Why every sales manager should schedule call blitzes

Call blitzes are a great way for SDR teams to hit calling metrics in a short period of time. They are an effective way for sales teams to quickly reach a large number of potential customers and the benefits extend beyond just call quotas.

These short periods of intense calling create an experience where SDRs are “thrown into the fire” and generate countless conversations and opportunities for reps to practice objection handling. By making a large number of calls in a short period of time, sales teams can gain valuable feedback on their pitches, and allow them to identify areas for improvement and refine their approach.

At Orum, we firmly believe in the power of “power hours”. When sales reps come together and dedicate time to calling, it brings out the best in everyone. Similar to a baseball player facing off against a pitcher, cold calling is an individual task that is improved through team work. Yes, the sales rep is striving to get their prospect to agree to a meeting on their own, but being in a room (either in-person or virtually) with their teammates adds a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. For SDR teams working remotely, that excitement can still be generated through using tools like Orum’s Salesfloor where messages of support can be shared and milestones celebrated in real-time.

When performing call tasks on a live conversation platform that empowers reps to discuss the calls as soon as they happen, it builds psychological safety and team culture. It can also create a sense of healthy urgency and excitement within the team, which can lead to better performance overall.

That sense of belonging and togetherness is just one of the countless benefits that call blitzes offer. When done correctly, call blitzes not only let you make a large volume of calls quickly, but they offer strategic advantages as well.

Strategic call blitzes

First, you have the ability to break out call lists into specific segments, personas, or industries. by doing this, you can tailor your messaging and approach to each group, enabling reps to use a similar talk track for the entire call blitz. For example, if you are selling to healthcare professionals, you can focus on the specific pain points and challenges they face in their industry.

Another great way to segment out your call lists is to build one out specifically for the prospects you’ve tried to reach out to before but didn’t get a connection. In a survey from CallHippo found over 30% of leads never receive a follow-up call after initial contact. However, the same survey found salespeople have a 90% success rate on making contact with their lead on the sixth call. That means by making a few more call attempts, sales reps can achieve a 70% growth in contact rates.

Team culture and psychological safety

The benefits of call blitzes extend beyond when the blitz has finished. To maximize the value of a call blitz, consider holding a call review meeting afterward where the SDR team and managers come together to review the highlights (and lowlights) of the session. Using the Orum Live Conversation Platform, managers can listen in to calls live during the blitz or listen to recordings in the review meeting. 

A review meeting is a valuable opportunity for team reps to speak about their cold calls in a safe space. Cold calling can be a stressful process wrought with failure, so creating a dedicated time for employees to celebrate their wins and laugh about harsh rejections collectively builds psychological safety and team culture through shared experiences. It also offers the unique opportunity to hear how other reps are approaching pitches, sparking creativity and allowing the team to learn from each other and tweak their approaches.

Beyond the call blitz: call dispositions and personalized prospecting

Most SDR teams have KPIs around the amount of calls they are expected to make per day. By combining an AI-powered dialer like Orum with call blitzes, teams are able to surpass their call quotas in shorter periods of time. This creates more time for SDRs to log call dispositions and do more personalized prospecting leading to better call blitzes in the future. Success begets success.

Call blitzes create more conversations, allowing managers to do more high-level, personalized coaching for each rep. Also, it builds time for SDRs to catalog any objections they’re receiving and better prepare responses.

It’s not sustainable to have team-wide call blitzes every day but when you schedule them weekly they will generate revenue pipeline. Make them a permanent fixture in your team’s calendar, and SDRs can build out industry-specific pitches and take the time to pre-prospect so they can customize their talk tracks. When implemented properly, call blitzes can transform your calling culture at large and create infectious energy and excitement across your team.