New Inside Sales Data: Your Best Leads Are Calling You

The mobile revolution is in full swing and our customers are reporting more and more phone leads thanks, in no small part, to increased smartphone adoption.

But these inbound phone leads might be even more vital than you think. New research from BIA/Kelsey reports that  phone leads are now considered the highest quality lead source. The report, entitled Phone Calls Are the New Click, reveals that 66.4% of marketers surveyed view phone call leads as a valuable lead source. That’s higher than any other source in the report (online forms came in at a distant second at 58.2%).

According to Michael Boland, VP, content and a senior analyst at BIA/Kelsey, “We’ve seen a movement toward tangible and simple lead sources such as … phone calls driven from mobile search. BIA/Kelsey shows these calls to be high-intent, which means callers in the buying stage that could easily convert to sales.”

This makes perfect sense. Customers are completing more of their buying journey prior to reaching out to sales. This new breed of consumer, (often referred to as pro-sumers) visits web forums, reads reviews and downloads content about brands prior to reaching out. And since prospects are using their mobile devices to conduct this research, it’s easier than ever to simply reach out and call a business when they’re ready to have a serious sales conversation.

Based on BIA/Kelsey’s study, here are a few key takeaways:

Track Inbound Calls

Are you still not tracking the source of inbound calls? BIA/Kelsey’s press release put it really well: “effective inbound call tracking and analytics to show return on investment is still required to make mobile an effective investment…” Businesses need to take advantage of these powerful lead-generating opportunities and invest in the ad sources that are causing mobile customers not only call, but also convert.

We’re currently helping our customers get powerful real-time insight into the source of every inbound call. This enables marketers to spend more on the efforts that are generating those top-quality phone leads. However, it’s vital to implement a call tracking solution that integrates seamlessly with your CRM so you can report on which efforts are not only driving the most calls, but also the best calls.

Use Call Tracking to Route Calls to Specialists

Even companies that are using call tracking solutions to track ROI often miss out on the opportunity to leverage this data to influence real-time workflows. But this can offer businesses a powerful advantage. Many of our customers are seeing dramatic increases in conversion rates by routing calls to the best available inbound sales reps based on the effort that triggered a call. For example, if every lead who clicks on an ad for private cloud storage is automatically routed to a rep skilled in selling these solutions.

Share Call Tracking Data with Sales Reps

After calls are routed to reps, call tracking data can be used to help reps do a better job of converting leads. Before even picking up the phone, reps can know what prospects want to purchase. And this information can be used to trigger intelligent talking points that can help reps overcome product-specific sales objections, see available promotions, and view cross-selling opportunities.