As the old adage goes: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And that perfectly describes telephone sales – a sales medium seen by some as archaic and outdated, but one which the numbers show is still as effective as ever. As a result, companies continue to use telemarketing, phone sales and prospecting as effective tools, but while these old-school techniques have stood up well to the test of time, that doesn’t mean technology can’t help to make them better. One way in which technology is improving phone sales is by making it easier than ever for managers, human resources professionals, and trainers to record sales calls for later use – a practice that can help sales organizations in more ways than one.
Call Recording Helps Ensure Regulatory Compliance and Quality Control
Telephone sales are a lucrative revenue driver, but also one that can cause problems if sales calls aren’t carefully managed and quality and regulatory compliance aren’t consistently monitored. At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission’s Telephone Sales Rule puts a great deal of control into the hands of the call recipient, and at the state level, different states put different rules into play, determining how often businesses can make calls and what types of interactions are allowed. Beyond regulatory considerations, call quality is a huge concern, especially since most telemarketing relies on call-operators sticking religiously to heavily tested sales scripts. The ability to listen in on live calls or to listen back to recordings ensures that management can ensure both high quality and compliance with all relevant regulations on each and every call. But it’s important to note that recording calls is a regulatory consideration in and of itself, so it’s important that companies know the rules and provide any necessary disclaimers prior to recording.
Call Recording Enables Better Sales Training
While telemarketing initially relies heavily on scripted calls, follow up calls with interested prospects are all about delivering a phone-based version of the more traditional sales process. But selling over the phone can be very different, both in feel and technique, to selling in person. As a result, it’s imperative that telephone sales staff receive adequate training to ensure they’re close rates are as high as possible. Sales call recording and listen-in features are ideal tools for delivering that training, as they allow managers to train agents not only with historical calls but with the agents’ own calls in real or near-real-time. For instance, a sales manager or training professional could take a subset of an employee’s previous calls over a week, month, or any period desired, and develop a personalized training program designed to specifically target that agent’s weaknesses. Managers can also listen-in to calls in real-time to do spot checks, enabling them to identify which agents are the most in need of training at any given time.
IRIS CRM, the payment industry’s leading customer resource management platform, offers a built-in power dialer that replaces existing phone systems and offers a full set of advanced features designed to supercharge telephone-based sales. One of those features is an easy-to-use call recorder that enables managers to automatically record agent calls or to listen-in on them in real-time. To find out more about IRIS CRM’s advanced calling features, or any of its industry-leading productivity features, schedule a free demonstration today.