AI can be leveraged as a chat feature on your website, for example. You can even use an automated answering tool for incoming phone calls. But you don’t want machines to be the face of your brand.

    2. Customer Complaints Are Best Handled by Humans

    If a customer calls or messages because they have a complaint, AI can exacerbate the problem. Instead of speaking to a human who can address their problem directly, they must first get through the barrier of a bot or automated messaging system.

    It should be easy for a customer or client to speak with a representative at the touch of a button.

    A human can listen to the customer and acknowledge the problem. They can do a better job of assessing the facts and providing a solution.

    But most importantly, a human can work to bridge the divide between your brand and your customer. Than can become that customer’s advocate.

    3. Humans Can Make Exceptions

    Building a remarkable customer experience is all in the details. Often, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to help clients and customers. When customers have special requests, it takes a human to address them.

    Take a simple e-commerce transaction as an example. What if the customer wanted to return an item but had a family emergency and didn’t get a chance to until after it was too late?

    An automated system may not be able to address this situation. But a human would clearly empathize with the customer. They’d be able to override the system and process the return.

    4. Humans Can Understand Context

    In the past, when a business received a phone call, there was no telling who was on the other end of the line. It could have been a supplier, a current customer, or even a fresh lead.

    As AI advances, it becomes more useful in segmenting leads, prospects, and customers. But AI still can’t understand context the way a human can.

    Part of delivering an excellent customer experience is personalizing every interaction based on context. You need to know where that caller is in their buying cycle, what their needs are, and other information. This goes beyond demographic information; you need to know that person’s goals and pain points.

    You need to know what a day in their life is like.

    Automation and AI are useful for serving up this information to humans. But ultimately, it’s a human who must synthesize that information and make a connection.

    5. There Needs to Be a Hand Off

    AI can be a useful tool for inbound marketing. It removes many of the manual processes that take up time, like segmenting leads. It can even tell you what to write your next blog post about.

    More and more, AI and automation are being used at customer touch points. There’s clearly a benefit to this, but there needs to a seamless handoff from machine to human.

    Furthermore, it needs to be evident to each lead, prospect, or customer that they are interacting with a machine.

    Chatbots are the main culprit in this regard. Many businesses use chatbots, but they don’t always make their chatbots declare themselves. Instead, they put up a generic photo of a “customer service representative” and force visitors to wade through their AI before they can speak to a human.

    Make sure your customers always know when they’re speaking to a bot and when they’re speaking to a human. Make it easy for them to switch between the two.

    6. AI Can’t Close the Deal

    Buying a product from Amazon is easy enough. Just log into your account, point, and click. But B2B sales are much more complicated. Often, there are numerous stakeholders who must sign off before a purchase is made.

    On the sales end, AI can be used to facilitate adaptive sales techniques. For example, it can screen calls and present customer information to your sales representatives. It can even route customers to the appropriate representatives based on their context.

    But ultimately, AI can’t get someone to sign on the dotted line. It’s possible to rely too much on AI. Assess your own processes to determine when AI should step aside and when the customer should talk to a person.

    7. It’s Possible to Invest Too Much in AI

    CX is such a hot topic that many organizations are investing loads of money into CX improvements. AI and machine learning offer some exciting possibilities for optimizing customer experience. But it’s still possible to overinvest.

    One 2017 study found that only 20% of companies saw a significant ROI for their CX investments. It’s not the investment itself that makes the difference. It’s how you use that investment.

    Before diving head-first into AI, consider how it will fit into, or change, your current customer experience strategy.

    8. The Best Customer Experience Strategy is Omnichannel

    According to one study, companies with the strongest omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain an average of 89% of their customers. Companies with weak omnichannel strategies only retain 33%.

    An omnichannel customer experience is made up of many touch points. Some of them are machine-based, but others rely solely on humans. The point is to make it easy for your leads, prospects, and customers to connect with you the way they want to.

    If you implement AI as part of your customer experience strategy, always offer leads and customers the opportunity to talk to a person. Make it easy for them to reach a person online, by phone call, or even by sending a text message.

    If you can do that, you’ll have an optimal omnichannel customer experience strategy that leverages both your machine and human assets.

    Does your business value phone calls? Do you process sales through a call center?

    Call HyperTarget Marketing at 213-973-9905 to increase your call volume and to learn more about integrating AI into your sales pipeline.

  • Inbound Calls Management: Tips to Save Time

    Inbound Calls Management: Tips to Save Time

    calls management tips

    Even as millennials spend almost no time on the phone, businesses are still struggling to handle call volume issues. With the help of Siri, Alexa, and other virtual assistants, it’s never been easier to call a company if you have a problem or need to reorder supplies. If you worry about calls management at your company, a few simple tips can save you loads of time.

    Here are five things to keep in mind to improve phone services at your company.

    1. Start On The Right Foot

    From the moment you answer your phone, you can ensure that you’re offering your customers the right information. When you greet them with a well-formatted greeting, you can let them know a lot of information quickly.

    When your staff answers a call, they should say “Thanks for calling Smith Tech Corporation. This is Joe. How can I help you?”

