No three words are more devastating than:
“We’re breaking up.”
No, we don’t mean when your partner tells you your relationship is over, but when you’re on an important phone call, and you hear crackling, white noise, and worst of all - nothing. When it comes to sales agents, they really can’t afford to have this happen to them during a prospecting call. Sales agents need a way to not only make that initial call easily but also make sure follow-up calls are seamless and clear.
Enter Mobile VoIP. Mobile VoIP, or mobile voice-over IP, allows you to make phone calls over a digital network in real-time using your mobile devices. Mobile VoIP evolved from what is referred to as POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service). This was the “old-fashioned” way of doing things before the creation of VoIP mobile apps and systems. This service relied on expensive, complicated telephone systems which are referred to as circuit-switched networks. Think of when phones needed operators to move the call around the switchboard to get it to the final destination - things have become much easier with VoIP services.
With Mobile VoIP, you can operate over computer networks using packet-switched protocols. Think of this method as allowing your voice signals to be put into electronic envelopes and sent out to your customers and clients more reliably.
For example, in POTS terms, if a telephone line is down, the call can’t be completed. End of story, and very probably, end of that sale. With Mobile VoIP, multiple “lines” (or routes) can be established, ensuring that your connection is clear and fast, and the packet can switch routes at any time. This means your dropped calls are a thing of the past if you are making that call from a VoIP app instead of a traditional landline.
So let’s dive into understanding how using a mobile VoIP as your primary way to contact clients and customers is one of the most cost-effective, painless ways to make sure your calls are heard and leads are managed. By the time we’re finished here, you’ll be asking yourself what you’ll do with all the time you save not chasing a few more bars of cell service.
Industries Where Mobile VoIP is Commonly Used
As you might guess, sales agents of all kinds can really benefit from using a business VoIP app to keep in contact with clients seamlessly, but there are definitely some key industries that benefit from using VoIP.
Insurance
Like so many professional services, insurance agents need to get in touch with their leads fast, or else you’re likely to lose them. Using VoIP mobile apps, insurance brokers and agents doing business in different states can use different, local phone numbers to ensure that leads won’t decline an incoming call because it looks like Spam.
Customer Service
In almost any business, ensuring customers can reach you for troubleshooting and questions is key, and making sure you can do so in a cost-effective and time-sensitive manner is key. That’s where a Mobile VoIP can come in handy. It can do everything from help reduce customer wait times by automatically sending calls to an available employee to help training and coaching representatives in real-time.
Real Estate
In real estate, agents are expected to be on-demand for their clients and to be able to quell fears or answer questions or even negotiate over the phone almost all of the time. However, not being in the same location as clients, or seeking affordable options for heavy telephone bills can cause plenty of headaches to the average agent, never mind a large, multi-agent team. One service that can solve those woes, and more? A mobile VoIP app.
Mortgage Brokers
Between managing renewals and new deals, to handling refinances, mortgage professionals need to make sure they can stay in contact with clients and business partners easily. Additionally, these professionals seek clients in large geographic areas, and a local number can add credibility and relevance for potential clients.
Common Challenges Sales Teams Face
Sales is an industry not for the faint of heart. When you work as a sales agent, or on a sales team, you face problems like:
- High rejection rates
- Long sales cycles
- High emotional and labor demands
- Poor incoming lead practices processes
- Large expenses
These challenges can make an otherwise fiscally and emotionally rewarding career feel stressful, frustrating, and unrewarding for you, the sales agent. If you’ve ever felt like that - you’re not alone. These are highly common challenges salespeople around the world face, so let’s talk about them to better understand how a VoIP mobile app can alleviate these unnecessary pressures for you.
High Rejection Rates
Did you know that 44% of salespeople give up after one attempt at securing the sale? That’s a lot of missed sales, but that’s also a lot of rejection for one person to take. How much do you really want to not only take the time to follow up with someone when they have already rejected you but to possibly be rejected again? That doesn’t sound like a lot of fun. However, with 80% of sales requiring at least 5 follow-up calls, you can’t afford to give up on the first try.
So what you do need is to ensure you can quickly, easily, and more frequent contact your prospects by text or phone call. That way, you might still face some rejection, but at least you didn’t waste any time. VoIP apps let you use an automated approach by sending out texts to follow up with let’s say, ten people in the same time you could have been rejected by one person the traditional way.
