When used correctly, call preamble is an effective way to increase sales, improve efficiency and boost the bottom line. Preambles have been around for a while now, with their popularity thriving due to increasing rates of telemarketing abuse and fraud. They were born as a way to avoid costly and unsolicited calls from scammers and spammers. But when applied successfully in the sales environment, they also help close more deals by connecting sellers with the right prospects.
What is a call preamble?
When the phone rings, you set a call whisper to help you gauge the conversation ahead and prepare for it well. Did you know you could also make full use of these few seconds on the callers end before the conversation begins?
Introducing call preamble …
According to the Oxford Language Dictionary, a preamble is “a preliminary or preparatory statement; an introduction”.
In the context of a sales call preamble, it’s an introductory message that greets and informs the customer before they speak with an agent. It usually includes a greeting and a brief description of the products or services you offer. In other words, it’s the first impression of your business.
Call preamble is one of the many features offered by AVANSER intelligent call tracking solution. AVANSER allows you to create customisable preamble messages that help you manage your customers’ expectations. It allows you to deliver important information about your business and set up the call for success.
Benefits of using call preamble
When used effectively, call preamble has numerous benefits:
Reduced abandoned calls: By informing customers about how long they can expect to wait to speak with an agent, you reduce the likelihood that they’ll hang up without speaking with anyone.
Increased customer satisfaction: You can inform customers about how your agents are trained to help them and what you can do for them. This improves their perception of your company and makes them more likely to become loyal customers.
More efficient service: You can use call preamble messages to route customers directly to the right department or agent based on their needs, which saves time and effort for both parties.
How to record an effective call preamble?
Here are 10 best practices for getting it right:
- Keep it simple, natural and friendly. Ideally, you want the message to sound like an actual person is speaking. That means avoiding robotic monotone voiceover pros in favour of someone who sounds like they’re leading a conversation.
- Be excited and enthusiastic in your voice.
- Use conversational language that isn’t too “salesy” or scripted-sounding. Similarly, don’t use language that might be easily misunderstood.
- Use positive words. It is important to have good grammar and speak clearly as well as positively.
- Keep the information valuable and short, you want to make sure people are staying on the line long enough to hear your message.
- Answering the questions that your customers will ask. For example, provide updated business hours during festive seasons and COVID-19 related SOPs.
- Try using humour, personal stories or a simple greeting. But remember to keep it succinct and relatable.
- Avoid using distracting music or sounds that don’t necessarily add value to the message.
- Not all calls can be answered, so it is important to have a backup plan in place. Don’t forget to provide an email address or alternative phone number people can use to contact you instead of leaving a voice mail message.
- End your message by telling the customer how to take action, even if it means staying on the line.
Remember that people want to buy from someone that they can trust, so deliver your message in a way that makes customers feel comfortable and secure.
It’s time to add the voice of your business to your calls
Having a professional sounding call preamble will let you get more done with less effort. Plus, when done correctly, they can lower the total cost of sales by removing unwanted calls, increasing sales by developing a warm call list, and giving you the opportunity to qualify prospects before you invest time and money in connecting with them.
If you’re a sales executive, consider reviewing your pre-recorded messages and adding a call-back option for customers to help improve response rates. The same goes for if you run an inbound call centre with live agents, test adding a prerecorded message and see how it affects your response rates and conversion rates. Who knows? Your next customer may just call you back because they heard your call preamble the last time they called.
And if you’re really not sure where to start with crafting the perfect preamble, get in touch with our in-house experts today!