    While this seems relatively standard, it’s not most people’s instinct when answering the phone. You don’t always know who is on the other end, so many people answer the phone with a “Hello?”, which puts the caller in a defensive position.

    The other option is much more inviting and lets the caller know immediately that they’re calling a business. If they don’t have time for chit-chat and don’t want to have to ask if they’ve called the right place, you can save them the time.

    2. Prioritize While You Talk

    Make quick decisions about what a caller needs as you talk to them. If you’re in the middle of a crisis, you shouldn’t talk to the caller in a rushed manner.

    Some callers have simple questions that they need to be answered. Many times, they just want to know if you’re open and for how long. Other times, they need to know if you have a common product that you know you have.

    If that’s the case, make the call to prioritize your phone conversation for that short period of time.

    If your caller has a more complicated question and wants you to go over the details of products with you, you need to afford time for them. Tell them you’re suddenly swamped but that you plan to call back in x-number of minutes. Get their number and most importantly, don’t forget to call them back.

    Set yourself a timer whenever you make a claim like this so that you don’t forget about any of your customers.

    3. Humans Over Machines

    When you call any kind of company, do you want to talk to a person or to an answering machine? It’s likely the former. When you call a company to ask a question that could be answered in seconds, having to navigate an interactive voice response system is irritating.

    Getting a machine when you’re expecting a human being is a frustrating experience. It will turn your customers off quickly and even cause them to seek out another company.

    Instead of losing customers, hire a receptionist to cover your phone. If that’s too big of an expense, there are lots of answering services available that can ensure that your phone calls are handled promptly and professionally.

    If you balance out the cost of lost business versus how much it costs to have someone answer your calls for you, you’ll find that you’re better off with a human. A machine or IVR system will leave your customers cold and your profits in a slump.

    4. Summarize Next Steps

    When dealing with customers, there is a lot of information that can be exchanged in just a few minutes. Over the course of your conversation, there will be requests from your customer for you to take some steps. You might have directions for your customers on what to do next.

    Unless you want to get a call from them in a day or two asking about what you agreed on, you should summarize what you want to do next. Failure to summarize leads to handling multiple calls and juggling redundant questions again and again.

    At the end of the call, take a few seconds to clear up errors or the need for anyone to double-check an agreement. At the end of your conversation, you can tell them what was said and what you’ve agreed on. At the end tell them, “Great, so we’ll meet at your office at 10 AM on Tuesday. There we’ll go through the blueprints.”

    If they didn’t know they were expected to bring blueprints, you can make that clear. If they thought it was going to be next Tuesday and not this Tuesday, you can clear up any confusion.

    5. Take Notes

    Whether you do it digitally or with a pen and pad, take notes about your call with every customer. This way you can ensure that you don’t have to ask them to repeat themselves next time. Also, you can make things simpler once you get off the phone.

    If there are next steps for you to take, you need to have a little direction to ensure that you have the information you need. There could be confusing scheduling issues or information swapping that needs to be done. Rather than having to call them back and ask them to repeat information, you can get everything you need the first time.

    Keeping notes in a customer database is another good way to ensure that you learn about customers over time. The more information you can keep on each customer, the easier it’ll be to give them great service every time you speak.

    Calls Management Requires Systemic Changes

    If you want to improve your calls management approach, you need to train your staff properly. Phone etiquette is important as you can gain or lose customers in the snap of a finger over the phone. If you provide great service over the phone, customers will be ready to work with you before you even meet them.

    For more tips on putting together an inbound call strategy, check out our latest guide.

  • 5 Sales Prospecting Tips All Inbound Call Marketers Should Know

    5 Sales Prospecting Tips All Inbound Call Marketers Should Know

    sales prospecting tips

    Since just training a new employee can cost thousands of dollars, you need to be sure you’re always making the most with what you have.

    While you might think that your leads are hard to come by, there are ways to convert your current leads and find new ones you might not have thought of. A few sales prospecting tips will ensure that you get the leads you’re looking for.

    Here are five tips for prospecting leads that you’re looking for.

    1. Devote Time

    Just like you would block out time for a meeting or work out in your free time, you need to devote time every single day to prospecting. It might not be your favorite part of your job, but it’s essential to making sure that you never hit a wall with anything you do.

    You can’t expect your sales to just fall into your lap. You need to get out and there and ensure that your irons are still in the fire, are running warm, and ready for action.

    Unless you’ve somehow gotten independently wealthy in the time between when you got hired, and now, you need to pick up the phone.

    Getting started on a call isn’t easy, but y would need to devote yourself to it nonetheless. Focusing your energy on getting new clients is a must for any business. New business might fall into your lap every once in awhile, but it’s not very common and not very likely.

    Making the time to prospect shows your commitment to working hard, not only to your coworkers but also to yourself. When you set an example for others, you also set up accountability for yourself.

    2. Focus On Your Market

    The potential number of customers you could have is vast and intimidating. Even if you’re in a specialized field, it’s likely there are a number of different companies competing for your market. You can’t take on everything, so you need to figure out where to start.

    The question you need to answer first is “who is my ideal customer?”

    While this may be no simple query, you can start by looking at your products and what kind of research you have inside your own database. You can surely name who your top five or ten customers are. Then you need to start picking them apart.