Long Sales Cycle
The thing is, you need to understand your sales cycle to know when you’re actually going to get to reap the rewards of your hard work. Essentially, this cycle means the length of time it takes for leads to go to closed. In the sales cycle, there are six steps to keep in mind:
- Prospecting
- Contacting
- Nurturing
- Making an offer
- Handling objections
- Closing the deal
So considering the above steps, if you delay each step with poor communication, you won’t be getting paid anytime soon. For example, leads gained in January won’t turn into a paycheque for you until July if you have a 6-month sales cycle.
So what causes long sales cycles, exactly? It can be everything from an increase in decision-makers within the company to the actual sales process quality itself. The problem is that you are not having a consistent flow of income, or worse, your cash turnover rate will be affected negatively.
All of these factors affect sales agents’ ability to do their jobs well, so choosing a solution that can address both quality and quantity of communication is key. One tool that offers that? A VoIP mobile phone. It helps you stay in contact with leads and clients more efficiently, and more often, so they won’t take as long to make decisions about your product the next time you pick up the (VoIP) mobile phone.
Emotionally Demanding
When you consider that the annual turnover rate on average for salespeople is about 35%, thinking that this kind of role can be intensely emotionally demanding for most people is not a surprise, especially when you consider the pervasiveness of outdated “salesperson” stereotypes that exist in media.
Stereotypes aside, Sales roles are very intense on your emotions. From people demanding to know what’s going on with their quote, or with questions about the product itself, or even the dreaded value doubters, you’re always “on” and that can be draining, to say the least.
Another drain on your emotions? Customers often want to talk when it’s convenient for them, like evenings and weekends outside of typical working hours. This means you’re going to be spending a lot of time talking on the phone. By switching to a cloud-based VoIP app that lets you put auto-responders on when you need to take 5, or forwards your lead to the next available representative so your team doesn’t have to stress over taking a time out and losing the lead.
Poor Handling of the Initial Inquiry
You might have guessed it, but the vendor that responds first wins first in the eyes of customers everywhere. In fact, the data shows that 35%-50% of sales are won by the first vendor to respond.
So by not only capturing your lead but also engaging with it effectively, you’re on the road to success.
But how can you do that when the world of sales, as we just mentioned, is seemingly 24/7? The answer is not to become a superhuman robot, as some sales agents might wish but to use a tool that is kind of the same thing. VoIP apps can give you the opportunity to automate lead responses and also to help coach new agents working through their first initial inquiry response without the client ever knowing.
High Costs
The amount of time you spend on the phone as a salesperson is greater than most other professions. In fact, some sales agents would call their car their office since they spend more time there than in any physical office. From closing deals on the road to speaking with long-distance clients out of state, having a reliable, secure connection that doesn’t break the bank seems impossible.
Or is it?
Using a VoIP mobile phone can greatly reduce those hefty long-distance costs and improve the call quality by using cloud-based networks rather than pinging physical cell towers nearest your current location. That way, the next lead you speak to doesn’t feel like you’re rushing them off the phone to save a few dollars.
Advantages of Using Mobile VoIP
Now that we all can see how many challenges can arise for sales agents when their communications are not streamlined, efficient and stable, you’re probably wondering what you can do about improving communication for you or your sales team. Mobile VoIP offers some key benefits that can help in that department, so let’s break it down.
Local Phone Number
When the nature of your business is sales, you know phone calls are going to be a large part of that. You need to take questions in the form of calls from leads, you need to stay on top of current transactions in the form of calls with your business partners, and of course, stay in touch with past clients to maintain relevancy happens…in the form of a phone call.
But how much will that cost you?
The answer obviously varies depending on when, where, and how exactly you are doing business, but we know it’s going to be a lot because phone calls, especially long-distance ones can add up quickly.
But local authoritativeness is worth something, especially for your sales business.
By using a number local to the lead you’re following up on, and switching from traditional telecom providers to mobile VoIP providers for your salespeople, you could be saving instead of spending.
Local ID
Have you ever been sitting at your desk, and a phone call comes up and the caller ID says it’s from out of state, or even just out of town? And you think one thing immediately, “what are they trying to sell me?” or even, “what spam is this?”
No one likes to answer calls from mysterious, even spam-like, numbers, and smartphones are allowing users to screen calls using spam filtering technology before they even answer!
Having a local number can help avoid this kind of automatic rejection, and ensure your leads you’re a local pro they can trust.
By using mobile VoIP providers that offer internet telephony, you can have not just one number, but one for every area you work in to give you relevancy and authority you just don’t get from having one singular caller-ID for your business.
Answer Calls on the Go
Traditional sales call practices typically involve 3 things: a bunch of bulky technology, sitting at a desk, and of course, cords and cables as far as the eye can see.
That’s fine – until that whole need to be on-demand for your clients’ thing comes up again, right? You can’t exactly tote your bulky, cable-laden set up with you wherever you go, whether that be when you’re around your pool or on the road.
