Don’t Just Plow Through Your Contact List!

Every lead gen campaign starts with a contact list. The most successful lists tend to be highly-targeted, consisting only of companies who fit an ideal client profile. However, broader lists can be successful, too. Indeed, since cold calling is largely a numbers game, even the best of lists are often hundreds (or even thousands) of prospects long.

So while list quality is essential, quantity is important, too. Still, long lists can become unwieldy and counterproductive. Some lead gen teams try to just power through them, dialing continuously from front to back, trying to reach each prospect for the first time as quickly as possible.

On the surface, this can seem like the best course of action. After all, interested prospects are out there. Your goal is to make as many dials as necessary to find them… right?

Well, sort of. Speed and thoroughness do correlate with success, but there are other factors. Most who simply plow through a list soon discover one major problem: in an overwhelming majority of cases, the decision maker doesn’t pick up on the first call.

It isn’t hard to understand why: in our day and age, companies are absolutely inundated with cold calls. Most decision makers will need to see your name several times before it starts to pique their interest. It typically takes at least 2 or 3 attempts to start gaining traction on a record and begin having conversations.

That’s why VSA uses a personalized strategy called activity-based calling. This allows us to prioritize callbacks on records we’ve already touched, rather than weighting each prospect equally, through a customized follow up plan.

Our proprietary CRM system allows us to shuffle callbacks in amongst fresh records, so that we can continue pursuing in-progress leads while simultaneously working our way through the entire list.

Here’s what our activity-based process looks like in a nutshell:

• We make an initial call and follow up with an email.
• We set the record to reappear in our CRM after 3 business days (or at a specific day/time requested by the prospect).
• On the second call, we make sure to reference our previous conversation—and follow up with a second email, distinctive from the first.
• We rinse and repeat as necessary—making a third call (or fourth, or fifth, or sixth…) at a reasonable interval and sending unique emails.

It can take several rounds of calling and emailing, but this approach eventually produces thorough, substantial conversations with decision makers who’ve come around to seeing us as professional, detail-oriented people—not just telemarketers cycling through a list. Activity-based calling doesn’t just produce more sales appointments, it produces higher quality appointments as well.

The next time you have a long list, don’t be intimidated—and don’t try to just rush through it! It’s just as important to be strategic. Remember that your goal is to generate great appointments—not just leave voicemails in as many inboxes as possible.

You might be successful at activity-based calling, or you might realize that you lack the skills, resources, and technology to handle it in-house. If the latter is the case—don’t fret! That’s what experts like VSA are here for. All you have to do is give us a call.