    Find out who your worst five customers are. Think about what you don’t like about them, why they irritate you, or why they don’t come back as often as you would like.

    How do you offer what your best customers like to every single customer without upsetting your five worst customers? Your campaign needs to bring those unfaithful or bad customers along for the ride.

    Create a profile of the ideal customer so you can start to track them down.

    3. Plug Away At Your Call Lists

    Surely you’ve got a list of warm leads that you’ve been working on for a while. Don’t let any of them cool off. Take your time to call those people on the list whenever you get a chance.

    Prioritize your lists and see where people on the list are in their process of decisionmaking.

    They might have questions that they haven’t had time to ask you and you could be calling into them at just the right time. Perhaps there’s some information you can send them to win them over. Invite them to an event that you’re hosting.

    You should host a webinar or a seminar to let them know more about you and your products.

    Touch base with them in a consistent manner. Rather than letting them forget about you, you need to stay in touch so that they know about you. You need to keep warm leads warm or even get them hot if you can.

    4. Get a Referral

    While good reviews and great advertising can bring plenty of people through your door, it’s rare that people stick around or even purchase after their first encounter.

    What works the most is to let someone else handle the work for you. Ask for your best clients to give you a referral.

    Rather than just have them do this outright, you can offer them something in return. Have some coupon codes ready to offer a discount to anyone who helps you out by giving you a reference. Give a discount to both first-time customers and the people who they refer to you.

    The best moment you should ask for your referral in is right after you make a sale. At that moment, the rush of the sale is on their mind so letting them know how they could increase the value even further isn’t a bad idea.

    5. Get On Social Media

    With billions of users on Facebook alone, you need to ensure that you have a fairly active profile on social media. While there are some Luddites who might think that social media is only for kids, there are plenty of adults on it now.

    In fact, most marketers have whole departments that are devoted to getting leads and encouraging sales via e-commerce channels. Social selling is the new way to get the word out to clients.

    With the help of Apple Pay and the long-standing Paypal, you can rest assured that there are secure ways to pay for goods online. Referring your clients to your site from social media is a great way to broaden your reach.

    You can call people and refer them to social media or use social media to spread your contact information.

    A Few Sales Prospecting Tips Go a Long Way

    If you’re a call marketer, you might think that these tips don’t all apply to you but they do. The common denominator for all of these sales prospecting tips is to ensure that you’re always out here in front of your customers.

    If you want to know more about leads for small business, check out our latest guide.

  • How to Create an Effective Inbound Calling Strategy

    How to Create an Effective Inbound Calling Strategy

    inbound calling

    Does your company have an inbound calling strategy? You’ve invested time, energy and resources to make your phones ring. You’ve worked hard to acquire every lead and customer.

    What happens when the phone rings? If you don’t know, you could be leaving a lot of money on the table.

    Customers who call you are more likely place an order with your company. When they do, they spend more than the average customer.

    When you have a strategy in place for those inbound calls, you can increase those numbers even more.

    Keep reading to learn how you can leverage the power of inbound calls by creating a solid inbound call strategy.

    Why Do Customers Call?

    The main question you need to answer when you create your inbound call strategy is why are they calling?

    Is it to feel like your company can be trusted before they buy? Do they have questions before committing? Might they need a little reassurance before taking the next step?

    Your potential customers exist in different stages of the buying lifecycle. The typical lifecycle is made up of 4 steps before a customer makes a purchase.

    Awareness: The point where someone becomes aware of your company, product, or services. This is usually through marketing, direct outreach, or social media.

    Interest: Once a prospect knows about your company, they will be interested in what you have to offer. They’ll start to look at your product offerings, and keep that information on the back burner.

    Desire: They know they have an immediate need for your company’s offerings. They do more research into pricing and start to compare your company to others.

    Action: They’re ready to take action and make a purchase. At this stage, they know they have a need. They need to be convinced that your company offers the best solutions to solve their problems.

    An important point to note is that customers want to be in control of every step of the process. They don’t want to feel like they’re being sold to. Nor do they want to be called. Think about today’s world; no one wants to be called anymore, not even by their friends. People want to make calls when it’s best for them.

    That’s among the biggest differences between outbound and inbound calls.

    When you understand why your potential customers call, it’s easier to manage those calls. You can put the right people on the phone to give the customer exactly what they want before buying.

    Set Up Systems for Each Stage of the Buying Process

    There’s a big difference between a prospect who’s ready to buy and someone who just wants to kick the tires.

    You want to make sure that you have systems in place to handle people who are just curious and people who are ready to commit.

    You want to be sure that each one gets a high level of service, but no so high that your customer acquisition costs increase. It costs more money to have a phone rep than it is to have someone answer an email or live chat.

    Your system should have a live chat and email options for people who are interested but don’t have the desire or want to take action.

    If someone calls in, how can you tell where they are in the product lifecycle? That’s where a cloud-based phone service comes in.

    They can route those calls to the appropriate person, so your staff time isn’t wasted routing calls. Prospects also feel like you have it together because they’re not being passed from person to person.

    Have the Right People Available

    The worst impression someone can leave on a call with a potential customer is ineptitude. You want to make sure that the people you put on the phone are confident, knowledgeable and ready to assist prospects.

