Increase Teleprospecting Connect Rates Through Revisions
Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you another guest entry from one of our BDRs, Jill Ryan.
Every month, when I take a look at connect rates, I am baffled at the amount of times a Business Development Rep (BDR) actually connects with a prospect. Take April for example - mid month I was averaging a connect rate of 11.8%. To me, that means the other 88.2% is going to spam, deleted voicemails and maybe, if I'm lucky, a forwarded referral. There are days a BDR can leave what feels like a million voice and emails only to come into work the next day with nothing but bounce back emails. We've all had those mornings when we wonder, "What can I do to fix this?" A lot of my success lies in the feedback I receive from prospects directly.
Often times when we're crunching the phone trying to reach our quota, we forget that there is someone on the other end who has the choice to either read that email or listen to that voicemail. We've all been on the receiving end of a sales call and had preconceived notions of how that call would result. People are not robots so they are not going to call robots back. Having said that, my connect rate increases through tailoring my emails and avoiding scripted voicemails.
Each time you speak with someone that refers you to the most appropriate person, or offers a piece of compelling information, that should appear in the follow up email. We, as BDRs, are constantly learning from each other and developing different approaches on the phone that drive our success, so why would that not carry over into emails? Some examples of successful emails I have include the name of the reference directly in the subject line, or are titled, "Interested to connect, Jill with XYZ Company." The prospect receives the introduction in email number 1, so the purpose of email 2, 3 and 4 is to simply find out if you are in the right department and if there is a need. Keeping track of which emails have the highest response rate is a great way to reevaluate your messaging on a monthly basis. Making simple changes to a feedback request or changing the word "initiatives" to "goals" could be that extra 2% you need to pass that prospect or move onto the next.
Taking an active look at your emails is something that should carry over to your voicemails. As we ramp up on new projects, we are often controlled by the voicemail we drafted up. That message can include a purpose, a direction and your phone number twice, but it doesn't sound natural. More often then not, we forget that the product we are selling means nothing to the person on the other line. What is going to resonate with them is how you got directed to them, which goals you can help them accomplish. A call back will bring you to the next step in the prospecting cycle every time; whether that be qualify them in, out or move onto the more appropriate contact. This all sounds easy on paper, but we all know its not. For me, it was trial and error. I took the scripts and tossed them in the trash. I put an open ended purpose in front of me to glance at and positioned myself as someone that is looking to connect strictly based on their goals. I reference webinars, past conversations from my pipeline and any piece of information that build report between me and the prospect. As a result, I have great conversations with prospects and my connect rate has gone up. This business is what you make of it. If you evaluate your process and messaging on a regular basis and apply that to your routine, you will constantly improve. That being said, take a day and throw a curve ball into your process. Re read those emails you wrote 3 months ago, look into your connect rate and remember, the person on the other line is receiving 10 calls a day from someone just like you, so make yourself memorable.