How Automation REALLY Impacts Outbound Sales (With Use Cases)

When it comes to completing tasks, sometimes we can use a little help. No agent should have to waste time by manually dialing numbers–only to hang up after a certain amount of time because nobody is answering the call. 

Automated outbound calls help your sales and service teams focus on the things that are most important–connecting with customers. 

What is automated outbound calling? 

Automated outbound calling is a method that uses technology to automatically dial phone numbers from a predefined list. This system is highly effective for managing large call volumes, often in sales or customer service. It streamlines operations by removing the need for manual dialing and integrates with various systems to efficiently organize and handle call lists. 

How outbound call automation improves efficiency 

Did you know that top performers in sales prospecting generate almost 3x more sales meetings than their peers? 

Yet, many sales teams still lose productivity to repetitive tasks, wasting precious time on recurring admin work that could easily be automated. This is where outbound call automation steps in, making a significant difference. 

For technology that can increase productivity with just a click, an outbound calling solution is perhaps one that helps the most. To maximise efficiency, outbound sales automation makes it easier for sales and service teams to focus on key tasks by connecting to more customers in less time. 

Call automation quickly proves its worth and delivers measurable benefits, including:

• Improved agent utilisation
• Less waiting times for agents in call setup
• Increased number of successful calls
• Increased number of leads processed
• Increased revenue  

If you're a Sales leader looking to make your team's outreach more efficient, you should check out Outbound by Enreach. It's a user-friendly, cloud-based tool that streamlines outbound calls for sales teams. It makes sure your agents connect with the most important leads first. It automatically directs calls to the right contacts, uses a predictive dialer for efficient targeting, and provides clear analytics for performance tracking. 

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92% of employees say that having technology that helps them do their job efficiently improves their work satisfaction, according to a study by Ultimate Software.  

Let's look at a few of the key ways that sales automation can help increase efficiency, productivity, and work satisfaction. 

5 ways to automate your outbound calls and sales prospecting 

1. Automate your workflows 

Every process consists of one or more workflows that it takes to complete it–a series of steps that need to be completed sequentially.  

Workflow automation is all about taking steps performed by a team and automating them with technology. An outbound automation tool is a great way to manage repetitive tasks and reduce the chances of human intervention errors, like dialing the wrong number. 

Within a Sales-CRM you can easily set up rules to automate many of your day-to-day sales tasks. For example, your sales managers could automatically be notified whenever a high-quality lead is entered into the system. Based on that, follow-up actions for the sales reps could be set up. 

2. Supercharge your outbound call automation  

Automated dialer software is a powerful tool that can streamline your outbound calls and make the process much more efficient. Automated dialers–as the name suggests–automatically dial phone numbers from a list of contacts. Instead of deep diving into different dialer methods, let's look into how you could optimise your process rather than automating an old way of working.  

Make sure you reach out to the most valuable leads first

Outbound calling software ensures you prioritise the most valuable leads by automatically sorting and connecting calls based on potential conversion. This prioritisation allows your sales team to engage immediately with leads that have the highest likelihood of success.

By eliminating the need for manual sorting and guesswork, your team can focus more effectively on engaging with prospects and closing sales.

This targeted approach not only saves time but also enhances the overall productivity and effectiveness of your sales efforts. 

3. Provide agents with real-time process guidance 

It's no secret that multitasking is an essential skill for sales agents. They're often juggling many tasks at once while talking to a lead.  

Automated Agent Guidance provides agents with assistance on how to handle specific situations, keeping everything they might have to say top of mind. It's like a little bird whispering in their ear, helping them handle objections on a sales call and providing real-time process guidance.  

In the future, AI-powered assistants will become more relevant to optimise the outcome of human interactions when agents talk with customers and nurture relationships. Agent desktops that contain enhanced customer context for one-to-one engagement and process guidance allow agents to focus on really connecting with the customer.  

Modern agent desktops that will evolve to handle complex work is in fact one of the three mega trends for customer service. A Forrester Report discusses how a long-term investment in AI will transform agents' roles by giving them the tools they need to succeed. 

Enrich your sales calls with account data for better insights

Enrich your sales calls with account data for better insights 

Outbound sales calls are being transformed by digital innovation. Having enriched data (data that has been enhanced with relevant context) enables companies to make personalised and more highly targeted outbound calls. And real-time tracking means your sales teams can act on leads straight away. 

A CRM tool is typically a critical piece of your sales and marketing automation setup. Outbound sales is a complicated process, and an effective CRM manages a big part of it for you.  

The CRM keeps track of your leads, logs the contacts you have with them, and organizes every part of the outbound sales process. It also syncs data with other tools and sales automation software your reps and managers use.  

Conversation intelligence tools provide powerful visibility into your customer conversations. Your sales teams can quickly see summaries of all calls–including notes and transcripts–and easily correlate trends in sales calls with deal outcomes thanks to AI-powered insights.  

