Gryphon Discovers Keys for Sales Effectiveness and Call Optimization

In the largest and most comprehensive analysis to date, Gryphon, a leading sales intelligence service provider, today released “Data Discipline: How to Optimize Your Calling for Sales Results,” a groundbreaking report that analyzed 56 million phone calls over seven years (from 2009 to 2016) to identify call activity trends that are truly indicative of success.

For nearly 20 years, Gryphon’s technology has captured the detailed phone-based activity of every sales telephone call at the network level across many of the largest sales forces in North America, including the largest U.S. banks, insurance companies, and utilities and services firms. The objective of the report is to create greater awareness of the key performance indicators that drive agent effectiveness, as opposed to the “conventional wisdom” that still informs many sales organizations.

Methodology
Gryphon analyzed cumulative outbound call activity data from its Fortune 50 client base over seven years to identify macro trends that were common across geographies, industries, networks, and devices. Important indicators such as call attempts, call duration, and frequency of dial were measured and rated for relevance. The company then conducted a correlation analysis of call outcomes to identify call activity trends that are indicative of success or “priority objective.” The analysis focused on the volume of appointments made and the trends related to the number. In total, 56 million phone calls from 2009 to 2016 including details such as total number of calls, total number of contacts, the call to connect ratio, total number of appointments, the return on call percentage, the actual number of converted conversations into appointments were used to determine the best day and time to call potential prospects.

Detailed Results
Part One of a three-part series, Gryphon’s “Data Discipline: How to Optimize Your Calling for Sales Results” report was conducted to help sales leaders close the visibility gap between their reps and revenue by gaining real-time insight into call activity data. While Part One focuses on the dynamics between effort and efficiency, as well as trends and insights derived by the analysis of tens of millions of calls with verified outcomes, Part Two will address the top three KPIs that are most predictable of increased revenue. The last installment will focus on the importance of qualitative analysis to understand patterns of behavior in verbal interactions between agents and prospects and clients to examine exactly why some reps are successful at converting conversations into sales, while others struggle to stay relevant.

Key Facts and Highlights
The Early Bird Gets the Appointment: During the traditional work week, there were spikes of efficiency in the mornings between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., and 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sales agents were 66% less productive in the afternoons than in the mornings. On Sundays, however, the best time to call is between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Working on the Weekend Pays Off: While Mondays are the best day to set an appointment, prospects are more receptive on Sundays. Average reps would need to make 82 dials during weekdays to set up an appointment, compared to making only 21 calls on Sundays.

New Year’s Hangover: The lowest call volume takes place in January, and there is a direct correlation between call volume and appointments made. The day with the highest volume of calls was also the day with the highest volume of appointments.

“Gryphon’s research reinforces a critical but often forgotten management principle: to accurately measure efficiency, sales leaders must be able to measure how teams are performing, and it’s evident that the phone continues to be the driving force for sales progress and conversion,” said Eric Esfahanian, Chief Revenue Officer of Gryphon. “But for managers, true sales effectiveness lies in the ability to access in real-time their teams’ call activity data and outcomes from any phone or device, and identify the patterns of behavior that lead to measurable results.”