What comes to mind when you think about outbound calling?
Personally, I remember my days as a salesperson—nervously dialing people on a list, awkwardly introducing myself, trying to convince the person on the other end to buy something. This is commonly referred to as cold calling, and it can be painful for everyone involved.
That’s not the kind of outbound calling I want to discuss today. No, in this article, we’re exploring outbound calling for customer service.
I’m talking about calling a customer or client to do things like…
- Check in about a project
- Confirm an appointment
- Collect important information
- Show them you appreciate them
If you’re looking for ways to bring your customer service to the next level—and improve loyalty and brand reputation—outbound calling might be one answer. Here’s how to use outbound calling for non-sales purposes to grow your business.
Reframe how you think about outbound calls.
If you’re like a lot of people, you might dread the prospect of calling someone out of the blue. After all, many of us are inundated with spam and robocalls, and you don’t want your business to be part of the problem.
And then there’s the intensity of phone conversations. Even getting a call from someone you know and care about deeply can cause a bit of nervousness and apprehension.
But outbound customer service calls are entirely different. Consider them opportunities to demonstrate how much you care about your customers or clients.
In many cases, they’re even more basic than that. Depending on the nature of your business, outbound calls may be necessary to gather essential details and provide the people you serve with the best possible service. Whether it’s to follow up on an initial conversation, decide next steps for a service you provide, or get customer feedback, an outbound call could be crucial for your business and the customer or client in question.
On top of that, every outbound call is an investment in your relationships with the people you serve. Think of all the choices you make because the long term results pay off: you change the oil in your car to keep it running smoothly. You service your HVAC every few years so it won’t break down on you in a heat wave. You plan vacations in advance to save on ticket prices. You prune trees in your backyard so they won’t fall on your house.
Making a habit of outbound calling is like an insurance policy for your business. Salespeople will tell you that taking care of your current customers is far more valuable than finding new ones. In fact, statistics show that sales people only spend 37% of their time developing new business—much more of their time is spent nurturing relationships.
So, the first step is a mind shift—think of these calls as a piece of your long-term business strategy.
Allocate time for outbound calls, and be strategic about when you make them.
Once you’ve changed your attitude toward outbound calls, put them on your agenda instead of treating them as an afterthought.
Across the board, studies find that the most successful times to connect with customers is either in the mid-morning hours before lunch, or even more ideally, between 4 and 5 pm. When it comes to days, Wednesdays and Thursdays have the highest success rates. People are more available as they wind down their day, but before they get home to their families. They’re more available once they’ve had some time to dive into their week on Monday or Tuesday, but they aren’t yet shifting to weekend mode, like we all tend to do on Fridays.
Tip: Think about blocking out an hour or two on your calendar on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon and return or follow up on customer calls.
Set the agenda for outbound calls.
Sales superstars suggest a little planning before calls goes a long way. Telling your customer what the agenda is also sets the tone and establishes respect right out of the gate.
The structure can be as simple as deciding:
The purpose
The length of time
The outcome
And here’s the thing—when you have a game plan, you’re more likely to make the call.
After you’ve made the time and set the agenda, eliminate distractions and pay attention to your mood.
Your attitude and your environment reflect the value you place on outbound calls.
Here are a few ways to stay motivated and make outbound calls a successful part of your weekly agenda:
- Eat a healthy, high protein snack beforehand. Outbound calls can take a lot of energy, so nourish yourself!
- Consider going on a brief five-minute walk before outbound calls to reset, especially if it’s near the end of the day. Get this—creative output increases up to 60% with a walk.
- Start with one affirmation and feel the domino effect. Before you start your calls, send a text to someone you love and express gratitude for them. Good vibes feed on good vibes, and this small practice will get you in the right frame of mind to be grateful for the person who picks up your call.
- Eliminate distractions. This is an obvious one, but take note—one study found that on average, we are distracted for up to three hours each day. Think about the life you could live if you got that time back! Take a minute right now and ask yourself what’s tugging at your attention right now. Is it your phone sending you notifications? Turn them off. Is it the noise outside your office? Shut the door. Is it the clutter on your desk? Spend some time organizing it.
Did you know Ruby can make outbound calls for you?
Ruby helps you take back more of your workday with outbound calling in our service portfolio. With outbound calling, our trained virtual receptionists connect with clients or customers so you can spend less time on the phone and more time running your business (or with your family).
Ruby can make calls on your behalf Monday to Friday, 8am to 9pm Eastern Time (or 5am to 6pm Pactific Time). When we make a phone call on your behalf, we will send you an email detailing how the call went.
With Ruby outbound calling, we can make calls on your behalf to:
- Confirm appointments.
- Reschedule meetings.
- Make dinner reservations.
- Let your customers know you’ll be out of town.
- Keep someone in the loop with their case/claim/project.
- Check in with someone.
- And more!
How to have Ruby make outbound calls on your behalf
With outbound calling, you can schedule an outgoing call request, or an “assist,” as we call it, a few different ways.
Reply to a message on Ruby's app:
You can schedule outbound calls with one of Ruby’s expert virtual receptionists right through our Ruby’s mobile app.
Simply reply to a message. When you receive a message from Ruby, hit “reply” and add a note on what you’d like us to say.
Email us:
Send us a quick email with the person’s name and phone number. We will call them on your behalf.
Call us:
You’re welcome to call us to place your request. Any receptionist who answers can take down the information and our team will take it from there!
We can even make calls on behalf of our HIPAA compliant customers, too. Instead of requesting an assist via email, just call us or use the Ruby mobile app to make your HIPAA compliant call assist request.
