When working in inside sales, it may seem like the Wild West of the sales world. Having a limited number of ways to get in touch with your audience makes things more challenging. It might seem like reaching out to prospects rapid-fire is the best way to contact them. However, making sporadic attempts to contact leads at random isn’t the best way.
Instead, incorporate the use of inside sales cadences. Following a rhythm keeps your approach controlled and focused. Being intentional with your process produces the best results and highest returns. Once you’ve settled on a pattern that works, utilize it until you find an alternative that delivers even better outcomes.
Before Setting Up Your Sales Cadence…
Before you create your inside sales cadence, you need to decide whether you will use it company-wide. Do you want your entire team using the same approach to the sales process? Setting up a universal inside sales cadence for all agents unifies your team and sets a standard for your sales process.
However, you may opt to allow agents to set up their own individual sales cadences. When you enable them to create their own, agents can cater to their specific strengths. Do they see more results when they follow up with an email after a particular amount of time? Are other touches via SMS better than a second call?
Good agents know which approaches work for them. If you trust your team enough to establish a cadence that performs well, they will feel less restricted when working through their sales process.
Creating an Inside Sales Cadence
Once you determine whether you will have company-wide or individualized sales cadences, you can begin to create the cadences themselves. Take into account each avenue of communication you might want to use:
- Calls
- Voicemails
- Emails
- SMS Messages
- Social Media
- In-Person Visits
You’ll only know what works best for your business after you set up and test your first inside sales cadence. You may want to bring in your top sales agents to see what patterns of contact currently work well for them. Inviting them to contribute to the process opens the avenue of communication between upper-level management and active representatives on the floor.
Though you have an inside look at the numbers, your representatives are on the phones every day. Your best agents know which approaches are useful and which should be left behind. Those who understand the ins and outs of the inside sales world will have valuable insights into the practices that work well.
Decide how long you want the initial sales cadence to be. A week? Two weeks? Then determine how often you want agents to contact your leads and prospects. Should it be daily? Every other day? Which avenues of communication should they use and at which point should they use them?
Depending on the number of agents you have on the floor, it may be helpful to create multiple inside sales cadences. If you have enough workforce, you can split-test your cadences to see which methods are more effective than others. This testing gives you the chance to more quickly determine which patterns of contact you should continue to use.
Use Redial Rules to Follow Up
Once you have created your inside sales cadences, it is time to implement them. Some contact center software platforms have various types of features you can use to help with the implementation process. For example, CallTools.com offers redial rules, a tool that automates the process of adhering to a sales cadence.
Rather than requiring agents to set up multiple reminders for each contact, you can incorporate the use of redial rules. The system will automatically call, email, or text a lead after the amount of time you pre-select. For example, if an agent makes an attempt that results in a No Answer, you can set up a rule to either try calling again in a few hours or sending an SMS message immediately afterward.
Redial rules make it easy to quickly alter the avenue of contact or the length of time to follow up after. The automation makes your representatives’ jobs more manageable and leads to fewer slip-ups on making additional attempts to contact leads.
Example Inside Sales Cadence
Day 1
- Phone Call
- Voicemail
- SMS Message
Day 2
Day 3
- Phone Call
- Voicemail
Day 5
- SMS Message
Day 7
- Phone Call
- Voicemail
Trial and Error Leads to Success
Only after implementing a few different sales cadences will you know the approach that works best for your company. Don’t be afraid to try out more aggressive approaches; you won’t know what is most effective until you try it. Some industries may benefit from a more laid-back sales cadence while others require persistence.
The sales world is continually changing, and you always need to be ready to adapt at a moment’s notice. Once you find an inside sales cadence that works, continue making small tweaks to test for even more successful patterns of contact.
