Toll Free Numbers

Consumers are used to being offered 1-800 numbers to dial. Because these phone numbers are toll free for the caller they are appealing to customers. 1-800 numbers are an effective for any remote sales businesses to get people to call them.

Toll free numbers are set up to charge the called party, not the calling party, for the placed call. This added cost of the phone call is offset by the benefits of toll free telephone numbers, especially if the business has some way to directly monetize incoming calls.

Using one or more toll free numbers increases company visibility, and encourages customers to call. This benefit is one of the most obvious returns to establish such a number. Toll free numbers can also increase company efficiency, and there are numerous telephony software solutions that have been designed to help remote sales teams to do this.

One such software solution is a lead management CRM. By linking inbound toll free calls to the CRM, relevant, real time information on the caller will automatically be captured and updated in the CRM’s database. These leads can be saved as future prospects for phone or email campaigns.

Another piece of telephony software that helps sales reps capitalize on toll free numbers is inbound-outbound call blending telephony. With this, sales reps may make outbound calls while they wait to receive an inbound call. The use of a CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) system blending can additionally enhance call blending. These CTI solutions often involve pop-ups or pop-screens, windows that open automatically when the inbound call is answered. This immediately displays all relevant information and allows the sales rep to easy update the contacts data in the CRM.

Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) is another business solution that increases the effectiveness of toll free calls. ACD software is known as call routing software, and it automatically forwards incoming calls to the best available agent. Individual agents can be specified as the primary agent for individual toll free numbers or geographic locations. If preferred agents are not available, incoming calls can then be routed to a designated fail-over destination. This could be the company’s general telephone line, an internal messaging system, or a private cell phone.

The implementation of a toll free number can be the added incentive a potential customer needs to call a business they have not contacted before. These telephony pieces of telephony software gives sales representatives the tools they need to make these calls even more profitable.

3 benefits of using Inbound – Outbound call blending

Many call centers suffer because they completely separate the duties of calling outbound numbers and answering inbound calls. Inbound – outbound call blending is a telephony software solution that increases the productivity of an entire call center by allowing individual sales representatives to handle both inbound and outbound calls.

Sales reps who wish to perform both inbound and outbound calls log into an inbound call receiver and mark themselves as available to take incoming calls. While waiting to receive calls the rep can then log into an outbound initiative in their telephone dialer. By doing so the rep will continually be routed new outbound calls.

When an inbound call is received, inbound – outbound call blending technology routes that call to an available sales rep and disconnects that rep from the outbound dialing initiative (not a call). When the sales rep is finished with that call he is then able to jump right back to making outbound calls.

Screen pop is another type of CTI (computer telephony integration) software that increases the usability of inbound – outbound call blending. CTI screen pop creates a live data link between the sales rep and the company’s CRM for each inbound call. Screen pop detects the caller id of the incoming call and compares that to the CRM database. When a matching entry is found, screen pop opens a new window displaying all of the contact information and history for that phone number. If the incoming call’s caller id does not match an existing entry in the CRM, screen pop opens a blank window instead. The sales rep can record all of the relevant information inside this window which will be saved within the CRM.

This inbound – outbound call blending solution offers the following benefits:

First, businesses stay more productive during down time. By having the same sales representatives take inbound calls while making outbound calls, the amount of inbound calls slows during the work day the sales rep is able to stay just as busy. This creates a significant increase in net calls made and taken per day, per rep.

Second, businesses can spend less on payroll. Since inbound – outbound call blending allows sales reps to take care of both inbound and outbound calls, fewer employees need to be hired to cover both responsibilities.

Third, sales representatives can respond more intelligently to incoming calls. With the uses of CTI screen pop, sales reps are able to have all of the information they need on each incoming call to respond to that lead as effectively as possible.

5 benefits of using CTI Screen Pop with Autodialers for Remote Sales Reps

Screen pop is a useful tool for sales reps that make outbound calls and receive inbound calls.

