LiveChat vs. CallBack Software: Which Is Better?

Okay, this is going to be straightforward, if you’re not using phone support to cater to your prospects, what are you even doing?

If you’re going to tell me that phone calls are not what the modern market of 2020 requires, you will have to rethink.

What if you were told that phone support can increase your lead count 2x more actually make that 2.5x more, would you still ignore this communication medium? Is the comparison of phone support vs live chat and email still ambiguous?

‘82% of buyers say they have accepted meetings with salespeople after a series of contacts beginning with sales cold calls.’

Yeah, social media, online platforms, emails, and live chat are going to be there, but is that effective to ignore the value which phone support provides?

We believe it can make an impact on your business because for one reason it is still effective even today and for the second reason we have proof.

What to expect in this article?

• What is phone support?
• Why don’t multiple brands make use of phone support?
• Why should you choose phone support in place of live chat and email?
• Top tips of phone support you can get started with
• Example of a brand that made use of Phone support

Let’s get started, you’re in for a mind blown stats.

What is phone support?

Phone support is also known as cold calling.

Cold calling is the process of contacting potential prospects to get them to invest in your brand.

Cold calling happens when you capture leads via your website, social media handles, and more, and in order to nurture them you get on a call to speak to them and convince them to invest in your solution.

Let’s understand this with an example:

A prospect with the name Adam has a need where he is looking to buy a software that can help him manage his leads well. Now you are aware that Adam is exploring since he appeared on your website. Now imagine this, he lands up on your website and starts to chat with you, during the chat he feels disconnected and the reasons could be multiple such as understanding that the chat agent is a robot, not having much clarity, and more.

This was one example of a communication medium you used. Our second medium would be email. So what you would do is you would send multiple emails to Adam, a few are open and a few are not now this whole process is happening for more than one week, don’t you think it’s been too long for it?

Interesting Read : LiveChat or CallBack Software: Which is better?

Now say you have directly contacted Adam and in the call you are telling him that you understand the need he has and can help him if he likes, Adam on hearing this, is not as confident but is assured a bit that he can solve his queries. As the call continues, you schedule another call to give Adam time to learn more about your brand to which Adam agrees.

In the second call, you again continue to nurture Adam till the time he is confident and since he has his doubts cleared on the spot, he decides to invest in you. This is what phone support has done for you.

It is this simple, phone support is still a brilliant way to capture leads but yet multiple brands find flaws in it.

You know what, let’s learn and understand all about such flaws.

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Why don’t multiple brands make use of phone support?

1. No one picks the call

So apparently, your prospects are not going to pick the call because they know that a sales agent is on the line. Or even if they pick the call, they would cut it or ignore it because they know what the conversation is going to look like.

Thoughts: Why does a prospect think like this? Do you sell a replica of the exact sales script you’ve created? Do you just sound like a sales agent with your first conversation? Do you make your prospects feel as though you’re contacting them for the purpose of sales rather than catering to their needs?

2. The continuous process of following up

If you’re expecting that with one call your sales numbers are going to increase, you might have to rethink, that’s not how cold calls work. Multiple brands feel that it’s just so much effort to call and speak continuously to convince the prospects.

Thoughts: When you send an email, are you confident that your prospect is going to revert to you the same minute or the same day? Isn’t live chat, cold emails, social media taking more time than phone support? Do you feel that you can say all the information in your cold emails or live chat when compared to cold calls?

3. Poor cold call processes

Sometimes cold calls work and sometimes they are awful, at times prospects are okay to listen but at times they frustrate you a lot which is considered to be a big demotivation for sales agents. 

Thoughts: Have you tried to understand why this happens? Have you ever thought that maybe you could check with your peers or get on a training course because of such actions happening to you? Have you ever considered the fact that maybe you were just not prepared as you expected to be? Have you tried to enhance or improve with every call?

4. Management of calls

There are so many calls to be conducted and at times you miss a few calls because you can’t find the sticky note you wrote the scheduled meeting in. Or you have so many calls lined up at different hours that you’re not sure how you can even conduct it without trying.

Thoughts: Did you know that there is something called as CRM that multiple well-established vendors provide today? Did you know that a good CRM can take care of all your cold calling activities in one place? Have you given an attempt to sort out your calls well?

