You can make 100 sales calls in a day, but if only a handful of people answer, you’re not necessarily making progress. Ideally, your sales connect rate, or the percentage of calls that turn into real conversations, should be helping you book more meetings, not just log more activity.
An Orum blog post explains that sales connect rates have been declining for years. Part of the reason is because people just don’t answer as many calls anymore. Another reason, according to the post, is that sales teams are focused on making as many calls as possible instead of having actual conversations. This leads to them burning through lists much faster.
So, what can you do to get more live conversations? We share guidance from the Orum blog in this issue of PromoPro Daily.
Don’t Miss A Thing: SUBSCRIBE To PPAI Newslink
Step 1: Audit your current connect rate data. It’s important to get a grasp on where you stand today. The post recommends pulling your connect rate metrics for the past quarter. Then, segment them by rep, time of day, industry and number type used. Look for any patterns. For example, do some reps connect at higher rates consistently? Or maybe some calling windows outperform others? According to the Orum blog post, this baseline gives you concrete benchmarks to measure improvement against and often reveals quick wins hiding in your existing data.
Step 2: Optimize your calling windows. Not all hours are created equal for outbound calling. The Orum post points out that certain time slots generate significantly higher connect rates than others. For example, calls made before 9 AM and calls made between 4 PM and 6 PM perform better for reaching decision-makers. However, your specific audience may differ. Test and let the data guide your scheduling.
Step 3: Implement smarter number strategies. According to the post, the number you dial from matters. Calling from an area code that matches your prospect’s location usually increases answer rates. However, that’s not enough anymore. If you keep calling from the same number, it can eventually get flagged as spam. Many modern sales platforms monitor your phone numbers and automatically switch to fresh ones, helping more of your calls actually reach prospects.
Step 4: Focus on conversation quality, not just quantity. Connect rate optimization creates more opportunities for conversation, the post says. However, you need reps ready to make the most of those conversations when they happen. This means coaching on strong opening lines, active listening skills and navigating common objections. Every connected call should move the prospect forward, even if it doesn’t immediately result in a meeting.
More calls don’t automatically lead to more business. Better conversations do. Pay attention to when you’re calling, how you’re calling and what happens once someone picks up. A few smart tweaks can turn more rings into real conversations — and more conversations into branded merch projects.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: A blog post from Orum, an AI-powered sales engagement and parallel dialing platform.