    It’s important to have your top sales reps available when a prospect is ready to buy. You can have customer service reps ready to answer questions for those

    Use a CRM System

    You’re going to need to have a record of all of the calls that are taken. It’s not enough to rely on memory or notes scribbled down everywhere.

    Sales reps are productive when they have access to a CRM. Your entire team can have access to customer notes that show when they called, the issue at hand, and how it was resolved.

    That can make your entire team more effective, especially if the original contact person is unavailable.

    The good news is that a CRM doesn’t have to be an expensive solution. There are plenty of cloud-based tools that are priced according to the number of users and contacts.

    These cloud-based tools often have an app that sales reps can use to access data anywhere. That’s convenient in case they need to follow up with a prospect while they’re out of the office.

    Analyze Data

    You’re going to need to track the effectiveness of your inbound calling strategy. The way to do that is to use detailed reporting and analyze data regularly.

    You can track the number of calls, how they’re generated, and sales performance. You can also measure custom satisfaction after the fact.

    The metrics will let you guide your marketing strategy. You can learn what is working, where adjustments need to be made, and where the greatest opportunities are.

    An Inbound Calling Strategy That Gets Results

    If you’re on the fence about having an inbound calling strategy, you need to hop off of it. There are great reasons why a plan of action around inbound sales. They come down to time and money. Yes, it’s an investment to have salespeople work the phone.

    However, you’re leaving money on the table because you don’t have the staff in place to handle customer calls when they’re ready to buy.

    When you do that, selling becomes easy. If you need help getting people to call your company, don’t hesitate to contact us today at 213-973-9905. You can also review our process to see how we get things done.

  • Warm Transfer vs Blind Transfer: What’s the Difference?

    Warm Transfer vs Blind Transfer: What’s the Difference?

    Is your phone ringing with all sorts of inbound calls and you have no idea who these people are or why they are calling? Having pertinent information and background about prospective clients when they call helps you to provide better service.

    We’re going to take a look at the major differences between a warm transfer and a blind, or cold, transfer. Let’s dive into the advantages and disadvantages of both.

    The Difference: Warm Transfer vs Blind Transfer

    We’ve all received those phone calls that have outside information prior to answering them. Then, when we answer, we’re either confused or not up to speed on the reason they are calling.

    For business productivity, it’s helpful to have the most information you can before picking up a call. That’s exactly what a warm transfer provides.

    What’s a Cold Transfer?

    A cold transfer transfers to you without any information about who it is or why they are calling. If your business tends to receive a lot of sales or telemarketing calls, cold transfers don’t do your business any favors.

    They occur a lot more frequently when your company doesn’t have a receptionist or anyone answering phones. They happen also if your business has a receptionist but they transfer calls without notifying the receiving party. The receiving party can either answer the phone right away or let it go to voicemail and hope they leave their information there.

    Disadvantages of a Blind Transfer

    Even if your company is on a do not call list, it’s possible there are certain times of the year more calls come in. These involve some clients, some leads, and often a lot of solicitors. With blind transfers, the call might not get to where they need to go.

    Some calls might pass to someone, when another employee may have already spoken with them, or there is a position that is more appropriate to handle the request. This wastes important company time and causes unnecessary phone tag and transferring.

    These blind transfers happen if you have an employee who doesn’t want to take the call, has a disgruntled customer, or doesn’t think it’s for them. If the conversation had prior to transferring was important, a cold transfer could make for an angrier client when they are asked again of their calling purpose.

    It’s a good business objective to provide good customer service over the phone as this could be a prospective client’s first impression of the company.

    What is Warm Transferring?

    Warm transfers work best when a receptionist is answering the phones. They allow for enhanced call screening and employees are more efficient on a call. They receive the background information they need prior to answering the call.

    Some businesses have a receptionist who informs an employee they have a call via instant messaging. Some, a receptionist walks to their desk to inform them. And others may receive a direct call from the receptionist who then explains and informs of the intent of the call and the caller.

    Advantages of Warm Transferring

    Employees are able to choose whether or not they have the time or want to answer the call or have it sent straight to voicemail. With a receptionist providing valuable information to the recipient, the call recipient provides better customer service for the caller.

    With warm transfers, a receptionist alerts the caller if they will go to a person’s voicemail or that the caller is currently busy. If they are just automatically transferred to a person’s voicemail, it’s frustrating for the customer and they may end up hanging up.

    A receptionist is able to gather all the information they need, ask great questions about the caller and the reason they are calling, and pass it on to the receiving party so they are well informed. This friendly customer service approach will keep callers happy and help to maintain a high customer retention rate.

    Call Transferring

    Businesses that are using VoIP business phone service (voice over internet protocol) are able to transfer callers quickly and efficiently. VoIP services make it easier for both the receptionist and the call recipient to view customer data in real time in the business CRM database.

    There are also apps that allow for smooth call forwarding so no calls get lost in the process of transferring. If your business doesn’t have VoIP services, it’s important that you put expectations and guidelines in place for the receptionist.

    Receptionist Guidelines

    What types of things do you need to know about the caller and why they are calling? What other questions do you need to ask so the call recipient is as informed as possible?