If you see closely, these flaws are something which has occurred because you believed that there isn’t an easy solution available, as we promised you we have all the proof to tell you that you need to start using phone support.

See it for yourself.

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Why should you choose phone support in place of live chat and email?

1. Reach out to new prospects in seconds

You have a prospect that has visited your website and is scrolling through your pricing packages, your products and more, imagine giving them a call and speaking to them directly to help them find what they need? Don’t you think it is a great way to engage with them quicker? Don’t you think that since you’re helping them in the initial part of their need, they will be bound to learn more from you.

This is how effective cold calls are. They help you reach out to your prospects at the right time and when you are helping someone in need of something, why would they refuse your help?

2. Enhances your sales pitch

Your sales pitches should be great but they don’t have to be read just the way they are. Cold calls are no longer about just selling, today brands realise that when you offer a benefit or an advantage which will suit your prospects, they are bound to listen to what you have to offer. Today sales pitches are just working as a guide to help the sales reps stay on track which is why there are brands who are still making use of cold calling.

Interesting Read : The COVID-19 Crisis Is Transforming the Way We Communicate with Buyers. Here’s How.

3. Retain the human touch

The technology and the market conditions are not going to stay the same, they will change and because of the increase in the online/digital platforms, brands believe that it is okay to move away from the human touch feeling. It doesn’t work that way, if you had someone who could speak to you and explain the product, you would hear them out instead of just reading a small paragraph on the same.

Cold calls restore that human touch which is why prospects are not eliminating this medium. 

4. Keep your leads happy always

Calls are great because you can contact your prospects for any reason apart from selling to them such as getting feedback, checking up on them, and such conversations go very far. You tend to sound genuine which is the appreciated factor by your prospects. Imagine receiving a call from a brand who is eager to assist as and when you need them that too in a quicker manner.

5. Learning and enhancing the brand

When you speak on calls to your prospects, there is always room for improvement, you can go back and hear the call recordings and improve your communication with every call. When this happens catering to your prospects becomes better and there are lesser chances of the calls being eliminated or ignored.

6. Better chances of building relations

Calls are the best way to build relations with your prospects because with your tone you can help make them be comfortable, there is a human touch, there is better understanding of the prospects needs and more. 

Now that we have this covered, let’s understand why you need to choose phone support over other communication mediums such live chat and emails.

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Top tips of phone support you can get started with

	Phone Support	Live chat	Email
Immediate assistance	Yes, you can contact prospects instantly	You will have to wait til the prospect asks you question or interacts with you next	You will have to wait till your prospects revert to your emails which can take more than hours
Awareness of when prospects are available	Yes, if the prospects don’t pick your call, you will understand that they are not available	If the prospects doesn’t reply to your messages, you will have to wait to understand that	You won’t be aware if your prospects have seen your email reply or will reply to it that same minute, you have no choice but to wait
Supported medium of older demographics	Older people will prefer calls because they are quick and reliable	Older people might not be so comfortable with live chat	Older people receive emails but not quite sure if they will revert or open to read it often
More contact of genuine buyers	The prospects you engage with are individuals who have shown interest in your product or brand	The prospects you engage with are individuals who have shown interest in your product or brand	The prospects you engage with are individuals who have shown interest in your product or brand
Human touch	yes	Not much because a chatbot would be engaging with prospect too	Not much because the email would sound scripted or not personalized enough
More wait time for prospect responses	Since you know that your prospects are unavailable, you move on with your next prospect	You have to wait till your prospect’s revert to you	You have to wait for your prospects to revert to you
Allowed to share complete information in one conversation	You can share more information about your brand over call as you explain how you can help them	You have limited information to share	You have limited information to share
Cost	Not so expensive	Cheaper	Affordable
Understand prospects tone	Yes, with the way they converse with you	Not much	Not much

Now that you have the differences in front of you, you are aware that cold calling is a better option to invest in. Since you have it in you to get started, we have made the process easier by sharing the information of the best cold calling tips you can get started with.

1. Be organised with your data storage

Before you can even begin your research to start prepping for the first call of the day, ensure that you have a well-organised data structure in front of you. 

For instance:

• Have your prospects information right in front of you ( It should include their basic information, company details, what they are looking for).
• Keep your sales pitch ready (Use it as a guide and not to read like a robot, keep personalising your touch during the communication).
• Keep prospects numbers and email ids in a place where it is easy for you to search such as a CRM.

