How Can I Make my Current Workflow More Efficient?

[Maew]

Right now I'm using's Zoho CRM. Here's my current workflow:

1. I look at a detail page of the lead I'm about to call, and click to dial while I check out the contact name and any prior notes.

2. I'm calling businesses so there is usually a virtual attendant to get through. Sometimes I have an extension, sometimes I'm transferred.

3. Once I talk to the lead or the voicemail, I jot down a few phrases, save, and move to the next record.

All told I'm doing about 15 calls per hour.

I feel like I should be doing more. Is there a better/faster way?

 

[Indiana_Adam]

That's how I operate currently. It makes it a much slower process.

I keep debating about getting a dialer, uploading a list, and just leading with hope you can help me with info. - Are you the person I speak to about the commercial insurance for the business? style.

That way I don't have to worry about whether I have the right name. Sure, you don't have the exact name and may not know anything about the prospect, but then you're also not out that 10min of research if it goes no where and can hammer out a lot more calls. I'm sure there are some pros on here who will have better advice/procedure to get better/quicker results. They're probably just too busy right now counting all their renewal money to post right now :p

 

[Maew]

You must be doing something different from me if you have 10 minutes of research per call. For me there is just a quick glance, I would say 30 seconds at most.

 

[Indiana_Adam]

I look at gross sales, employee size, and then look at their website if they have one to see what all services/products they offer. Maybe 10min is a bit exaggerated. I avg. about 15 - 20 calls an hour depending on how many decisions holders I reach. I do get sidetracked when looking at their websites, especially when it mentions other providers/clients of theirs.

 

[Cash]

Right now I'm using's Zoho CRM. Here's my current workflow:

1. I look at a detail page of the lead I'm about to call, and click to dial while I check out the contact name and any prior notes.

2. I'm calling businesses so there is usually a virtual attendant to get through. Sometimes I have an extension, sometimes I'm transferred.

3. Once I talk to the lead or the voicemail, I jot down a few phrases, save, and move to the next record.

All told I'm doing about 15 calls per hour.

I feel like I should be doing more. Is there a better/faster way?

How big are these businesses? If they are less than 8 employeees then just dial. What ever info you get while dialing is enough.

How big is your fishing pound? Is it a puddle or an ocean? Taking a long time on calls is a good thing when you only have a few available fish and you can't afford to miss often.

 

[scinsuranceguy]

Here is my workflow:

I research the businesses at night...after the wife is asleep. That keeps me dialing during business hours. I do not use a dialer, and most of the time I can make around 35-40 calls an hour. I know sometimes it is difficult to do research at night, but as I was told by a former boss, "you are an insurance agent. There is never time off."

 

[XdateNotSexDate]

Since you guys are talking about cold calling commercial, I'd like to ask what information you find relevant before making the initial call?

Also, how much time do you spend researching (during non business hours, of course) and/or making your calling lists?

 

[jbalkin]

Since you guys are talking about cold calling commercial, I'd like to ask what information you find relevant before making the initial call?

Anything I can find on the website that I might ask them about on the call, especially anything relating to what their particular business does and what might be unique about how they do it. (Especially especially if you think you might have a special program for their industry.) Prospects seem to generally appreciate it if you've done your research, and being able to anticipate some of their less-obvious needs makes you look damn savvy.

All told I'm doing about 15 calls per hour.

I feel like I should be doing more. Is there a better/faster way?

Telemarketing companies generally try to shoot for between 10 and 20 dials per hour, depending on the company and the product they're calling about. If you're putting in some time researching prospects and taking notes, 15 dials per hour seems pretty good.

 

[EugeneM]

I prefer to separate cold calling and managing your appointments/leads.
When looking at a crm its sometimes hard to decipher the good leads from bad. Overlooking good leads is easier when its mixed in with junk.

I use Salesdialers and Zoho. The dialer allows me to make 30-60 dials per hr depending on the answer rate for commercial, it also allows me to track callbacks and has a built in calendar for callbacks. Keeps track of all the dirty work.

The crm(zoho) I only input records when we meet with them or set an appointment. Higher priority, current cases im working on, clients that have other product lines coming up for renewal. All the good stuff!

The main benefit of zoho for us is having all the prospects underwriting information and history in one place. I attach dec pages or the accord app right to the account in zoho.

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for TM companies 25 calls/hr that is a min as an industry standard. They do very little to no pre call planning DURING calls. They do research before hand and the campaigns are set up so that consecutive calls consist of the same industry same product same pitch. no need to research before hand they are all MFG's 20-50 employee count 5m sales etc...


@jbalkin
"Telemarketing companies generally try to shoot for between 10 and 20 dials per hour, depending on the company and the product they're calling about. If you're putting in some time researching prospects and taking notes, 15 dials per hour seems pretty good"

 

[AssociatePI.com]

How long are your notes on each lead? Maybe you could cut it down to just a few key bullets per lead for quicker call time. Maybe outsource this to a VA to save more time that way you're just doing the calling (no formatting and research)