    Examples of questions to ask include:

    • What is your name?
    • What business are you with?
    • What is your title?
    • Who are you calling for?
    • What is your reason for calling?
    • Is this a tight deadline or an urgent matter?
    • When do you expect to hear back from them?
    • Is there any other important information you’d like to share?

    Having a procedure outlined will ensure call transfers, warm or cold, go smoothly and no calls are dropped. Customer service will be better and customers will be happier.

    Other things to think about putting in place for your receptionist is a general greeting. This could ring something like, “Thanks for calling (insert business name), this is (insert employee name), how may I direct your call?”

    The more informed employees are, the most empowered they are to make appropriate and helpful decisions to better the company.

    Warm Transfers are The Way to Go!

    Now you know the difference between a warm transfer and a blind transfer, it’s safe to safe if you’re hoping to improve your business customer service, warm transferring is a great step in the right direction.

    Are you interested in learning more about how to improve your customer service and client satisfaction through new marketing campaigns? Check out this blog now!

  • Inbound Calling: 10 Tips for Turning Calls into Business

    Inbound Calling: 10 Tips for Turning Calls into Business

    Generating calls for your business can be a difficult process. The hope is that actually answering the calls should be pretty easy, right?

    The truth is that answering phone calls is often where businesses slip up. It’s easy to let your phone etiquette lapse when the customers come to you. But if you fall into this trap, you’re going to cost your company a lot of money.

    If you think your company could do better on the phone, keep reading. We’re going to talk to you about our 10 best tips for how to turn inbound calling into sales.

    Why is Inbound Calling Important?

    By the time your customers pick up the phone to call a business, they’re ready to buy. They want answers to their questions, and even if they don’t know it, every second on the phone is essentially an interview process.

    They’re looking for any reason at all to pick you or your competitors. So answering their calls the right way is your best bet to converting that call into a sale.

    1. Make a Human Connection

    The last thing your customers want to do when they call you is to talk to a robot. There are instances where a voicemail or IVR system is the right choice, but if you’re looking to make an immediate impact on your customer’s view of your company, this isn’t it.

    Voicemail and IVR systems give off a cold and unfeeling impression. They don’t have any flexibility and they don’t encourage your customers to call back.

    If you have a high volume of calls during hours where you aren’t in the office, it’s a good idea to consider hiring a professional phone answering service or a receptionist

    2. Answer at the Right Moment

    It’s never a good idea to let your customers sit and wait on the phone for any reason. Impatience is just going to frustrate your customer and make them less likely to buy from you.

    However, answering the phone too soon could be a bad sign as well. If you’re rushing to answer on the first ring, are you really that busy? Is there a reason people aren’t keeping you occupied elsewhere?

    Whether your customers realize they take these things into consideration or not, they do.

    3. Have a Formal Greeting

    Make sure your employees know how to answer a phone. Include a brief hello, a “thank you for calling [your business]”, their name, and “how may I help you?”

    It might seem a little long winded and formal, but it’s good to be consistent. Your customers want to know what to expect, and it shows a level of professionalism.

    4. But Don’t Overdo the Formality

    While you want to keep things professional and consistent, you don’t want to wind up reading from a script. Keep a guide open for various points that your employees need to touch on, but don’t read from it word for word.

    You want to make a personal connection with your callers. You can’t do that if you read directly from a script, it sounds too robotic and it doesn’t leave room for any flexibility.

    5. Use Their Name

    People love hearing their own names. If you can figure out your caller’s name and use it during your phone call, you get that much closer to that personal connection and a sale.

    Just be careful that you don’t overdo it. You can seem manipulative and fake if you use the customer’s name in certain circumstances, so make sure you sound genuine and sincere when you do.

    6. Be Open Ended

    When you reply to your customers with single-worded yes or no responses, you’re not doing anything to advance the conversation. It might sound difficult at first, but if you practice, you can teach yourself and your employees how to follow up every yes or no answer with more information or another question to keep the conversation moving.

    If they ask you a yes or no question like “Do you sell lampshades?” instead of saying “yes” say “yes we do, we carry these brands and they come in a variety of colors.” Ask a question, give more information.

    But also keep the value of your customer’s time in mind.

    7. Be Positive

    Think about the people you like to be around in life. Do you prefer to spend more time with the positive people who try their hardest to say “yes” and who actually follow through with their promises? Or do you spend more time with those that offer more negative responses?

    The answer is obvious. People gravitate towards positivity. Smile when you answer, even if your customers can’t see it, they can hear it in your voice and it will release endorphins into your body that’ll make you feel good too.

    8. Stay Calm

    This should be a given, but you need to make sure you never lose your temper with your customers. You never know who’s recording you, and you never know who they know. All it takes is for one customer to hear an irritated tone and elevate the situation.

    One bad experience goes twice as far as a good one, and if word of mouth gets around that you snapped on a customer, you’ll lose sales.

    9. Don’t Put Them on Hold

    Another thing that should be a given but often isn’t is that you shouldn’t put your customers on hold. Sometimes it’s inevitable, in which case you should do it for as short of a time as possible.

    When your customer is on hold, they have no reason to stick around. It’s just as easy for them to hang up and call someone else. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you.