Trying to be available to your clients and leads is easier when you can do it from your mobile phone, just like e-mail or really anything else in today’s fast-paced world.
When you use VoIP mobile apps that are easily accessible on Android or iPhone, you could avoid that tech bulk, and ensure you’re available more easily and efficiently.
Access Your Account from Anywhere
Who doesn’t love going on vacation, or even working from somewhere sunny and beautiful when winter arrives?
One of the biggest changes out of the past year or so is the number of people no longer working in a traditional office environment. In fact, according to a recent survey, 96% of respondents wanted to either work at home some or all of the time. With so many people seeking opportunities to work remotely, accessing your account to make calls and manage leads remotely is key to your success and productivity whether you’re working from home or working from anywhere in the world. Mobile VoIP providers are able to offer that kind of access and flexibility with the simple tap of your smartphone or keystroke of your laptop. This allows you the freedom and flexibility to stay in touch with your prospects no matter where you are.
Top 3 VoIP Mobile Apps
This post has explained both problems sales agents commonly face, as well as how trying a VoIP mobile app can alleviate them, but what mobile VoIP apps can you trust to get the job done? We’ve broken down the top three VoIP apps that will level your sales team up in no time.
1. Aircall
This VoIP app offers 70+ integrations with other tools, CRMs, and key apps that your business uses every day to stay on top of crucial information gathered from your sales team and get ahead.
Whether you’re using Hubspot, Shopify, Slack, or any combination of those 70+ apps, Aircall seamlessly integrates into your business ecosystem. One of the best features this VoIP app offers you is the ability to do a warm transfer, meaning you can speak to the colleague you’re transferring the line to before your customer does. This can help create solid initial handling of leads for large teams, and better support customer queries as well. Other great features of this tool include:
- Toll-Free Numbers
- International Numbers
- Call Conferencing
- SMS Business texting
- Warm transfer
- Shared Call inbox
- iPhone/Android App
2. CloudTalk
This VoIP app is designed for small and medium businesses who want to get their phone systems working around the world in a seamless fashion.
This app works in a range of industries, whether it’s inbound or outbound sales for e-commerce, IT, Finance, or Healthcare businesses around the world. It’s great for teams who need to be able to keep track of calls using strong analytics and also be able to integrate with existing tools your business already uses. Other features include:
- Autodialer
- SMS Business texting
- Power dialer
- Call barging
- Call recording
- Call queuing
3. Ringy
We couldn’t share the best VoIP mobile apps without mentioning our own – but it belongs on this list for a reason.
Ringy is a fully robust, feature-rich CRM offering sales agents the opportunity to use a VoIP mobile app and database all from the same place.
This VoIP mobile app offers some really key features that make managing new and existing leads a breeze:
- Call Barging
- Local ID
- SMS Business texting
- Progressive Dialing
- iPhone/Android App
- Desktop interface
- Competitive pricing
- Divert to another device (i.e. desktop to mobile)
The other big benefit of using Ringy in your sales environment? You don’t have to worry about having a huge tech stack of different apps for different because it offers a full-service approach for its users, rather than offering integrations. So not only will you have great VoIP service at your fingertips, but you’ll also have a full CRM as well as a suite of automation tools. In a world where we already have enough apps to check and tools to use, switching to Ringy can save time and hassle for sales agents and teams in more ways than one.
Summary and Key Takeaways
In this post, we have not only discussed in depth how mobile VoIP works but also why it is so beneficial for any sales business. Whether your business is insurance, real estate, mortgages, or beyond, mobile VoIP is something that can save you time, money and give you a competitive edge by connecting with leads using a local number.
No sales role is without its stressors, either. Knowing that challenges like high rejection rates, long sales cycles, demands on your emotions, poor initial lead handling, and high costs are things that can not only decrease your or your sales agents’ performance but also make the role more stressful. This can lead to high turnover rates, which is not something that is going to help your sales team get ahead.
Thankfully, there’s plenty of help waiting for you when your team switches to Ringy. Ringy not only offers mobile VoIP but SMS business texting for keeping in touch with clients at the press of a button, as well as other great features like call barging to help coach agents just getting started to refine their pitch as it’s happening. Plus, competitive pricing makes sure that the gains you make when you switch to Ringy stay in your pocket instead of becoming a huge expense for your team. That, and you’re going to kiss a bulky tech stack goodbye because Ringy has CRM, automation, and mobile VoIP all in one place.
Think you’re ready to level your sales team up? Book a demo with Ringy to find out how it will help your business go from zero to hero in no time.