Screen pop is a form of CTI – computer telephony integration. This refers to any technology that enables a computer and a telephone work together. CTI includes a large number of telephony tools.

Screen pop is a feature of lead management CRMs and telephone dialing systems. Screen pop is especially useful when inbound/outbound call blending is being used.

Inbound/outbound call blending works as follows; first, the sales rep becomes available to receive incoming phone calls. The sales representative then signs in to an outbound autodialer initiative. The autodialer will continue to route new leads for the sales rep to call whenever he is available.

When an inbound call is received by the call center, and the sales rep is between calls, he is automatically marked as unavailable in the outbound autodialer initiative. The inbound call is then routed through to the sales representative.

When this call is routed, CTI screen pop is activated. The screen pop creates a live data link between the company CRM and the incoming call. Key information from the call is immediately captured within the CRM. The caller ID of the incoming call is compared to those stored in the lead management CRM, and the information stored on the incoming call is displayed on screen for the answering sales rep. If there are no records available within the data base a blank screen is displayed. The sales rep can record more contact information and notes on the phone call directly into the screen pop and those changes are saved within the CRM.

There are several important benefits from using CTI screen pop:

1. Sales reps can answer inbound calls knowing much more about those callers. This could include what search engine they visited the company website from and which keyword they had searched for, their company name, their phone number, and more.
2. Sales reps have instant access to prior conversations and the dates and times of those previous calls.
3. Sales reps can immediately capture inbound call data and mark the record for future use.
4. Sales representatives can appropriately response to calls coming from multiple inbound initiatives because of the relevant information presented to him at the start of each call.
5. All information gathered is stored within the lead management CRM’s centralized database, allowing any sales rep to have instant access to all relevant data on any specific caller.

Explore your options in Telephony Software

In telecommunications, when the term telephony is used it encompasses the general use of equipment and software to link two or more telephones. The goal is to allow individuals to communicate over great distances. Telesales has moved telephony software outside of the realm of simply allowing two people to talk. Today, many different telephony software solutions have been developed to aid sales agents through the entire sales process.

A key advancement in telephony software is known as CTI. This stands for Computer Telephony Integration. This technology allows telephones and computers to interact with each other and to share information. Here is an example of CTI in action: when an incoming phone call is received by a sales agent the computer automatically recognizes that phone number, finds that number within its database, and displays on the computer screen of the sales rep all of the information stored on that individual. With this automatic data retrieval the sales agent is prepared to have a profitable interaction with the caller.

The database that makes this possible is called a CRM (Customer Relationship Management). In addition to storing information on each contact, this piece of telephony software organizes, calendars, and tracks all of the processes that are done as part of inside sales. A customer relationship management system is most useful when another telephony software solution is utilized, the power dialer.

One of the most basic tasks for a sales representative is placing a call. He or she can make three times their previous volume of calls per day by switching from manual dialing to using a power dialer. A power dialer is programmed with an uploaded list of phone numbers, and then automatically dials those numbers one at a time for the sales agent. When a call is answered it is instantly routed through to the agent. This telephony software solution capitalizes on the incredible data management capabilities of a CRM.

A myriad of additional telephony software can be incorporated with the CRM and power dialer pairing. Web form callback technology allows leads to be created with in the CRM every time a web form is submitted on the company website. Voice message broadcasting technology allows sales representatives to automatically send prerecorded messages to an entire list of leads. Automatic call distribution technology removes the need for an operator to route incoming calls through to the appropriate agent.

These are just a few of the different telephony software tools available to inside sales departments today. Look for a company that offers a variety of software solutions that are already fully integrated with their CRM and power dialer.

So, what can my CRM do anyway?

The power and versatility of telephony software allows inside sales companies to increase their calls, contacts, impressions, faxes, emails, and callbacks. All of this serves to increase conversions and revenue. Telephony software solutions are available to complete the myriad of tasks that call centers or remote sales organizations need to accomplish. The software that manages all of the processes that need to occur for a remote sales professional to meet the needs of their clients and their employer is Customer Relationship Management software.

