Stay warm this winter with a successful call transfer strategy

Winter is here. Days are darker and snow is only accumulating fast enough to slow your drive home, but speed up your in-laws’ unexpected visit to your house. Days are shorter and with a buttoned up call transfer process, your sales cycle can be, too! When you come in from a frigid winter evening, you want to get warm as fast as possible. If you are an eager consumer, you want to make your purchase as fast as possible. If an immediate need or desire is not met, you will go elsewhere for warmth or for a purchase.

Call transfers are here to help you avoid the cold.

What is a call transfer?

A call transfer is the process of transferring a consumer who is live on a call to a Sales team. This process is designed to always connect the lead with the right person or business to ensure excellent customer service and increased conversion rates. 

This is valuable for lead sellers, as it allows them to monetize their leads and sell them in a format that oftentimes their lead buyers are requesting: an inbound call. For advertisers or lead sellers, these are often valuable as well, as it allows them to purchase a form of a lead that has guaranteed contact, high-intent (at least in theory), and is guaranteed to be exclusive in the moment the call is transferred. 

Companies across a numerous amount of verticals are using call transfers to effectively increase the number of leads they are purchasing. Call transfers are great ways to immediately connect with leads and help companies get in touch with leads faster.

There are two main types of call transfers, and while they go by several different names, they are most commonly referred to as cold and warm transfers.

What is a cold transfer call?

Cold transfers – or blind transfers – are when calls are transferred to a recipient with no prior knowledge of the lead on the phone. When a call center is faced with a surplus of leads or is under a deadline, a cold transfer is the quickest way to connect a high volume of leads with a business. While less personalized and efficient, cold transfer calls can easily be handled by an automated call distribution service.

Cold transfers are a quantity over quality approach.

What is a warm transfer call?

Warm transfers – or soft transfers – are a more personal type of call transfer that involves contacting the consumer, confirming their interest in a specific product or service, and then transferring that consumer to speak with a company who provides the product or service the consumer is interested in. Warm transfers are more likely to enhance the consumer’s experience with a personalized touch. Operational Principal Analyst at TeleTech Holdings suggests for warm transfers, “Be human, and take the time.”

Why should you consider buying call transfers?

There are several benefits to your company and the consumer by implementing a successful call transfer strategy. Here they are, listed below.

Exclusivity

A call is only transferred to one company and these leads are never marketed or transferred to a competitor. The exclusivity of these transfers affords your Sales team the luxury of only focusing on the transferred lead, and not the competition. Stop competing, start selling.

Guaranteed contact

Unlike online leads that can require a laborious follow-up process – and unfortunately could also leave several leads uncontacted – call transfers can guarantee contact between leads and the Sales department. When a consumer is transferred, they are connected immediately with the appropriate member of the Sales department. This can help eliminate buyer indecision, help meet a consumer’s needs immediately when they arise, and optimize your speed to lead.

Performance-based pricing

The Business School Professor from Harvard University Benson Shapiro eloquently summed up the value of performance-based pricing: “Performance-based pricing is insurance.” The performance-based pricing model is an economically logical pricing strategy to prevent your company from overpaying for an underperforming service. The more qualified leads a call center transfers, the more the call center will be compensated. 

High intent

Call transfers allow you to directly interact with a hot lead who is interested in your product or service. Every call transfer consumer will have met an established criteria and will have demonstrated a willingness and capability to make a purchase. This process allows Sales to expedite the traditional sales pitch because the consumer is already on the hook; Sales just has to reel them in from here.

Final thoughts

Call transfers are an efficient way to allocate resources, only connect with interested leads, and improve your ROI. Cold transfers allow Sales teams to work with bulk orders, while warm transfers can help increase sales conversions. An adaptable call transfer strategy should be a part of your sales process to help diversify your lead acquisition strategy and reduce marketing spend.

In the next article, we will address the risk associated with call transfers and the best practices for mitigating that risk.