Savvy business people understand that applied knowledge is paramount to success. Our profits, relationships, and quality of life soar as we work smarter, not harder.
One of the reasons AnswerNet has grown to 10,000+ clients and 125 million+ annual interactions is because we use expert research to boost our impact and deliver large, repeatable results for our clients. Today, we’re going to share some research-backed tips guaranteed to boost outbound calling rates.
Outbound Metrics
Before diving into our doctrines, it’s important to understand that the outbound calling space includes myriad metrics for success. The following steps vary between increasing rates like volume, call duration, and lead generation.
1. Cold call on Wednesdays.
In a study of over 1,200+ clients, it was found that cold calls made on Wednesdays were 315% more likely to be answered than calls made on Fridays and 216% more likely to be answered than calls made on Mondays. Common sense suggests folks are overwhelmed at the beginning of a workweek and ready to rest by its end. So should you make all of your calls on a Wednesday? Absolutely not! A diversity of detailed datapoints across list segments, sales touchpoints, and calling windows will reveal where each of your opportunities occur throughout the day, week, and larger sales cycle. Every business is unique and every list contains unique opportunities if you conduct detailed analysis.
2. Cold call between 4-5 PM.
The same study found that there’s more than a 71% difference between the answer rates of outbound cold calls made in the 4-5 PM window and calls made in the second-biggest window, 11 AM-12 PM. Common sense suggests folks are most receptive right after finishing their work, maybe even as they commute home.
3. Develop a referral program.
As reported in the Harvard Business Review, 84% of buyers in the business-to-business space within the last decade have started the purchasing process with a referral. To capitalize on the data, you need to develop a referral program that affects your outbound calls and local references for each of your target markets.
4. Train your agents to ask clients for referrals.
Dale Carnegie famously said that “91% of customers say they’d give referrals, but only 11% of salespeople ask.” When your agents know when and how to ask for referrals, your rates will skyrocket.