5. Speed up your sales pipeline with scheduling automation 

Scheduling outbound sales calls is like a puzzle where pieces are constantly changing and shifting. Here these pieces are the customer's schedule, agent availability and skill sets.

This proves why dynamic scheduling is absolutely crucial if you want to reach out to a lead at the right time. What if you could take everything but the phone call off your sales reps' plates? You can with scheduling automation.

A study by the Annuitas Group shows that companies that use marketing automation to nurture prospects experience a 451% increase in qualified leads!

And it pays off to act quickly: Contacting a lead within a minute improves conversions by 391% - compared to only 17% when waiting a day to reach out.

Adding scheduling automation to your sales workflows will help you close more deals faster. This will be valuable if your business takes leads in via a form, email or other sources and your team then reaches out manually. Any delay might cause a missed opportunity and automation tools help by scheduling timely follow-ups for all prospecting leads.

Integrate your website data and your calendars with your CRM so your sales team can automatically schedule calls with prospects.

Fully automated scheduling tools like Calendly and Acuity are easy to use and save time both for your team and your prospects.  

Which call types are perfect for outbound call automation?

• Lead generation calls, such as warm calling and follow-up calls  
• Scheduling calls, such as scheduling appointments, outbound confirmations and making reservations
• Cross-selling and upselling calls that offer customers value
• Account and membership calls, such as account authentication and update account information
• Order management calls, such as placing orders, order status, and returns
• Collection calls for missing payments 

Use Cases -  How Enreach’s customers are using automated outbound calls for sales success   

5R Marketing boosted productivity by 15 % with Enreach (former HeroBase) 

With over 200 agents, 5R Marketing is one of the most successful outbound telemarketing agencies in Denmark. 5R’s activities include direct sales, appointment setting and lead qualification for various B2B and B2C clients.  

Director Steen Espersen McCormick was looking to enhance agent productivity and streamline lead and campaign administration. After implementing Outbound by Enreach (former HeroBase), he reported “We got a productivity improvement of around 15 %. With over 200 agents calling each day, [it] proved to be a highly profitable investment. It is important to us to have full control with the administrative processes. [The solution ] enables a smooth and highly organized distribution of leads to teams or individual employees.” 

RevenueWell delivers over 80,000 monthly reminder calls for dentist appointments

RevenueWell is an automated marketing and patient communication solution for dental offices. The company is using intelligent voice notification technology to send appointment reminders to patients. 

The automated and personalised phone messages help reduce costly no-shows and streamline patient communication, which drives greater ROI for the dental practices. 

It alerts patients via automated phone calls of last-minute openings or cancellations and helps dental offices fill existing appointments. RevenueWell sends over 80,000 voice notifications to clients monthly.

Studies have shown that appointment reminders via message or voicemail help practices reduce cancellations by 24%.

DirecTV Increased Sales and Reduced Average Handle Time with real-time Sales Guidance

Jacada is a customer service automation company. Their cloud-based call center software provides reps with real-time sales guidance and “just in time” recommendations during interactions with leads. 

DirecTV, a subsidiary of AT&T, approached Jacada with the objective to simplify sales processes, reduce average handling time and improve conversion rates. 

Rich integration with the campaign management software enhances the overall call flow. Agents can query it during interaction with the customer. Guided workflows that automate decisions and tasks help them handle objections on sales calls. 

The results: 

• Average handle time was reduced by 40% 
• Sales conversions increased by 2% 
• New hires can hit sales targets within their first week
  
  

Discover Outbound by Enreach 

Outbound by Enreach is a comprehensive solution designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your outbound call centers. It features intelligent dialers that will automate and streamline the outbound calling process, ensuring continuous prospect engagement. 

The platform offers dynamic real-time management, allowing for immediate adjustments and optimizations. Outbound by Enreach also provides detailed analytics with customizable dashboards, enabling managers to track and analyze over 160 KPIs. Other features include real-time call monitoring, efficient agent organization, data compliance management, and seamless integration with CRM systems, ensuring a holistic approach to outbound sales operations. 

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Future trends in automated outbound calling

As we look into the future of automated outbound calling, it's clear that AI plays a pivotal role, and Enreach is at the forefront of this evolution.

Enreach's outbound calling software is equipped with award-winning AI capabilities designed to revolutionize communication and customer engagement. These features include automated workflows and voice recognition technology. Voice recognition is crucial for outbound sales as it enables more personalized and efficient interactions with potential customers.

AI-driven analytics embedded in Enreach's solution provide deep insights into customer behaviors and needs, allowing for more tailored and effective communication strategies. Automation tools within the software significantly reduce manual tasks, streamlining operations and boosting overall efficiency. This technological sophistication extends to workforce management as well; with real-time dashboards and analytics, Enreach enables meticulous monitoring and optimization of agent performance. 

Master automated outbound calls with this free guide  

Boost your automated outbound calls & sales calls with our free guide on Outbound by Enreach! Discover how to manage leads, automate workflows, and use key features like Hot Transfer and Call Recording for more effective conversations. 

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