Think about the last time you called one of your clients. Did something feel off about their tone? Did they often ask you to repeat what you said? Has it been ages since that person last called back?

If your answer is yes to all three, you might need to upgrade your call strategy.

Let’s face it - sales calls are irritating to a lot of people. This is why the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) exists to exclude certain companies from gaining access to your number. Moreover, people are blocking robocalls and other forms of spam for the same reason that they don’t want to receive sales calls. Despite this, sales calls are here to stay. If anything, they’re on the rise and are still being practised globally.

Studies show that 7 out of 10 customers in 2019 admitted to accepting one or more cold calls, with 8 out of 10 customers meeting with salespeople after getting such calls. People are still willing to devote, on average, six minutes of their time to hear what the sales reps have to say. The top reasons for listening to these calls are, not surprisingly, offers and promotions. 

What could be the problem? Why are some calls successful, whereas others are outright spam? 

Perhaps the calls aren’t to blame, but rather the way they’re delivered. When done correctly, a call can translate into a transaction - and eventually loyalty. With this in mind, it's about time to think about your existing call strategy and changes you need to impose to have better interaction with the customers.

Synergy is Key

One reason many sales calls fall through is that they don’t resonate with the customer. Your sales reps can keep talking to customers about promos and offers, but if the latter isn’t sharing the same excitement as your reps, it won’t work.

Steve Martin, a sales linguistics expert at the University of Southern California, identifies synergy as the highest tier of a five-point level of customer rapport. Synergetic sales calls are characterized by customers showing genuine interest in the contents of the call. Customers also tend to be more open to advise and want to secure a sale soon.

Only a synergetic sales call can achieve the following four receptive states, Martin adds:

• Personal: This is usually the first step in the call, where the goal is to establish a connection between the sales rep and the customer. Through finding shared interests and matching the customer’s tone and tempo, your rapport will increase significantly. 

• Technical: The call then proceeds to answer the customer’s difficult questions. It becomes crucial for the sales rep to possess a solid grasp of the industry’s technicalities. Avoid saying too much jargon, as the customer won’t be able to follow.

• Business: Upon gaining the customer’s trust, this next state aims to help the customer realize that seeing them succeed is in the company’s best interest. Having a business language tailored to the customer is critical. Be a specialist, not a generalist.

• Political: At this point, the customer believes that only the product or service presented to them can help achieve their goals. The customer might delve into the details discussed in the two previous states to help them decide.

Stephen R. Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” best summarizes synergy in one statement: It’s better than my way or your way. It’s our way.

Synergy may be increased by maximising the means of communication you have, through the use of ringless voicemail services like Drop Cowboy, to deliver more personalised messages. By sending these messages directly to your customers’ phones, they’ll feel the similar comfort of talking to a close friend.

Study the Competition

Businesses, in general, have undergone significant changes in the past decades. The rapid pace of technology’s evolution enabled even start-ups to become formidable competitors globally. The importance of customer experience has also grown, as it has become easier for customers to leave a company for the competition. Businesses that are unable to keep up with the fast-paced changes is sure to become a footnote, barely read or remembered.

Adapting to the changes requires an in-depth study of how other businesses perform tasks, writes Government Magazine editor Blake Harris. Known as benchmarking, this procedure aims to determine the exact processes and applications that produce the best results.

For example, your business is growing to the point that your only office phone can only handle so many calls at a given time. Benchmarking involves observing how other companies deal with it. Then, you learn that some of them employ a virtual phone system like Call Cowboy to great effect. This kind of service allows customers to reach out to businesses without any hidden expenses. After weighing in on its pros and cons, you decide to use one, too.

Benchmarking is not limited to processes and resources. It also looks into utilizing useful business models, approaches, outcomes, filling gaps and improving performance. It’s not without downsides - sometimes, studying the competition can take a long time. Also, the information you gathered from benchmarking might not be suitable for your business. Still, in this economy, you’d want to acquire every advantage you can for your business.

A big name like Xerox wouldn’t have reached its current prestige if it hadn’t used benchmarking as a business tactic. When David Kearns took over as CEO in 1982, he found out that their Japanese competitors were making copiers at half the cost Xerox spends. Benchmarking found more than just a way to reduce manufacturing costs - it also revealed a glaring problem in the quality of their parts. After solving these problems, the company would win multiple quality awards, even one in Japan.

Think of benchmarking as one of Sun Tzu’s famous sayings in the Art of War: “If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

Check Your Script

Any call strategy is only as good as the call’s choice of words. Customers are already frustrated at the mere thought of a sales call, using inadequate language won’t make it any better.

