A client’s reaction to that first direct contact depends on the stage of purchase they are in, the channel of communication and the level of trust they are given.

Knowing when to make a first direct contact, whether by phone call, email, or WhatsApp message, can make all the difference between closing a sale or “burning” a contact.

When someone approaches without having created a proper context and without information about the client’s needs, they are likely to miss the opportunity.

This article discusses how an assertive client communication strategy can make your business and your sales grow.

Plus, how to use the experience of thousands of freelancers to get it up and running.

Awareness and personalisation: The two keys to success for the first contact

To determine which is the best channel and the best time to make first direct contact, it is necessary to take the context into account and consider two relevant factors: the level of awareness and the degree of personalisation.

By the way, “first direct contact” is the first step you, as a company, take to get closer to a particular prospect.

Awareness at first contact

This refers to a potential client’s awareness of your brand. If your name sounds familiar because they have seen it in the media, any attempts at contact are more likely to be successful simply because it creates more confidence. Who hasn’t sent an email directly to the SPAM folder, without opening it, or rejected a call because the name of the company does not ring a bell?

A simple calculation was done: the chances that such information would be useful to you versus the chances it was a fraud, or simply that reading or listening to it would take valuable time.

Since you had no information about the company, your automatic reaction was to avoid the risk and get rid of it. The same goes for your potential clients.

When there is no brand awareness, there is a small chance of being heard when you opt for a first phone contact. But, on the other hand, it would take much longer to reach a considerable number of prospects than if it was done by email marketing.

In conclusion, no contact strategy is really effective if the company has not already built awareness in its niche market.

To achieve this, you need to amalgamate direct sales actions with integral actions of traditional but, above all, digital advertising.

Personalisation at first contact

The personalisation can be summarised in three words: “know your client”. The chances of generating interest, trust and conversions on the first try increase in direct proportion to the information you have about your contact.

In the past, companies used to buy databases and browse them “blindly”, relying on the intuitive and verbal agility of their sales agents.

Nowadays, there are inbound marketing tools that allow the gathering of a lot of information, as well as explicit permission, before venturing into the first contact.

It all starts with content marketing, which allows a company to attract prospects to its site or social networks and motivate them to leave their data.

This simple action allows you to generate leads and databases that are much more efficient because they are sectored. You can also apply big data techniques to collect strategic data.

Many professional freelancers specialise in persuasive content marketing and can work with the digital marketing manager.

To climb to a more ambitious level, look for a big data specialist to evaluate the behaviour and needs of the company’s audience.

Why is it important to build a lead database?

The search for clients, regardless of the channel, can be done on cold leads, the “traditional” method of sales, or on leads from much more segmented contacts that are obtained mainly with digital marketing strategies.

It is no surprise that the cold prospecting technique is being forgotten.

A company may still be using it and getting some sales, but try projecting the results if all those resources and effort were put into creating a lead database and working on it.

By changing the way you get your prospects, you greatly increase the chances of closure in each of your contact efforts, regardless of whether it is by phone or e-mail.

This means you can grow your business exponentially using the same investment as always, or even less.

Some useful tips:

• The best time to contact clients by phone is in the afternoon, when most have already done the urgent tasks of the day, or at the end of the week.
• Contact a customer by email during the first and last hours of the working day, even at night. The prospect is more likely to discard an email sent at noon.
• Avoid contacting customers on days with a heavy administrative burden, or hours before the weekend or a holiday.

The channel preferences and contact times of individual buyers are different.

So, the best thing is to do several tests with different methods. Then make a statistical analysis of which method worked best and keep modifying it to continually improve it.

And do not forget to just ask. What if you ask your clients how they prefer to be contacted? Give them several options. It will make it harder for them to say no.

Conclusion

Communicating assertively with clients is more complex than simply determining what time you contact them, or if you call or email them. There are many factors involved, and the sales process ideally starts long before the first contact. To unify the company’s efforts towards the same goal, a comprehensive marketing and sales strategy is needed.

It’s an important, absorbing and demanding job, but it is essential if your business is to continue to scale and stay competitive. A remote working team can help you to cover all the bases.

Wanting to hire an entire team of professionals? Workana can help! Click here to find out how they can help your company grow with remote experts.