We all know that sales is a numbers game. The more people you reach out to, the more opportunities you’ll create. So, if there’s technology to supercharge your sales, shouldn’t you jump on it?
To answer that question, let’s first get to understand what exactly a power dialer does.
Simply put, a good power dialer software can double, even triple, your dialing productivity. I have seen power dialer systems skyrocket telemarketing campaigns beyond expectations. I’ve also seen power dialers make no difference relative to the number of leads generated on a cold-calling campaign.
If sales is just a numbers game, how can this be?
We can predict when a power dialer system will effectively increase your reach and when it won’t. A few indicators determine if you should invest in a dialer to boost your outreach. We’ll go over those together next.
When A Power Dialer Can Supercharge Your Sales
There are specific conditions under which a power dialer can make a difference. To keep things simple, here’s a list of situations for which I would recommend using one:
✔ You have a high number of leads. You can easily penetrate lists that contain thousands of leads with a dialer. Without one, you may not get to touch all of them, even once.
✔ You have direct phone numbers for decision-makers. You can only carry out actual high-speed dialing if you’re calling your prospects’ direct lines or they work for very small companies. If you can connect with a decision-maker or their private voicemail box can be in under two minutes, power-dialing can work.
✔ Your outbound campaign or offer has a short shelf life, making it urgent. Of course, you need to convert leads as quickly as possible to generate income. However, the urgency I’m referring to here is about meeting deadlines and being first. A couple of examples are when not quickly calling your leads means someone else will get to them first, or if your offer will expire soon. In these cases, you may want to use a dialer.
✔ Your product or service is transactional. Power dialing is a good choice when there is a low barrier to entry, such as moderate pricing or a short sales cycle.
✔You have clean data. Well-scrubbed, organized data makes for easy setup and effective outreach.
When To Decide Not To Use A Power Dialer
✘ Your leads will need a lot of nurturing. In a relationships-focused industry, you may need to do more nurturing. Sometimes, this means a longer conversion cycle and more manual steps. Here, the quality of your outreach is likely more important than the volume. For that reason, using a power dialer may not be the best way to supercharge your sales.
✘ Your prospecting is unfinished. If you don’t know who your decision-makers are or will need to follow many prompts to reach them, a dialer may not be helpful. Finding your targets as you dial can be time-consuming, and your call pace may end up being the same as dialing from a traditional phone system or CRM.
✘ Your data is not clean. If your data isn’t tidy, and you haven’t filtered out duplicate records, your dialing sessions can go to waste. In addition, poorly executed dialing hours might actually turn into a time block of torture for your prospects.
✘ You have issues with internet speed. If you have slow download and upload speeds or don’t have the required latency, your dialer tool won’t work. It will struggle to move through lead screens, for one. Another problem you’ll experience is choppy audio that makes it impossible to have a conversation.
Keeping Your Options Open
At the surface level, not having complex sales processes may seem to be a disadvantage to small businesses and startups.
The truth is, the advantage you have in the early phases is agility. When you’re starting out, you have time to try out different ways to supercharge your sales. Being small can also mean it’s easier to activate technology short-term and shut it down when not in use. You can do it as many times as needed to ensure you get the desired ROI.
For larger businesses, it may not be as easy to implement a new solution. This is especially true if the tool would only be used for short-term campaigns. It helps when your fixed solution can integrate with third-party applications so that you can increase outbound calling as needed. Talk to your CRM or Systems Administrator about the possibility of using a dialer with your current database. Understanding how it might work will help you plan your top-of-the-funnel campaigns now and in the future.
If you have additional questions about the best strategies for carrying out cold calling campaigns, feel free to check out more of the articles we’ve published on this site or leave us a comment! You can also set up a free consultation for a more tailored conversation and to learn how we’d handle your telemarketing needs.
Good points Rachel. Thank you for sharing.