7 Easy Ways to Have More Sales Conversations this Month

I just got back from a trip to Italy with my wife and the last city we hit was Rome. I kept thinking about that saying “all roads lead to Rome.” In B2B sales, you might say that all roads lead to a sales conversation. Sure, a relationship with a prospect might originate over email or through social. But the true goal should be to get a lead on the phone. Why? Because it’s that much easier to qualify leads, move deals forward, give demos and close deals during phone conversations.

Are you looking to have your best quarter ever? Then you should make it your mission to have as many sales conversations as possible.

Here are seven easy ways to have more sales conversations this month than ever.

Dial from Local Numbers

I don’t know about you, but when I get a call from a toll-free number I assume it’s someone trying to sell me something and I let it go to voicemail. But when a call comes from a local number, I answer it a lot of the time, assuming it’s someone I know. Turns out I’m not alone. Did you know that leads are up to 400% more likely to answer calls that come from local numbers? Using a Local Presence solution that automatically displays local numbers in prospects’ caller IDs can be your fast pass to more sales conversations.

Leave Better Voicemails

I know, it’s hard to get people to return sales voicemails. But chances are that your sales voicemails have some serious room for improvement. Perhaps they are too long. Or maybe you need to do a better job of communicating value.

Here are some awesome tips that can help you leave voicemails that inspire prospects to call you back!

Write Better Sales Emails

Getting a prospect to the point that they are ready to have a phone conversation with you typically requires a good deal of back and forth over email. But prospects often don’t even respond to your first (or second or third) prospecting email. Let’s be honest, if you’re not writing great sales emails, your prospects might not respond at all. Here are three quick tips for writing sales emails that get responses:

• Have a REALLY engaging headline
• Always offer value
• Personalize the email (make sure it feels like it was written for them)

Check out our interview with SalesFolk’s Heather R. Morgan for some amazing tips on how to write seductive sales emails.

Call During Key Windows

There are certain times when leads are far more likely to pick up their phones. It pays to schedule call blitzes during these windows.

According to research from MIT:

• 4-6pm is the best time to make contact with a lead (114% higher than the worst time block)
• 8-9am and 4-5pm are the best times to qualify a lead
• Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to make contact with a lead (Friday is the worst day)
• Thursday is the best day to contact a lead in order to qualify the lead
• The worst times to contact and qualify leads are during lunch/crunch time (11am-2pm)

Use Referrals

Your prospects are far more likely to get on the phone with someone they trust. One of the best ways to build credibility is by using referrals. Check LinkedIn to see if you have any common connections. Check their website to see if you have any common customers. Or maybe you simply do business with a company they would know and respect. Obviously getting an introduction is best. But even using case studies or testimonials can expedite the sales process and help you get prospects on the phone faster.

Dial More Prospects

There is usually a correlation between dials and conversations. So the more prospects you dial, the more opportunities there are to have a sales conversation. Tools that help you dial prospects faster can have a huge impact on your conversations per day (especially when coupled with a local dialing solution).

Dial Direct

It’s a lot easier to get a key decision maker on the phone when you dial their direct line and don’t have to navigate through a labyrinth of gatekeepers. One trick that I love for obtaining a prospect’s direct line (if you have their email address) is to send them an email on a holiday like Thanksgiving. You will most likely get an out-of-office reply that features their direct number in the signature. And luckily, thanks to tools like SalesforceIQ Inbox that let you schedule sends in advance, you won’t have to skip the pumpkin pie in order to send a sales email.

Looking to turn more of those calls into wins? Check out our Sales Discovery Call Cheat Sheet to learn the best questions to ask during sales calls.