    Even if your customer demands to be put on hold until the person they want to speak to is free, pop on the line every 60 seconds to let them know that you haven’t forgotten about them and that their desired party is still occupied.

    10. Confirm and Sum Up

    When you are at the end of the call, take a second to confirm with your customer that you answered their questions and satisfied their needs. If you haven’t, ask what you can do to help. If you have, thank them for calling.

    Another good rule of thumb is, to sum up whatever plans you made in the call. If you agreed on a time to meet or call back, remind them. Go over the concrete things you talked about before they hang up.

    From Inbound Calling to Sales

    It might seem like a lot to remember in one call, but when your customers start inbound calling, you need to make sure that you’re at the top of your game. This is a vital time for your company. You want to turn every call into a sale.

    If your business needs calls and you’re not sure how to get them, visit us today. We can help drive calls to your business.

  • 5 Tips for Choosing Between Pay Per Call Networks

    5 Tips for Choosing Between Pay Per Call Networks

    pay per call networks

    Modern marketing campaigns often focus on Internet-based strategy through social media or pay-per-click advertising. By doing so, they miss out on one of the oldest and most effective commerce schemes in the world: Pay Per Call marketing.

    Did you know mobile searches will account for more than 70 billion prospect calls to businesses in 2018 alone? No? Maybe you also don’t know that 70% of people searching on mobile click-to-call a business directly from those search results.

    Considering these statistics, it seems insane to not partner with Pay Per Call networks to tap into this huge source of potential revenue. Keep reading to learn more about these campaigns and get some tips on how to choose a reliable network.

    Defining Pay Per Call Marketing

    Pay Per Call marketing has been around much longer than cell phones or the Internet. It is a performance marketing strategy where a business hires a Pay Per Call network to find quality leads. The network uses a tailored advertising campaign to encourage qualified leads to contact the business through inbound calls and ask further questions about a product/service.

    An old-school example of Pay Per Call would be paper advertisements in newspapers or magazines. The advert asks interested consumers to call the number listed to learn more about a product or service.

    Infomercials would be another classic example of Pay Per Call where they urge consumers to call a number to buy the product listed on the screen. Marketers assign a single phone number to each infomercial so they can track which customers call which number.

    How Do Pay Per Call Companies Work?

    Small businesses interested in starting a Pay Per Call strategy first must contact one of the many Pay Per Call networks in the US. They place an order for a specific number of inbound calls from potential customers interested in their products or services.

    The Pay Per Call company behaves as an advertising agency and starts a marketing campaign. They create the initial content and then hire an affiliate or publisher to share it. This Pay Per Call affiliate places ads on the correct websites or other online channels that prompt a prospect to fill out a form.

    The Pay Per Call company then calls the interested party to gauge their interest in the small business’s services/products. The affiliate does not do this part. During the call, they ask questions to see if the prospect meets the small business’s qualifications for being a high-quality lead.

    If yes, the company directs the prospect to the small business’s sales department who take over the process of selling the products or services. The affiliate marketing company receives a commission when the small business closes the sale.

    Who Stands to Benefit from Partnering with Pay Per Call Networks?

    Most business relationships must be mutually beneficial for them to work well. Pay Per Call networks are no exception. Learn how each player benefits from participating in Pay Per Call advertising below.

    Small Businesses

    Small business owners who cannot afford massive advertising campaigns benefit the most. Studies show that 78% of local mobile searches lead to an offline purchase. Not only do you get access to this massive pool of potential customers, you also get a better grip on the effectiveness of these campaigns.

    Identifying how well your online advertising campaigns work requires an understanding of digital marketing beyond that of the average business owner. With a Pay Per Call campaign, much like an infomercial, you can assign a specific number to each of the various advertising channels.

    The tracked phone number reveals what ads generated inbound calls and which Pay Per Call affiliate made the call happen. This helps you get a clear picture of your return on investment (ROI).

    Affiliates/Publishers

    The benefits to the affiliate or publisher go beyond the commission made by running the advertising campaign. Affiliates can develop a new stream of revenue without needing to alter their current business model.

    The affiliate uses their existing promotional methods and channels to monetize the phone and online traffic. They even can use the same analytics and tracking capabilities for both. Once they become established, they gain access to higher-value offers with even higher commissions.

    5 Awesome Questions to Ask Before Deciding Between Pay Per Call Networks

    Now you should better understand the purpose and mechanics of Pay Per Call marketing. Here are some great questions to ask before choosing between the hundreds of Pay Per Call Networks in the United States.

    1. How many offers do they have?

    Do not be afraid to ask your contact at the Pay Per Call network about the number of offers they can provide you. The more avenues they offer, the better chance you have of finding one that will generate high-quality inbound calls.

    2. What is the quality of those offers and how much ROI do they expect?

    Just because the network lists off dozens of potential offers to choose from does not mean they will all be of quality. Ask for specific examples of the offers and the expected ROI for each.

    3. How do they treat their advertisers and affiliates?

    You want to ensure that the Pay Per Call network you choose has a great relationship with the advertisers and affiliates they hire. Do they offer a lot of support to guarantee these partners understand exactly whom you want to make inbound calls? If not, the campaign will be a waste.