In 2020, a review of five studies that looked into over 1,000 customer service interactions revealed that language influences consumer behaviour. Concrete language, describing things the eye or mind can perceive, can improve customer satisfaction and increase customer spending. From an overhead perspective, training employees to use concrete language can reduce costs.

For language to be concrete, it must be able to fulfil at least one of three elements.

• Specific: It must contain details that can help customers picture what you’re saying in their heads. Instead of saying ‘dress,’ specify what kind of dress it is - drop waist, high waist, sheath, or blouse. 

• Tangible: In describing assets, it must be quantifiable. In terms of refunding a customer, it’s better to say ‘money’ as it’s more countable than ‘refund.’

• Imaginable: It must be able to allow customers to imagine the quality of your products and services. In describing how good something is, specific adjectives like ‘topnotch’ are better choices.

Using concrete language may result in longer sentences, but one can’t ignore its benefits. One study tested this strategy on employees by giving them different responses to the customer’s inquiry for a grey t-shirt. The employee who replied with ‘I’ll go search for that t-shirt in grey’ improved customer satisfaction and willingness to purchase, compared to one who replied with ‘I’ll go look for that.’ 

Furthermore, refrain from using phrases that’ll make any script appear less natural. Some of these, outlined by the Forbes Communications Council, include words along the lines of:

• Don’t miss this chance of a lifetime.

• We’re the No. 1 product/service in…

• This is the lowest price you’ll find.

• We care about you.

• In these uncertain times…

The council also advises against overusing specific details (such as the ongoing pandemic). Using it to establish the image of someone looking out for them will tire them out. Jargon is also ill-advised, especially if the sales rep doesn’t know what it means.

How do you determine if a word or phrase is concrete enough? One way to test it is to use what the Idaho State University Writing Center calls the ladder of abstraction. Place a generic term at the top of a list and write down more specific terms at the bottom. For example, ‘food’ is on the top of the list, it becomes more specific the lower the list goes (i.e., junk food, dessert, ice cream, etc.).

Unless you want to be specific, there’s no need to say a mouthful. Choose words that you think customers will understand upon their mention. 

Keep in mind that you can’t call customers to the point of spamming them. Make the most out of the few chances you get by reviewing your script and using concrete language as much as possible.

The Ideal Customer

You can’t please everyone. It’s a fact of life.

Yet, companies try to do it, biting off more than they can chew. They make significant concessions to satisfy a few, offer products and services beyond their capabilities, and promote themselves as a company for everyone. In the end, their reputation takes a nosedive, leaving their customers either confused or angry.

Now that you’ve devised a synergetic approach, studied the competition, and reviewed your script, it’s time for the most crucial step. Ask yourself this: What’s my ideal customer?

Finding a new customer in this competitive economy is hard enough. More companies are focusing on retaining their existing customer base, since it’s six to seven times more expensive to find a new one. Furthermore, studies show that the success rate of upselling or having customers buy a more expensive product or service among new customers is 12%. For existing customers, the rate jumps to 65%. Imagine the cost of trying to please everyone. 

No two ideal customers are alike. However, they share at least five qualities:

• They’re eager to pay for a product or service. 

• They appreciate the quality of service delivered.

• They’re easy to talk to and can be reached anytime.

• They’ll come back should they need to.

• They’ll recommend you to their friends and relatives.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of your ideal customers and ask these questions.

• How will my product or service benefit them?

• Of all these benefits, which are the most important ones?

• How do they go about their daily lives?

• Are they willing to buy my product or service?

• When will they most likely buy my product or service?

• How will they buy the product or service?

• When will they stop buying my product or service?

Building your customer base happens gradually. Don’t be discouraged if it’s only composed of a handful, as the ideal customer will help spread the word about your product or service. Eventually, these few customers will branch out, forming a network of more people. And as any business expert will tell you, referrals are a good indication of a well-performing business.

Organising the gathered information can be done using what marketing strategist Myk Pono calls the persona discovery process. The four-step process involves:

1. Examining the target audience at large

2. Picking out potential customers based on factors (e.g., financial capability)

3. Describing the qualities of the ideal customers (e.g., readiness and willingness)

4. Identifying the personas of these customers (e.g., always taking initiatives)

Getting a clear picture of your potential and existing customers makes formulating call strategies a lot easier. Things like personalised messages and approaches rely on this information.

Conclusion

By taking a closer look at your call strategy, your business can avoid the pitfalls of bad practices. A good strategy always puts the customer’s best interests at heart without hurting the company. It might appear too good to be true, but countless companies have managed to pull it off.

Apple is a great example of a successful business with the most effective strategies. Its business philosophy centres on three pillars: empathy, focus, and impute. It understands what the customers need, what it should focus on, and how to present its solutions best. You can apply these principles to your business to help it become the business your customers want it to be.