How to monitor the efficiency of your sales calls

When done right, call sales can considerably improve your business operations and increase profit. But, if you fail to conduct it properly, it may lead to resource wasting and will hinder your chance of success. That’s why every sales department has to monitor and measure the efficiency of their sales calls. However, there is no universal formula that can tell you which part of calls is the most important. It mostly depends on the industry your business belongs to. But, there are a few basic ways to monitor the efficiency of your sales calls that can give you valuable insight into what you can do to improve them.

Different ways to monitor the efficiency of your sales calls

In order to improve your sales and the overall business operations, it’s crucial to know how to measure the performance of sales calls. Every part from contacting the potential clients to the final conversion. To be able to do it, you need to know which metrics can give you the most valuable information. If you spread your analytics too wide, you will lose valuable time on steps that might not even be relevant. If you narrow it too much, you will miss crucial information about what you are doing wrong. You can start by setting clear goals and then proceed with industry-specific possibilities.

But, no matter what industry you belong to, here are some basic ways to monitor the efficiency of your sales calls. They will give you the opportunity to find and eliminate mistakes made by both individuals and teams alike. You should monitor and analyze:

• If you are using proper available technology
• The average volume of closed records
• The average conversion rates
• The number of first sales calls that end successfully
• Average hold/wait time
• Callback messages count
• Monitor median handle time
• Track leads management and quality

If you are using proper available technology

In general, one of the necessary steps to keep up with other competitors on the market is to use modern technological solutions. Regardless of the industry sphere, this can have a huge impact on your business efficiency. The same goes for when you want to monitor sales calls performance. Solutions like Convert More callback software are a valuable addition. Not only because they help you connect with prospects but because they allow you to create custom tracking methods. Furthermore, you can easily integrate your calling system into your CRM for proactive monitoring and increased conversions.

The average volume of closed records

The term “Closed Records” encompasses all sales calls, both won and lost. If you track the average volume of closed records, in general, you will be able to conceive the capacity of your teams and each individual representative. While this may show you more general information about overall effectiveness, it’s still a good way to see if your team is able to process a large volume of calls. In other words, you will know which team is ready to handle more client calls.

The average conversion rates

Another important factor to monitor is your teams’ and representatives’ conversion rates. It shows the efficiency of sales calls throughout the specific period. While it may seem harsh but not everyone is equally successful in all sales call areas. Some individuals might be more efficient for different leads. In a situation when you have several teams, each handling a specific area, this metric can show you how to switch team members for optimal efficiency.

The number of first sales calls that end successfully

This is the number of successful sales that emerge from first sales calls. There are two major reasons to monitor these situations:

• Know the overall efficiency of your sales representatives
• Helps you figure out mistakes on calls that fail to convert

However, this metric is not always relevant. Mostly because there are products or services that often require more than one call before closure.

Average hold/wait time

Truth be told, no one likes to wait. People often expect to be instantly connected to sales. But in reality, they will satisfy with a quick connection. When you leave them to wait for too long, they may give up and turn to your competitors. Or, will leave with a bitter opinion about your company. None of the options is good, so you need to monitor your calls to see if there is room for improvement. Again, you can use numerous software solutions to better organize your calls and enable your potential clients to reach you fast.

Callback messages count

Sometimes, potential clients don’t have time to wait or are simply too busy to talk at the moment. But they may be willing to talk later. To cover these situations, you need smart software solutions that will schedule calls when it suits your clients. They will often leave a message about the details and this is what you need to track: The number of “callback” messages. However, results might be ambiguous. The low number of callback messages says either your team is too efficient in answering or you simply don’t have enough calls. And too many messages may indicate your team is inefficient, or you simply don’t have enough representatives.

Monitor median handle time

With sales calls, there is one so-called “rule”. The longer you stay on the call with your potential clients the more chance you will make a deal. That’s why sometimes is necessary to monitor the median handle time. You do that by dividing the sum of all call lengths by the total number of all calls. If the average value seems too low, it usually means your sales calls are of lower quality.

In general, a good explanation is when you look from the client’s perspective. Normally, you won’t talk to an agent if you are not interested in the offer. On the other side, if it lasts for too long, maybe the agent is lacking the skill to close the deal.

Track leads management and quality

This metric, in general, shows how agents and other sales representatives manage and classify sales calls. What happens when a potential client doesn’t answer the call? A common mistake here is to classify it as a “lost” closed record instead of calling the client again. This method requires further engagement to monitor properly but can help you understand if sales representatives require additional instructions. There are many ways to reach a contact again and increase your sales calls efficiency. In addition, many call systems offer feedback solutions that can help you estimate the quality of realized calls.

In the end, improving the quality of your sales calls is one of the biggest challenges. Both for sales leaders and individual representatives and agents. To improve the way your business operates it’s necessary to understand how to monitor the efficiency of your sales calls. This is by far the best way to discover overall mistakes and modify the workflow for better results.