    4. What are their conversion rates?

    Does the network provide case studies or customer reviews with examples of conversion rates? If you have an idea in your mind about how many conversions you want per inbound call, you better double check that the network can deliver.

    5. Do they offer services in your preferred geographic location?

    This seems somewhat obvious but can get overlooked. Sure, that Pay Per Call network might offer the best rates. But if they do not have affiliates that advertise in your preferred geographic location or to your ideal demographic, what is the point?

    Are You Ready to Partner with a Pay Per Call Network?

    By keeping these tips in mind, you should be able to determine which of the many Pay Per Call networks will work best for your advertising campaign.

    Take a quick look at our very happy customers and know we will be there for you every step of the way.

    Contact us today to get started on your Pay Per Call campaign to generate more sales from inbound calls as soon as possible!

  • Business Phone Etiquette 101: Seven Rules Everyone Professional Should Know

    Business Phone Etiquette 101: Seven Rules Everyone Professional Should Know

    business phone etiquetteToday, a call based lead generation service can be the key to take your business to the next level. In inbound and outbound lead generation, business phone etiquette is a must.

    If you don’t know how to handle calls, you’ll be losing your time when you get those leads. Are you and your team handling calls the right way?

    Want to learn the best way to handle your calls? Read on to learn 7 proper phone etiquette rules everyone should know!

    Business Phone Etiquette: 7 Must-Know Rules to Grow Your Business

    Lead generation keeps changing every day. But, the basics are still the same. When you generate a lead, you’ve to try your best to bring it home.

    Today, leads can be via email, text or phone. Yet, the last still remains the most popular lead generating method. How can you make the most out of call leads?

    The key is proper phone etiquette. Yes, it’s that simple. You can try to sell the best product or services.

    But, if you don’t market it to the customer in the right way. Your efforts are mute. This might come as a surprise to you.

    Phone manners go a long way to bring that sale home. Here are 7 must know proper phone etiquette rules to help you seal the deal:

    1. Introduce Yourself in a Professional Manner

    Many people don’t believe in how much first impressions count. But, that’s why they say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. It’s proper business etiquette to introduce yourself in a professional manner to your customer.

    When you pick up the phone to answer or call them, remember you’re the company brand. It’s very important to introduce yourself by telling the customer your full name. Also, a good opening would be how you can help them.

    You could tell them your full name, company, and department. That way the client knows why you’re reaching out to them.

    2. Speak in a Clear Manner and Smile

    When making a call to a customer, you should speak in a clear manner and smile. You might doubt the power of smiling when you’re talking to someone. Because after all, they aren’t seeing you.

    Yet, believe it or not, the person listening can sense if you’re smiling. If you communicate in a clear manner and smile, your customer will feel comfortable. Your customer needs to feel secure and comfortable enough to buy or keep using your services.

    3. Address Your Customer in a Polite Manner

    When addressing a customer, everyone should be polite. You should address them by their title and last name. An unfamiliar customer should never be addressed by their first name.

    An example of addressing your customer in a polite way is “Good Morning Mr. Carmichael” or “Good Afternoon Mrs. Jones”. Customers will feel respected and cared for when addressed in a polite manner.

    4. Match Your Customer’s Tone

    Not all customers are alike. When speaking with them, you must match their tone. Yes, you might be energetic and motivated.

    But, you should never go over their tone. Some clients are more serious than others. They might not feel comfortable if you don’t match their tone.

    Remember that you should always aim to make them feel good about the business relationship. The way they feel will determine if they do business with you.

    5. Hear Your Customer and Give Them Time to Process

    In sales and customer service, you must be open to listening to your customer. We’ve to put ourselves in their shoes. Most of the time, they’ll be calling you to solve their problems.

    To provide the best service, you must hear them out. What’s their situation? What do they need?

    These are some of the questions you may ask them to gather more information about their needs. Also, it’s good practice to repeat to them what they tell you. This way you can make sure you’re understanding their situation.

    When providing a solution to their problems, you should give them time to process it. Ask them if they’ve any questions about what you just discussed. Listening to your client and, giving them time to process builds trust.

    At the end of the day, you want a long lasting business relationship. You can only build it through trust.

    6. Don’t Leave Your Customer Hanging

    Try to put a customer on hold only when you’ve to. Before putting them on hold, ask them for permission to do so. If you expect to put them on hold for a long time, tell them ahead so they can be aware of it.

    If it seems like the period is going to be too long, ask to call them back. Also, you should tell them if you’ll have to extend their hold longer than expected. Keeping your customer posted can help them remain calm.

    7. Try to Keep It Light and Easy

    When handling calls, you’ve to keep it light and easy. You should try your best to stay positive and calm.

    We know handling phone calls with clients can be frustrating. Most of all when you’ve to deal with an unhappy customer. Sometimes you might snap at customers.

    When that happens you should excuse yourself and, take a break to regroup. If you take breaks when necessary and try your best to keep a positive attitude, you’ll be able to provide the best service.

    Bottom Line

    Learning the right business phone etiquette is a must for a successful lead generation. The way you communicate with your prospective client will set the tone for your business relationship. You want them to feel comfortable but always keeping the professional tone.

