ACCESSSG
Access Sales Group

Improving Outbound Calling Performance

Background:

NHP (Company) is a medium-sized services company specializing in health and life insurance and is looking to grow its Agent network to handle peak periods for enrollment of individuals in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) program. The Company operates a small call center (10 staff) that handles outbound calling to recruit Agents. Leadership has recognized the need to enhance the effectiveness of their outbound recruitment campaign.

Challenges:

1. Agent Recruitment: The size of the small center limits the number of contacts that can be made each day.
2. Prospecting: The team faces difficulties in identifying and reaching high-quality prospects. They have been relying on using a predictive dialer but are limited by human capabilities.
3. Scripting and Pitch: The existing script has become monotonous and fails to engage potential Agent prospects. Additionally, the script does not contain any pre-qualification questions resulting in wasted time when prospects are transferred to scheduling.
4. Time to Market: The Company is under a tight deadline to recruit Agents in time for the annual launch of the ACA program.

Objectives:

1. Create a script to better engage potential prospects.
2. Increase the volume of outbound calls to reach more prospects.
3. Establish a screening process to prequalify potential prospects.
4. Educate existing outbound team on transitioning to becoming closers.
5. Improve team efficiencies and morale.

Solution:

1. Customized Sales Pitch: The ACCESS team works with Company management to identify key roadblocks to enrolling new Agents. After review of the Company’s existing scripts, recordings, as well as conducting interviews with NHP call center staff, our team develops a new custom script to allow for higher level of engagement.
2. Integrate Use of New Technology: Using the new script, the team builds a customized solution using our Conversational AI solution to handle outbound calling and prequalifying of Agent prospects.
3. Training and Development: The team works with the call center staff to train them on how to handle calls being transitioned from AI to live staff.
4. Increased Call Volume: To handle the potential increase in the transfer of prequalified Agents to the call center, outbound agents are retrained and transitioned to handling inbound calls to close enrollments.

Results:

1. Increased Contact Rate: Within the implementation of advanced prospecting, branded Caller ID, and customized scripting, the Company sees a significant increase in volume of opportunities and conversions. Sales team members reported that prospects were far more receptive, and due to prequalification the team was able to enroll more Agents.
2. Improved Conversion Rate: Volume of outbound calls increases from 1000 to 4000 calls per day using Conversational AI. Resulting in an average increase from 5 to 83 prequalified prospects per day.
3. Improved Team Morale: The call center teams morale and confidence increases as they see the positive results.
4. Improved Processes: Transitioning the call center team from manual outbound calling to becoming elite closers improves the efficiencies of the team and streamlines the time to engage with and enroll new Agent prospects.
5. Cost Savings: By utilizing AI to handle the outbound calls the center was able to shift its live agent team to closing qualified enrollees and other revenue generating activities, resulting in a 70% reduction in agent costs associated with the campaign.

Conclusion:

By addressing the challenges of inefficient prospecting methods and low conversion rates, and by implementing a more efficient and productive way to prequalify prospects, the Company was able to achieve significant improvements in their overall performance and team building, and ultimately meet and exceed their planned goals. This case study illustrates the importance of a strategic approach to building outbound campaigns, as well as the value of leveraging proven methods and technologies to create sustainable results.