Customer Relationship Management software, or CRM, serves as a database for the storage of an organization’s information. A CRM calendars private and company events and tasks. It automatically captures information on new leads and incoming calls, and a CRM manages customer accounts through the entire sales process.

CRMs can be integrated with other computer telephony integration (CTI) software solutions. Perhaps the most important piece of software to use alongside Customer Relationship Management would be a telephone dialer.

Dialers automatically call through a list of leads, or a similar list of phone numbers pulled from the CRM. A dialer then patches that call through to a live sales agent. Several different dialers exist, from the speedy but sometimes unreliable ratio dialer to the effective and methodical power dialer. No matter what dialer is being used, they all become more effective when they are allowed to pull info from, and up load data too, the CRM.

CRM can also integrate other telephony business solutions with their own database and the dialers they empower. Voice messaging software allows sales reps to leave prerecorded, relevant voice messages on the voicemail of leads they attempt to contact. The CRM will automatically leave the message while the sales rep may move on to take another call. Alternatively these messages can be broadcasted by the CRM. The dialer will call through the list of contacts and automatically play the prerecorded message, freeing the sales rep to receive inbound calls or dial through a separate list. Generally, at any time the contact listening to the message may choose to speak to a live agent.

Email messaging is another example of a CTI solution. Pre-composed email templates may be selected and sent by the CRM during a conversation by a sales agent. These messages can automatically pull information to be included within the email, such as the contacts name or business. Instantly the lead can receive additional information promised to them by the sales agent.

Customer Relationship Management is the backbone of remote sales, and the industry has responded by producing plenty of business solutions to amplify it.

Voice Messaging

Voice messaging software provides many options to sales agents. These software solutions are an example of CTI, or Computer Telephony Integration. They provide telephone automation for sales, customer support, and marketing programs within an organization’s Customer Relationship Management, or CRM.

Customer Relationship Management captures, contains, and retrieves the important information on leads, contacts, and clients. A CRM may be implemented with a major investment by the company to purchase or design software and hardware to support the processes of managing all the jobs associated with inside sales, or a host company may provide the software and hardware for the organization to use. The companies that provide the hosted CRM sometimes offer voice messaging solutions through their same company.

The voice messaging software creates voice broadcast initiatives from the contact lists within the CRM. Voice broadcasting is where a series of calls are made from a selected list and a prerecorded message is automatically played. Those listening to these messages generally have the option to press a button to be removed from the list or to speak to a live agent. Good voice messaging systems will allow these messages to be any length and allow these messages to be recorded from anywhere.

Different messages may be played if the call goes to voicemail versus whether or not the lead is contacted. Both of these messages can be prerecorded in the sales agents own voice and catered to whether it is a voicemail or a live-call scenario. Additionally multiple numbers may be called simultaneously for one contact. Whatever number answers first is where the voice message will be broadcasted to.

The time that these voice messages will be broadcasted is also customizable. This allows a sales team to ensure voice messages will be sent out at the best times of day to contact their leads. The CRM voice message pairing can identify the time zones different contacts live in and call numbers from the same contact list at different times based on their geographic location.

Voice messaging software also enhances inbound calling. These features start with the option for listeners of broadcasted messages to press a number to talk to a live agent. Similarly automatic messages can be set up as the default answer to toll free numbers, such as help lines. Answers to the most common questions can be recorded and the option to contact a live agent is presented also.

If an inbound call is not able to be answered by a sales agent voice message software provides a solution for that caller. He or she may then choose to leave a voice mail his or her self, which will be transferred to the first available agent for them to listen and respond to.
Voice messaging enhances many of the primary functions of Customer Relationship Management. It allows sales reps and contacts to get in contact with each other quickly and efficiently.