    At the end of the day, you’re talking business with them. You should always aim to meet your client’s needs. Yet, you should keep in mind the limits within your business relationship.

    Be realistic when you promise them to fix their problems. Like they say honesty is the best policy. We’re confident that you’ll grow your business in no time if you follow our 7 proper phone etiquette rules.

    Now that you know the 7 must know rules of proper phone etiquette. Want to learn more about outbound and inbound lead generation? Check out our article to learn more.

  • Inbound Calls Vs Outbound Calls- What’s the Difference?

    Inbound Calls Vs Outbound Calls- What’s the Difference?

    inbound callsIt doesn’t matter in what industry you work, a phone call is just that. This might come as a surprise to you but, that’s not how it works. Yes, at the end of the day you’re reaching someone.

    But, making and receiving the call isn’t the same thing. You must’ve heard the terms inbound and outbound calls before. Not sure how they’re different?

    We’ve you covered. We’ll give you a guide on some of the major differences between inbound calls vs outbound calls. Ready to learn more?

    Inbound vs Outbound Calls: How Are They Different?

    If you’re in sales, marketing or whichever industry, making and receiving calls are part of your daily routine. Maybe you’re a business owner considering outsourcing your calls. You stumble on the terms inbound and outbound calling.

    You aren’t sure what type of service you’ve to hire. Do you need both services? The only way to know is by understanding both concepts. Here’s your guide to understanding both types of calling and the main differences between them:

    What Are Inbound Calls?

    Inbound calling is when you receive calls. It can be your customer asking for a question about your product or service. Maybe it’s a new lead or someone wanting to know if you can solve their problem.

    Either way, the best thing about it is that the caller is engaging with you. They want to hear from you. When you receive an inbound call, you’ve to make sure you’re satisfying the caller’s needs.

    If they’re contacting you asking for customer service aim to solve their problem during the call. Handling your customer’s inbound call the right way can pay huge dividends. Remember a happy customer means more potential business and referrals.

    What Are Outbound Calls?

    Outbound calls are calls made to clients or prospects. Did you ever receive a call from your bank offering other products? That’s an outbound call.

    If you sell a product or service, using the right outbound calling practices is a must. That’s going to be one of the main methods you’ll use to get those sales.

    When you make an outbound call, you’ve to make sure your client feels comfortable. Not being able to develop this trust with the client can translate into losing existing and potential business.

    Outbound calling isn’t only used for sales. You can use this type of calling service for collections. So if you need sales and collections support, you should consider hiring an outbound calls center.

    What Are the Main Differences Between Inbound vs Outbound Calling?

    Some business owners underestimate the importance of inbound and outbound calls. Most of the time, they don’t understand that you need to use both to grow your business. You can have great customer service but, your business won’t grow if you don’t bring those sales in.

    Both types of calls might sound the same but they aren’t. Here are the main differences between both types of calls:

    Purpose

    Both types of calls aim to create trust between the client and your business. But, the purpose of each type is different. An inbound call is for listening and helping the client.

    When a client calls you to receive customer service, you want to make sure you listen to them. You should ask questions about their inquiry to make sure you’re meeting their needs.

    In contrast, you place an outbound call to research, generate leads and sales. An example is when you place mystery shopping calls.

    You or one of your associates may be calling your competitors to know where you stand in the market. Are your rates competitive?

    What is different from your approach? These are some of the questions you can answer by using outbound calls. You must harness the power of each type of calling to take your business to the next level.

    Roles in Your Business

    Both types of calls have their own role in business. Inbound calling fills roles such as customer service, lead qualification and calls redirecting. Also, this type of calling service can handle direct advertising responses.

    When you run ads on a national scale, an inbound calling service can take care of those calls coming in. When you have a list of leads, this type of service can help you turn them into sales and upsell them into bigger sales. Also, an inbound calling service can help you redirect internal calls to the right team member.

    Outbound calls fill the roles of lead generation, market research, sales, and database maintenance. When you run the right outbound calling campaign, you can quadruple your lead generation. If you’ve your own lead generation plan for your salespeople, you know how important outbound calls are in your business.

    When you place a call to a possible supplier or a competitor, you’re harnessing the power of an outbound call. Knowing what your competitor is up to can help you remain competitive in the market. That’s one of the reasons why mystery shopping is so popular today.

    Talking with a prospective supplier can help you find new ways to source your products. This can help you grow your company. Also, you use outbound calls when you’re updating your customer’s files.

    What Type of Calling Service Should You Hire for Your Business?

    You should hire both types of calling services. Successful businesses need to have a good inbound and outbound calls system. You could do it in-house.

    But, it would be great to hire someone to do it for you. This way you can concentrate on growing your business. You should do your research before hiring a company.

    Every business has its own needs and standards. When hiring a calling service, you should look for a company that meets your needs and matches your standards. Remember they’re going to be the voice of your brand.

    Your clients expect the same quality of service you provide on a daily basis. The right inbound and outbound calling service will be able to provide the highest quality of service.

    Are you thinking about hiring an inbound calling service? If so, you’ve to make sure that you’re getting the right return on investment per inbound calling campaign.

    Don’t know how to calculate the ROI for your inbound calls campaign? Check out our blog post to learn more.