Secret Weapons for Sales Teams: Underused Sales Strategies Based on Data
Reviewing SMS and Call Data from 1M+ Leads
If you’re in sales, you understand how important follow-up is.?
However, a study by Dartnell Corp found that the majority of salespeople will give up after only 1-2 attempts.
Looking at salespeople’s behavior, the study showed that:
Is one or two tries enough? The short answer is no.
Though it might seem obvious, persistence is the key to closing more deals—and it’s clear that most salespeople aren’t being persistent enough.
Let’s get into some real data that uncovers the secret weapons most salespeople aren’t using, reviewing over one million leads contacted by Verse.
We’ll look at:
How to Boost Response Rates: Don’t Give Up.
Looking at Verse data, it’s clear that persistence is key to conversions.
Though 98% of text messages are read, not all are responded to.?
In our data from the last year, we found that response rates are highest after the second and third texts to a customer.
On average, it takes 3.42 texts to get a response.
Though this SMS-based number is lower than the 6-8 average number of contacts it takes to get a response, it still shows the value of continual follow-up.?
Even if they don’t reply after five texts, response rates shoot up again for texts six and seven—proving that persistence matters.
How to Qualify Faster: Combine SMS and Calls
Once you start a conversation, it takes even longer to qualify a customer. At Verse, we can qualify via text.?
Our data shows that it takes 14.47 texts, on average, to qualify a customer. After making contact, it’s important to persist in contact until the prospect is qualified or unqualified.
In addition, texting can help qualify customers faster once you call them.
With texting first, it only takes an average of 2.69 calls to qualify a customer.
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This points to another secret weapon for sales: using SMS.
While calling requires an average of 6-8 attempts to reach a prospect, it only requires around 3 texts to reach a prospect. In addition, 98% of texts are read, so at least you are getting your message across in the meantime—even if you don’t hear back.
Verse data also shows that combining texting and calling yields great improvements in answer rates.?
When calling only, we see an answer rate of 30%. When combining texting and calling, Verse sees an average answer rate of 58%.
When you make contact with a customer over text, you can ensure they’re ready before calling them. This establishes a relationship, demonstrates respect for the customer, and makes them more likely to pick up.
Key Takeaways
Looking at the data, there are a few key takeaways that can improve your sales approach and help you close more deals.?
We see that persisting with contact and combining SMS and calling are both underused strategies—and these can become secret weapons for your sales team.
If your sales team doesn’t have the bandwidth to do persistent outreach and texting alone, Verse is sales’ partner for lead engagement.
At Verse, we automate the lead engagement and qualification process with human-guided AI, booking qualified opportunities for your sales team.
See how much money your team could make with Verse here.
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About us:
Verse is an AI-powered text messaging platform that combines customizable AI with human quality control to ensure authentic conversations that convert. Our AI automatically engages, qualifies, and books appointments with your leads—and we take care of compliance for you.