Your call center leads are like potential money in your pocket. When you view them as such, you can see just how important it is to follow up properly on each and every one. However, your leads are also living, breathing human beings - not just dollar signs. You have to nurture the relationship you have with each of them the same way you would with your friends or relatives.

How can you balance these two seemingly diametrically opposed types of relationships? How can you have both a personable and professional interaction with each of your leads? What can you do to turn the maximum number of these leads into sales without making the people behind the numbers feel like nothing more than an account on your list?

Read on to learn more about how to effectively handle your call center leads and what to do to make the most of each one!

The Role of Dialers in Making Faster Connections

Perhaps one of the most important topics when it comes to converting call center leads into sales is harnessing the power of a good dialer. This is a program that makes dialing and making connections with your leads an automated process - and can shave many valuable minutes off of your agents’ workdays.

There are several types of dialers, each of which has its own merits depending on the application it is being used for. They include:

• Preview or power dialers are the slowest of the three types of dialers we will cover here, but they do have their advantages. They are often the most affordable dialer solutions and the easiest to integrate and use, requiring little adaptation and upgrading to use. The advantage of this type of dialer is that it gives an agent the ability to preview the connection they are about to make and determine whether they are potentially making a meaningful connection or wasting their time. If the latter might be true, they can move on to another, more potentially-lucrative contact.
• Progressive dialers work much the same as preview or power dialers, except they do not allow the user to select the connections they are making. Instead, they are given information about the contact and are automatically connected. The biggest benefit of this type of dialer is that it is faster than the previous varieties.
• Predictive dialers are the most efficient and fully-featured type of dialer currently available for contact centers. They offer the ability to make connections at very rapid speeds, but can also provide information before connections are made. They are the sports cars of call center dialers, offering luxury and speed - but at a higher price tag than any of the other types of dialer.

Finding the dialer solution that works for your center can help you make the most of your staffing situation and help every agent do more while on the clock. The more connections you make, the more sales you are bound to land!

The Importance of the Follow-Up

When a customer has made an attempt at communication with your company or has opted into receiving communications, it is important to “strike while the iron is hot”. You have a short window after they opt into these communications in which they are still thinking favorably about your company or services; this is the time in which you would be best served by making your pitch and providing excellent service.

Statistics have shown that companies that fail to follow-up with consumers who make the first attempt at communication within the first five minutes often fail to make a meaningful connection with these consumers at all. For contact centers in many industries, this can mean the difference in wowing a consumer and making them feel valued and pursued and losing out on a sale.

Following up with a consumer and showing them that you are interested in their business and in them as a customer is one of the best ways to secure a sale. As mentioned previously, all call center leads are people on the other end of the phone line or another channel platform; make the effort to make them feel valued when you reach out to them and they are more likely to return the favor by giving you their business.

Quality Alongside Quantity in Your Call Center Leads

Your best leads are going to be those that are generated through the most organic means - either by attempting first contact with your company or by leaving their information behind to indicate their interest. However, not every call center lead is going to be found this way - and that doesn’t mean that those that aren’t are any less of a hot lead!

Once upon a time, the best way many businesses knew how to generate leads was by buying information that was for sale. Often, the lists of these contacts were for sale from other businesses or entities - much to the displeasure of the consumers listed therein. Contacting the people listed there was an almost certain misfire and waste of time and rightly so; no one wants to think that the only reason you’re contacting them is that you bought their name and number in some digital back alley somewhere.

Instead of doing this, simply focus on getting your business’s name and good reputation out there. The more consumers know about you, the easier it will be for your agents to generate leads. No do-not-call list downloads necessary!

Make Sure Your Technology is Up to Date

One of the best things you can do to turn your call center leads into sales is to outfit your operation with the latest and greatest call center technology. To do that, consult the industry leaders at ChaseData. We have the tools your team needs to ensure your facility is always up to date and ready to meet any challenge - including winning over even the toughest customers. Follow up at lightning speed and give your consumers a reason to remember your company’s name with our award-winning technology. Give us a call today to learn more!