Being a sales rep, you are aware of the number of calls you need to do per day. Since the number is high, you can’t keep storing your lead information on numerous excel sheets. 

The reason being, it is time consuming to actually sit and type all the information plus there are chances that you can lose that data in case of any technical mishaps on your system.

To eliminate such hassles, switch to using a CRM.

With the use of a CRM all your data can be viewed in one place. According to learn.g2, 50 percent of sales teams reported improved productivity with a CRM.

This is Hubspot’s CRM. 

As you can see Hubspot can easily identify what is their next call to action. The graphs and the percentage give them an insight into which factors they need to work on and which are the ones they can confidently invest in.

For a sales rep at Hubspot, this could be a great way to grasp where they should start picking up in order to achieve their sales targets.

From your follow up status to your scheduled calls, everything can be viewed and edited easily with one click.

For instance, if you have a new lead coming in or you need to schedule the next call, you can easily save this information in a CRM. The best advantage of this is that a CRM can be viewed with a username and password which only you will be having hence no loss of any data.

It is 2020 and right now in the market, there are tools available where you can sync your data to a CRM without any hassle. If you want to try it out, you can begin with limecall.

2. Research your prospects from head to toe

 It would be a heavy loss for your company to undertake if you sell to the wrong clients. 

Because your wrong clients don’t need your solution at all. There is no need for you to waste your time on them. 

For instance, You own a supermarket that sells only vegan products. Now a non-vegetarian person may not like what a vegan product offers, so that doesn’t mean that you tend to force them to buy. Their needs are different and they need a solution which would suit them.

The only way you can sell to the right audience is by studying about them.

In your research you could cover:

• Clients opinions when they purchase a product.
• What do they see first when they view any product?
• What makes them buy from you?
• How can your solution help them?
• What does their company deal with?
• How can the client be an asset to your company?

For the B2B market, the best mode of research about any client would be LinkedIn, because it is a professional business platform and an easier way to grasp more information.

For instance, let’s say you’re looking to associate with someone who can help you better sales strategies. You stumble upon Marc Wayshak’s Linkedin page, where you realise that he could be the perfect fit for you.

As you search for him, you find a small introduction about who he is, where he is from, any recommendations or suggestions from your peers and the type of industry he deals with. When you realise that he can help you further, you can scroll down to learn better about him.

The summary basically states what the person does. What he or she aims to deliver to its clients. In the case of Marc Wayshak, he clearly states his main agenda in the first line, giving you the direct answer of what you’re looking for.

As you scroll down further, You are able to see their experience, which gives you insights on what they do in their jobs, what roles they play and many more. This helps you to create a solution which would suit yours and the next parties interest.

Apart from this, you can even conduct surveys to learn more about what your clients prefer. You could ask questions to start a debate or prepare a questionnaire and share it across. The answers give you a clearer picture of what you’re trying to see.

Always remember, your solution sells easily when you’re able to sell it to the right people. Don’t worry about those who don’t match with what your selling because your customers are vast and different in their needs.

3. Prepare your script to guide you, not to recite

 Prepare your sales pitch as a guide to help you during the communication rather than just byhearting sentences without any meaning.

 In the modern world of cold calling, the more personalized your sales pitch remains, the better are your chances of grasping your potential prospects. 

Let’s understand this with an example:

Without a personalised sales pitch:

Sales Rep: Hello, This is John calling from ABC company, am I talking to Pauline?

Pauline: Yes this is Pauline, how can I help you?

Sales Rep: Pauline, our company has launched a new product which helps to convert leads quicker, would you like to learn more about it?

Pauline: No thankyou (cuts the phone).

With a personalised sales pitch:

Sales Rep: Hello, am I talking to Pauline?

Pauline: Yes this is Pauline, how can I help you?

Sales Rep: Pauline, this is John this side calling from ABC company. We happen to know that your lead conversation rates are hitting the roof, which is a great deal in your form of business. However, we have a tool that will help you to achieve these conversion rates more quickly than your current process.

Pauline: Oh is it? That sounds interesting to me. 

Sales Rep: Oh it is because with this tool your conversion rates can grow much higher than your usual since your cutting down on the long process.