These Software Solutions will Increase your Lead Nurturing Success

Lead generation practices can produce a large volume of leads for a sales team agent to contact. Even with the best of sales reps not every lead contacted becomes a conversion. But not every lead that does not convert is a lost cause. Lead nurturing is the process of preparing contacted, but unconverted leads, into profitable sources of revenue in the future. Unconverted leads become not-yet-converted leads when lead nurturing is implemented.

A potential client needs to think and feel several things about a company before they will purchase their product or service. The lead needs to be familiar with the company and what it does. He or she needs to perceive the company as a group of experts in their field. The lead needs to feel like his or her specific problems are understood. Lastly, the company needs to be well liked enough for the lead to consider doing business with it.

This gradual changing of a lead’s feelings or attitudes cannot be accomplished by a monthly phone call asking if he or she was interested in the product yet. Instead, the lead needs to become comfortable with the organization and the employees there. Much computer telephone integration (CTI) software has been designed to manage the consistent and meaningful communication during the lead nurturing time. These telephony software solutions also incorporate several media formats to be used in the process.

Task management systems, such as an electronic labor force (ELF), manages lead nurturing from one source. These integrate with customer relationship managers (CRMs) to keep track of callbacks, events, and other tasks. These systems also control the various marketing solutions: email, voice broadcast, fax messaging, direct mail, and others.

Fax or email messaging campaigns can be particularly useful during lead nurturing. Faxes or emails can be designed previous to their sending, and cover topics that the majority of leads would be interested in. Many fax or email messaging systems also contain templates made by the host company to help in lead nurturing campaigns. These messages can then be automatically distributed to individual leads that are being nurtured periodically throughout the process. In addition, these emails, or original ones, may be sent by using the straightforward features of the ELF. The interspersion of these text based messages between phone calls from sales reps fosters a feeling of trust with the lead.

These are only a few of the software solutions available to aid the remote sales team to increase sales and customer loyalty through lead nurturing. Sales marketing tactics become more effective and more leads become conversions as lead nurturing becomes an important part of the sales process.

How can the use of Toll Free Numbers help telesales?

800 telephone numbers have become a staple in the business world. An 800 number is a toll free phone number, meaning the called party is charged for the call instead of the calling party. This allows customers to call the businesses and organizations they do business with without being charged extra for the communication. Businesses should consider the implementation of toll free numbers when they make a profit from the call in other ways. These profits include collecting fees for technical support, making a sale during the call, or seeing an enhancement in sales because of the implementation of the toll free number.

Including one or more toll free telephone numbers increases company visibility and productivity. There are numerous telephony software solutions that have been designed to help remote sales teams use tool free numbers most effectively.

By linking inbound toll free calls to a lead management CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) incoming calls can be captured. This means that the most relevant, real time information on the caller will immediately and automatically be updated into the CRM. These leads are saved as future prospects for call or email campaigns.

Inbound/outbound call blending telephony software allows sales agents to “double up” on both duties. These sales reps may make outbound calls while they wait to receive an inbound call. This call blending can be additionally enhanced by the use of a CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) system. These solutions often involve pop-ups or pop-screens, windows that open automatically when the inbound call is answered. This immediately displays all relevant information and allows the sales rep to easy update the contacts data in the CRM.

Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) is another business solution that increases the effectiveness of toll free calls. ACD software is known as call routing software, and it automatically forwards incoming calls to the best available agent. Individual agents can be specified as the primary agent for individual toll free numbers or geographic locations. If preferred agents are not available, incoming calls can then be routed to a designated fail-over destination. This could be the company’s general telephone line, an internal messaging system, or a private cell phone.

With the analytic capabilities of an industry standard CRM, an added toll free number can be used to quickly track the progress of a new marketing strategy. The amount of time each call is left on hold and the length of each call can also be monitored and be used to create service standards for inbound calls. Toll free telephony software creates many opportunities to increase customer satisfaction and sales.