You can’t deny the convenience of e-commerce.
But phone calls are still the undisputed champ in one area: customer interactions.
Think about it. Your call center or sales reps talk more than they type:
- Cold calling
- Follow ups
- Customer support
Each of those calls has actionable nuggets to increase your extended warranty sales… if you record them.
Read on to learn why you should start recording sales calls—and what else you should be doing, even if you already are.
The Features Your Call Recording Software Should Have
Before we get into specifics, you’ll need call recording software itself. You can choose from literally hundreds of options, each with varying amounts of functionality.
If you like simplicity—or saving money—you could probably do with a barebones solution that comes with:
- Call logging
- Tracking
- Cloud storage
- Playback
If you find a solution that has built in transcripts, even better. You’ll understand why in a bit.
Pricing
It depends on your needs. Most companies charge by user. And more features = more money. Some solutions only cost $10 per month. Some can run upwards of $1,000 a year.
Fonality is a phone system that integrates with Inline CRM allowing you to view your recorded phone calls inside our platform, but you should review other recording providers.
Now that you know what features you need and a ballpark budget, let’s discuss why recording calls can improve your sales.
Recording Sales Calls Helps Reps Prepare
Notes can get lost or spilled on. And not everyone has a photographic memory, especially when reps talk to dozens of people daily.
Your prospects want to feel like they’re more than a commission. That’s why listening is such an effective sales technique —especially during follow up calls.
If you record calls, reps can get a refresher before calling a customer back.
Every time your rep can confidently say “The last time we spoke, you said ‘________,’” or, “According to my notes, it seems like _____ is your biggest priority.” the more the prospect will feel validated.
How Inline CRM Helps: You can type notes within Inline while you’re listening to the call and make these a task within your activity setting. No more fumbling for a scrap of paper or misreading what you jotted down.
Transcribe Your Sales Calls
If one customer says something, you might not notice. If two customers say the same thing, you might perk up. But if 18 customers bring up identical pain points, you can call it a trend.
Built-in transcription is one of those extra features you might want to pay for.
Here’s why.
You can see which words are being said most often. You can learn which questions your customers—or sales reps—are asking. You can even test certain sales scripts to understand how that affects close rates.
Bottom line: Tiny words can lead to mineable Big Data to increase your sales figures.
How Inline CRM Helps: You can use our sales script builder to update or tweak scripts based on transcripts (not to mention reviewing if your reps are actually following established scripts.)
Playing Calls Back Makes It Real
You know the old saying, “It’s not what you said. It’s how you said it.” Well, that’s especially true in sales.
Your reps know what they’re saying, though they may not be dialed in on their delivery. But watch their perspective change when they listen to a recorded conversation they had with a prospect.
They might hear too many “Uh’s” or “Um’s” or flinch when they hear themselves fumbling a question.
Reps won’t know how to change if they don’t know what to change. And recording calls makes sales coaching more specific.
How Inline CRM Helps: You can play back calls with Fonality to coach your reps up by providing tangible, useful suggestions.
You Clear Up Miscommunication
The customer isn’t always right.
We’ve all had a call where a customer was upset by something they thought was promised but never received. But you know that’s not the case.
It doesn’t take long for this to turn into a “He said/She said” situation. And you give in just to keep the client happy… or at least make them less likely to leave a poor review.
When you record calls, you have audible evidence of what was said. It might turn out the customer was being truthful, which you should acknowledge and use as a coaching opportunity.
Additionally, 11 states have two-way consent for calls to be recorded, so recording calls means you can avoid potential legal issues—especially in these states:
How Inline CRM Helps: You can tag each call within its own disposition setting. For example, “Unhappy with service” or “Request manager callback.” You can listen to these calls so that doesn’t happen again.
Recording Helps Onboard Your Sales Reps
You want your new hires to hit the phones sooner than later. So, they should start learning the ropes before their first day.
Here’s why.
If you send them an audio file of the best sales call you’ve ever heard, they’ll have a better idea of how to talk to your target market. You could also send them an example of a bad call so they know what to avoid.
The more you make them feel like you want them to succeed (and you know you do), the more likely you’ll retain them.
Oh, and they’ll sell their first extended warranty for your company sooner.
How Inline CRM Helps: Read our post on best practices for onboarding sales reps in 90 days to give new hires a jumpstart on success.
Recording Calls Improves Your Products
You should survey customers if you aren’t already.
Why?
Because you’re getting feedback straight from people who are paying you. What they tell you matters more than any other source.
Here’s another reason: Involving them increases their loyalty, which can literally pay off.
When you get customer feedback, you’re proving you care about what they say. And what they say can include what they want changed, improved or removed altogether.
The more surveys you complete, the more you know. And the more you know, the better your company will be.
How Inline CRM Helps: You can run custom web reports about specific policies that have a high close rate or low retention rate to understand what is—or isn’t—making customers happy.
Ready to Make Record Sales?
Schedule a free demo of Inline CRM today.
