3 reasons why making sales calls is still relevant.

3 reasons why making sales calls is still relevant.

A recent study by?Rain group??found that a huge?51% of company owners prefer sales reps to contact them via the phone over any other method including social media, drop-in visits, emails, faxes (remember them?!). The same study found that a whopping 82% would then go on to arrange a meeting following the initial phone call.

So, why aren’t you making more sales calls?

Oooh a large can of worms opened right there. I mentioned calls. I mentioned sales. I mentioned making sales calls. For those of you getting past the first line, I salute you.

Don’t be snooty about phone prospecting. I’m not talking about making cold sales calls to random numbers in the vague hope they’ll want your program. I’m talking about making sales calls to a decent list of people or companies that are likely to be interested. For example, attendees from a recent business event you attended where you have an automatic link of interest; a list of prospects that you might want to supply widgets for; pet stores that might want to buy your new?dog tutus.?These are relevant calls, but you don’t yet know the name of the decision-maker or if you have a match between what you’re supplying and what they need.

How are you going to find out if you don’t call?

But there are so many other points of contact I hear you say.?Well here are my 3 main reasons why I think making that sales call is still relevant:

1. Making sales calls trumps email campaigns.

Do you think that sending emails out, whether they’re personalised or generic, is a good way to gauge?their?interest? Well, think again, according to?Campaign Monitor,??80% of cold emails will never be opened.?

It’s a?bit one-waysy is it not??Even if you do get a good open rate, what do you do with the openERS? The last three companies I’ve been into do not, as standard, call those that opened their emails. So whilst they may receive emails by return (realistically, how many..?), they are still missing out on a chunk of these prospects if they don’t call them.?

Apart from clearly missing potential leads, it’s a bit of a slap to your marketing department. They’ve spent a while crafting these email campaigns and if you’re not doing anything to follow up you should look at the way you sync your activity. The emails are great for branding and sharing content, but as a sales team you should really be working alongside these campaigns to help tweak and benefit from them.??80% of sales are made on the 5th point of contact, or later,?so that well-crafted marketing email is never going to cut it on its own.

But still, without calling those that open your emails, or without calling prospects that have never had an email from your company, how are you going to find out if they’re potentially interested in what you have to offer? If you aren’t asking some?good questions to find out what they need, how are you going to sell to them?

2. Making sales calls trumps the direct email!?

So, I’m not denying that a personalised email to the correct person can work wonders but a successful sales call has the upper hand.?However, at the start of your sales process, when you’re not sure of the?decision-maker,?it may be falling on deaf ears.?

And if you are falling on the right ears, according to?Rain group??71% of prospects say they are happy will an early sales phone call to gain ideas that are going to drive their businesses so they WANT to hear from you.?They want that discussion.??

Also – I don’t know about you but I get a LOT of emails every day. So either you have to have an outstanding, truly magnificent subject line and first few sentences to catch their attention, or you’re still going to have to call anyway. Email is a loud space.?A study by the?Direct Marketing Association?found that 59% of buyers find sales emails irrelevant so without a rapport with a brand or person it’s unlikely they will open an email. If you send it again, with that wonderful ‘did you get my email?’ it’s not really showing that you care or want a relationship at all.

If nothing else, a quick call will jog them to open your email.

3. Text or use social media surely wins over the making the sales call?!

Nope, sorry.?Of course, reaching out on these platforms is a great idea too. In fact it’s a must.?82% of buyers find company’s with a social media presence more trustworthy making them 77% more likely to buy (Brandfog).?However, the jury is still out on whether this is the best approach for contacting those you haven’t met/made contact with.?It’s likely to become the norm so stick with it and use it in conjunction with your other activities – but for now my advice would be to use text and messaging for a bit further down the line.??Making the sales call is still the number one tool for prospecting.

Successful sales call tips

Still need some tips for successful sales calls to get you going? Here is some food for thought.?

You’re not going to make a sale on the first-phone call.?You’ll need to make on average 6 sales calls before selling anything.?So don’t give up,?70% of sales reps give up after the first call so think of that when your making call number 5! (Velocify)

Best time to make that sales phone call??According to?CallHippo??that’s 10 and 11 a.m is when your prospect will be most receptive.??

Best day???CallHippo?say prospecting phone calls are best done on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

So, use email campaigns, get involved with the marketing team, email prospects directly but don’t keep putting off the calls. Pick up the phone! Even if it’s quick touching base call, they’re much less likely to delete your emails.

If you’ve got people in your lists that you haven’t called – go have a chat.?It’s good to talk.

Don’t wait for them to fall in your lap. Don’t wait for them to respond to a generic email. Don’t just sit back and hope they loved your mailed brochure and get huffy if they don’t get in touch. It’s really not that difficult to call. There are past No Fluff blogs and tips about?calling for sales?and how to?present yourself on a call. If you want these or any further help we’re here to give you a steer. Check our?other blogs?or?book a power chat with me on it?- I'll have you setting your phone alight– often you just need a little natter to get some ideas.

Or – PICK UP THE PHONE yourself!!

DM me or book a quick chat here