For BDRs in particular, getting people to respond and making sure they show up to meetings are everyday struggles. No part of sales is a walk in the park, and Skipio’s VP of Marketing Bianca Collings sat down with Donald Kelly of The Sales Evangelist to talk about some of the biggest challenges facing BDRs.
They focused on not just identifying the problems, but also discussing the specific solutions.
Based on their conversation and the live Q&A that followed, here are three questions that every sales professional needs to answer honestly if they want to overcome the challenges of getting responses and boosting show rates.
What Outreach Methods Are You Using?
Phone calls and email aren’t dead. But relying on those methods alone doesn’t get you as far anymore. Think about this…
A typical worker receives 120 emails per day. A completely personal, engaging email can cut through that noise, but you don’t have the time to do that with every lead. (It’s not just you — no one does!)
It even takes 18 calls to get a potential buyer to engage. So when you use phone as your first touchpoint, you only slow yourself down.
What practically guarantees you a response though is text messaging. It’s fast, convenient, and authentic. People respond to people, so when you reach out from a 10-digit number with the intent to have a conversation, prospects can tell. So you get responses.
Have You Written a Worthwhile Message?
Okay, so just sending text messages isn’t some magic solution. I get generic short code messages and painfully templated long code messages from businesses, and you probably do too. Writing a text actually worth responding to matters most, just like you have to send engaging emails and leave personable voicemails.
On the Skipio blog we’ve covered in detail what makes a great first message. Here are the highlights.
Give your name, the business you’re from, and why you’re texting them. At the end of your message, ask a simple but engaging question. Make that question as relevant as possible to what the prospect is interested in.
A message that’s individualized, short, and to the point does wonders for opening up a conversation. You just have to be ready to keep it going once a prospect does respond!
Do You Stay Top of Mind?
The fortune is in the follow-up. You aren’t just going to send one good message and call it a day. Right? You might think it’s wild, but 49% of reps don’t actually follow up after the first time.
You keep conversations and relationships alive when you consistently follow up with personalized texts. People want to know you’re going to look out for them because they’re a person, not just someone who might spend their money on your business. That’s how you set appointments and get people to keep them.
But again, you can’t spend your whole day individually texting people and sending them meeting reminders. Instead, you stay top of mind and help them show up when you automate your follow-up, sending targeted messages that drip out on a schedule. You use automated personalized texting.
Yes, it seems like an oxymoron. It’s not though when you integrate your texting platform with your CRM to pull in key information and write messages that don’t read like robotic short code.
Transforming your role as a BDR
Reaching out the right way, writing quality messages, and consistently following up aren’t exactly challenges that you overcome once and never worry about again. You’ll tweak how you reach out and when, the words and content of your messages, and the timing of your follow-up. You’ll do it over and over again as you try new strategies.
But with the right sales tools to help you, you start and continue more conversations and make it a no-brainer for people to show up after setting appointments.
Start today with Skipio to take on these challenges and start getting the responses you deserve.
