Think outside the box for better calls

Tim Miller from ZoomInfo told a live Sales Confidence audience how to improve their call results. The secret? Think outside the box. Let’s find out more.

In November 2023, we staged a Sales Confidence live event specifically for SDRs. As always, we had a great line-up of past and present SDRs sharing their unique insights. We put together some articles from the event, so even if you couldn’t be there, you can still get inspired.

Tim Miller

Tim Miller is the Director of Sales Development for EMEA at ZoomInfo. He joined as an SDR and progressed through the ranks, so he knows how to get the best from his SDR team.

During his 7-minute talk, Tim offered some tips for SDRs to get better results from their calls.

‘You have a box of KPIs you have to check off every day. But you really need to push yourself to think outside of it. Not just from a content perspective, but from a messaging perspective.’

Here are three golden nuggets Tim shared with the live Sales Confidence SDR audience. 

1 – Know the best times to call

All minutes are not created equal. There are more and less effective times to make your calls.

For example, the 25-30 minutes and 55-60 minutes of an hour are good times to reach decision-makers. This is because they’re more likely to be transitioning between meetings at those times. Lunchtimes are good too, as your prospects are more likely to be available.

For high-level executives, try calling at the end of the workday, around 5.30 to 6pm. They’re more likely to be out of meetings and more receptive.

2 – Voicemail isn’t dead

Contrary to popular belief, voicemails are still an effective way to generate conversations with decision-makers. Go for a short, value-driven message, and you’re more likely to prompt a callback. For example:

‘Hey James. This is Tim. Currently at 500 companies who are looking for IT services within your total addressable market. If you could just give me a quick call back at this number, I’d love to have a conversation and get these over to you.’

You grab their attention, and they call you back. And when they call you, that’s the best conversation of the day.

3 – Make calls when you’re at your peak

We all have our energy peaks and troughs throughout the workday. The secret is to know when yours are and do your best work when you’re feeling good.

You can use data to discover when your calls are more likely to generate conversations. Then, double down on those times.

SDR managers need to understand when their SDRs are peaking and ensure they’re on the phones at those times. So, if your SDRs peak between 11 and 12, for example, don’t schedule a team meeting then.

Over to you

Thanks to Tim for an illuminating 7-minute talk. Now we want to know what you think.

What are your ‘outside the box’ tips for better calls? 

Share your silver bullets with the Sales Confidence community by hitting reply or leaving a comment below.