Nowadays, customers have access to a large amount of information that allows them to know the characteristics of a company, product or service quickly and easily. In the digital era, a business must adapt to technological changes and opt for solutions that allow it to increase the customer portfolio easily. In this way, commercial prospecting becomes an essential asset in our company.
Prospecting is the research carried out by a company to identify potential customers and contact them in order to know their needs and offer them the product or service adapted to what they actually look for. This way of increasing sales is one of the most direct and effective that can be carried out within business marketing.
Thanks to digitalization, companies can gain numerous advantages for their sales department with the so-called “softwares for teleprospecting”. These new technologies, which bring speed and efficiency, help employees to save time so they can focus on other aspects, such as providing personalized customer service.
In this article, we tell you what are the 4 key elements that a prospecting software must have in order for your sales department to make a difference and benefit from all the improvements in management and results that it can offer you.
Software with auto-dialer
In order to carry out the process efficiently, it is most common to use a sales prospecting software or telemarketing software with an automatic dialer. This tool allows you to optimize the agents’ time by automatically making calls. But how does it work?
First of all, it is necessary to create and upload one or more databases with potential customers depending on the objective we want to achieve. These are lists in which we must include the phone number of customers and other information that may be useful. Once this is done, the software will dial the numbers automatically and call the customers. There are several types of automatic dialers, so we must choose the one that best suits the needs of our campaign. Thus, we find:
- Progressive dialers: it is characterized by automatically dialing only one number for each agent that is available. In other words, the system will detect the availability of the extensions and will dial as many numbers as agents can answer the calls. In addition, in the case of calls that are not useful (either because the lines are busy or even because the number does not exist) the dialer discriminates them and does not deliver them to the agents, preventing them from wasting time on these, thus ensuring efficiency and allowing to provide a personalized treatment to potential customers.
- Predictive dialer: in this case, the system dials several phone numbers at once using an algorithm, and only if the recipient of the call answers, it will deliver it to the agents. Thus, it is able to establish when is the best time to contact the users. It has the advantage of allowing a continuous flow of calls for each agent, and avoids the famous “dead times”, favoring the efficiency and productivity of the call center.
- Preview mode: with this dialer, the agent can visualize the call before it is made. The difference with the previous ones is that, in these cases, it is the agent who must trigger the action manually, allowing him to decide whether to make the call or not.
In addition to dialers, artificial intelligence functions can also be added to automate other processes. For example, once the recipient of the call answers, we can mechanize the attention through bots, also called virtual agents. We find basic bots that handle simple interactions with only two options and then pass the call to a human agent, and other more qualified bots that can even handle the entire interaction process without the need for human intervention.
Software connected to instant messaging applications
When we think about telemarketing (or teleprospecting), we usually think of voice calls. However, other solutions have been developed that, in addition to voice, allow communication through instant messaging, emails, SMS…
In this context, it is worth highlighting the importance of integration with instant messaging applications, such as WhatsApp or Telegram. The popularity of these tools has made them a key element for commercial prospecting. Thus, the integration of telemarketing software with WhatsApp contains multiple functions that allow us to automate the attention of users, and, with prior authorization, send personalized messages through an application that practically everyone has on their phone and uses regularly.
As in the case of voice, it is possible to include artificial intelligence functions in the messaging service. You can create automatic messages and let the bot interact directly with the user.
Although WhatsApp cannot be used for pure sales prospecting, as it is intended to avoid spam, its main advantage is undoubtedly its efficiency. We eliminate waiting times and use a less invasive contact channel than phone calls, which translates into a higher probability of success. In addition, it is a means of attention that more and more companies are adopting and customers are getting used to.
Software with WebRTC technology
Currently, there are two main types of call center software: those that work through the SIP protocol, for which it is necessary to install and download additional software (softphones); and those that work through WebRTC.
One of the most important differences, in addition to the one we have just mentioned related to installation, is that a call center software using WebRTC technology allows you to integrate the rest of the prospecting tools to maximize and optimize contacts with your customers.
So, thanks to this protocol, everything happens in the cloud and nothing on the devices, making it possible to simultaneously manage all prospecting tools from the same platform. In addition, you will be able to manage your communications anywhere and with any device connected to the Internet, so you will be able to contact your potential customers wherever you are.
Thanks to WebRTC call center software, it is possible to centralize information and offer a better organization and management of communications in all departments of the company.
Software connected to enterprise CRM
The integration of teleprospecting software and Artificial Intelligence systems in the call center can also be accompanied by the implementation of the company’s CRM, that is, the software that manages customer records.
The objective of integrating the CRM is to have access to all the information about the customer. This will allow you to personalize the service by knowing if they contact the company regularly, what products they have, their sector of activity, etc.
This integration also offers the possibility of modifying the information from the same platform, without leaving the interaction. In addition, the information is centralized and can be accessed by all departments of the company, so the whole team will be up to date on each customer’s information and will be able to provide the best possible service.
By integrating these 4 elements into your call center software, you can make your sales prospecting campaigns successful. Whether it’s about calling a list of contacts or sending a WhatsApp message, everything can be centralized in a call center software. You simply need a database containing the customer’s phone number, and the system will take care of the contacts.
In Fonvirtual, we offer solutions that will allow you to develop the full potential of commercial telemarketing. Do not hesitate to contact us if you want to know more about our services. We will provide you with the solution that best suits your needs.