Pauline: Oh yes, that’s true. My company would be in a much better position.

Sales Rep: On point Pauline and that is why we want to help you out. Let’s do one thing, let’s schedule a meeting to discuss this. Why don’t you share your email id and a contact number so that I can confirm and follow up with you on the same?

Pauline: Sure, sounds great.

As seen above, with a personalized script, you have the ability to make your clients more relaxed. This helps them to open up better with you when speaking about their needs. When they do this, you’re able to sell them better.

Recommendation: Place your sales script right in front of you. Use it as a way to keep you on track when communicating with your clients.

4. Practice

You can never perfect the art of cold calling without giving your 100 %. 

Keep practicing the way you should converse with your clients, speak to yourself or do the same with your colleagues. 

Take feedback and improve on it. 

When your calls fail, take it as a lesson to find out what went wrong and resume learning from your mistakes. 

The more you open yourself to growth, the closer you come to mastering this art.

As Wendy Weiss states:

‘’If you are new to cold calling or uncomfortable with cold calling, practice out loud. Role-play with friends or colleagues. Practice various sales scenarios. This way, you will not have to worry about what you are’’.

Recommendation: Record yourself at least 10 times and listen; you’ll improve drastically.

5. Work on creating an attractive opening statement

The first few seconds will decide whether your clients should cut the call or continue listening to you. 

Your clients are going to be busy. They must be having a bad day too and if you’re going to call them and sound like the common sales person, don’t be surprised by their negative reaction.

You have less than a minute to create an impression with your words. 

3 things to ask yourself before you create your opening statement:

• What type of words would add better meaning?
• What sentences will have more effect?
• What type of questions will yield better answers?

Retaining clients in the first statement that you convey is tough which is why limecall is giving you a heads up with Freshworks article on this pointer. View the article to draw an idea of how you can get started.

It’s 2020 and you have decided to outperform your peers in cold calling. But if you’re going to just create common phrases like your peers, your chances of improving your skills on cold calls fall short.

As we’ve reached the end, there is one last thing which we want you to see, this is an example of a company that has made use of cold calling for the past one month and this is what they have to say in it.

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Example of a brand that made use of Phone support

Chris Beall, the CEO of Connect and Sell had started a challenge where brands could use the software his brand provided to make cold calls. 

So the CEO of leadership principles, Gordon Thredgold decided to take this challenge where he would conduct 3000 calls for the month and this was what he shared when he conducted prospect engagement with the use of a phone support:

Source: Inc

• ‘’3025 calls, led to 178 conversations which resulted in 18 follow-up meetings
• Senior people will pick up the phone and speak with you. My call lists were all CEOs, SVPs, VPs and Directors.
• When I am, relaxed on the phone, the prospects tend to be relaxed on the phone
• Only 6 percent of calls lead to a conversation, so perseverance and persistence are key attributes of being successful at sales.
• You need to have a voicemail strategy, as half the calls go to voice mail.
• Time of day, mid-morning or mid-afternoon didn’t really make a difference. Although calling during the lunchtime period doesn’t help get conversations.
• My most successful day for calls to conversations was a bank holiday, as most senior managers were in the office, but not in meetings and therefore available. So take advantage of bank holidays.
• Attitude is everything.
• Pick Up The Phone with everyone: cold calls; warm leads; people in your network; and get into more conversations. You pick up more information from conversations than you ever will from email
• Make time for the calling and Focus 100% on that. Multitasking while calling just means you’re doing two things badly.

The Bottom Line…

As promised, we have shared with you all the reasons you need to believe that your investment in phone support is the right choice. 

But before you head away, let’s quickly summarize what we’ve covered:

Key Takeaways:

• Phone support is also known as cold calling. Cold calling is the process of contacting potential prospects to get them to invest in your brand.
• Most brands don’t use phone support because they believe it is a long process and more
• You should choose phone support because it can help build better relations with your prospects and more
• We even covered why phone support is better than live chat and email
• Top tips to get started with a cold calling are being organized in your sales calls and more
• We also saw an example of what a brand learned and achieved from using phone support for a month

What are your views on this article? Is the battle of phone support vs live chat and email still one-sided? Do you have something to share? Do tweet us and tell.

Also for such relevant articles, do watch out for Limecall more.