Great data really does improve your pipeline: here’s how…

As businesses try to gain a competitive edge, they’re turning more and more to data analytics to improve their performance, inform their decision-making and pep up their pipeline.

To make this happen, good, clean data is a must. The effects of it can be felt throughout the entire sales process, from defining and engaging with prospects, through the nurture journey, right through to conversion.

We show you exactly how much of an impact it can have, in five simple ways.

#1: Data informs your decision-making

Want a clear picture of your prospect universe and be able to communicate effectively with them? Then you need top-quality data. It’s particularly important in the world of B2B, where there’s often a limit on the size of the audience that will be relevant to your product.

Using the best quality data possible will help you draw an accurate picture of your prospects’ world – their goals, aspirations, challenges, and pain points. Think of this as the difference between looking at a grainy old photograph next to a 300dpi digital image: the more accurate your data is, the clearer your picture becomes.

Once your target audience has been brought into focus, data then helps you demonstrate exactly how your service will help them achieve their objectives. You can build structured nurture programmes to establish and maintain relationships with the prospect until they become a customer, target them at precisely the right time, and even perform in-depth competitor analysis. Quality data becomes a solid foundation on which you can base and back up your business decisions – from budgets to GDPR compliance.

And to keep your data reliable, make sure it’s regularly reviewed. Data cleansing and verification both improve data quality and provide more accurate and consistent information for your decision-making process.

#3 Great data connects you to the right decision-makers

It might seem obvious, but sending the right message to the wrong person will lead to poor conversion rates, and yet this will happen if your data is off the mark. As we said earlier, good quality data can reveal a contact’s role within a company, their seniority and – most importantly – if they’re a key decision maker and whether it’s actually worth targeting them.

Once you know this, you’re better able to build connections with a positive outcome, as well as:

• Timely calls to your chosen contact
• Appointments set with a decision-maker
• Sales made with the right people
• Relationships built and maintained

Don’t forget the importance of keeping this data up to date. Key contact information can become worthless very quickly as people leave and join a company or restructure within one.

At Golley Slater, all the data we source is telephone verified, so will result in a higher percentage of connected calls for your business, meaning better campaign performances.

#5 Great data optimises your call-handling

Good data really does turbocharge your call-handling capabilities. From analysing trends in call volume (helping allocate resources at optimum times), to highlighting areas of improvement, to streamlining workflows and reducing call handling times, good data helps you make the most out of your call centre.

At Golley Slater, we use MaxContact call centre software, which elevates your data power even more:

• Call routing. Resolve queries quickly by routing customers to the best agent available, based on skills matched with customer’s needs.
• Queuing strategies. Avoid customer frustration during busy periods by providing them with a queue position and calling them back at a time that suits them.
• Agent scheduling. Get a higher close rate by connecting the right agent, to the right caller, at the right time.
• Call automation. Optimises data to save agents from making complex decisions.
• Agent talk time. Personalised, real-time-updated scripts are built into the dialling system.
• Dials per hour. More dials per minute means agents can tackle contact lists as efficiently as possible.