What is a call strategy?
We define it as a pattern or logic used to determine when, how often, and how many times we should call a source. Some of the components within a call strategy also include the maximum number of contact attempts, along with whether we’ll be using a standard or custom calling configuration.
Introducing Time Blocks
To establish a successful calling strategy, you first need to breakdown the working hours of the day into ‘time blocks’, as we’ve done in the image below. Time blocks are one hour long, and there are 8 of them in each business day. These time blocks refer to ‘local time’, so time block 3 in New York would be time block 2 in Chicago. We know from experience the most successful calling times are between 8:30am – 4:30pm, within the time zone we are calling. Placing a call before or after these times rarely produces any type of positive outcome.
At the end of each call, we increment a counter of how many contacts have been attempted and decrement a counter of how many contact attempts remain. If no remaining calls are left, we end the order as ‘Unable to Verify’, also commonly abbreviated as UTV. If one or more calls remain, however, we run scheduling logic to determine the next attempt.
Determining Next Attempts
For most screening firms, a standard calling pattern involves making 1 call per business day at varying times, up to a maximum amount of contact attempts. Examples of this are 3 calls in 3 days, 4 calls in 4 days, etc. Again, this is largely considered to be ‘standard’. Other patterns do exist, such as 5 calls in 5 days, 9 calls in 30 days, etc. but those are rare. The time block scheduling is still applied to custom call patterns as well, to ensure maximum probability of connecting with a source.
Isn’t there more to this?
Yes, there’s a lot more to this, but it would make for an incredibly long blog post! There are some final quick points to know as you approach the rest of your calling strategy:
Automated Dialer
We use an automated dialer, so no one person has to memorize time blocks and attempts per customer/source. Its invaluable!Calling Early
Our dialer will never pick up an order and place a call until after the scheduled time block has begun.Multiple Call Strategies
We can support multiple calling strategies for a single client.