Cold Calling

5 min read

What is Local Presence Dialing and How to Ace Cold Call with it.

Narayani
22 Apr 2024

Are you frustrated over low pickup rates while cold calling your prospects?

There may be many reasons for this. But, the major reason is people to fear the unknown. Especially, with the rise of scammy telemarketing calls, people have become more cautious.

So, when prospects see unknown numbers flash on their phone screens, they tend to ignore it.

What’s more, when you call a prospect who’s in a different geographical region, the chances of them picking up an unknown number from another country altogether is near-zero.

And how does this affect your cold calling game? You can’t engage prospects outside of your locality, which seriously restricts your ability to bring in new business.

However, there is a way to reach out to prospects wherever they might be without falling prey to their suspicions. It’s called local presence dialing.

What Is Local Presence Dialing?

Local presence dialing is a technology where the caller ID displays a local phone number to the recipient, even if the call originates from a different location.

With Local Presence Dialing, you can make any area code yours automatically.

How Does Local Presence Dialing Work?

Assuming that you’re operating out of California, and your prospect is in Texas, you have 2 options:

You could reach out using a toll-free number with prefixes like 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, or 833.
You could call from your California area code and immediately let your prospect know which area you’re calling from.

There is a secret third option—local presence dialing—that lets you contact your prospects using their local code.

The local presence dialing solution automatically selects a local number from the pool of numbers with a local area code.

Benefits of Using Local Presence Dialing

Let’s see how local presence dialer helps you set your foot on the door and improve the effectiveness of your cold calls:

Increased Call Pickup Rates

When you call from a toll-free number, your prospects might assume it's a spam call or some automated message rather than a genuine person reaching out. This can feel irrelevant to your prospects, making them ignore your calls altogether.

On the other hand, people tend to trust and feel more comfortable answering calls from numbers that appear local to them rather than from unknown or long-distance numbers. A study shows that people are 4x more likely to pick up your call if you call using their region code.

This means when your prospects see a local area code displayed on their caller ID, they’re more likely to answer the call.

Location-Based Targeting Capabilities

With a local presence dialer, you can not only reach prospects from multiple regions using a local number, but they can also contact you through the same. This creates a seamless back-and-forth communication experience for prospects.

Let’s say you have prospects from three different locations: Dubai, Boston, and Chicago. Each of these locations has its own distinct area code for phone numbers.

With a local presence dialer, when you call your prospects, the caller ID that appears on their phones will show a phone number with the respective area code of their location. If your prospects want to call you back, they can use the same local number that appeared on their caller ID.

Increased Callback Rates

When you use out-of-state numbers or international numbers, your prospects are less likely to call you back, even if they’ve noticed they have a missed call.

The reason?

Perceived lack of trust: People tend to be more cautious when they receive calls from numbers they don't recognize, especially if those numbers appear to be from another state or country. They may worry about the caller's legitimacy.

Higher Costs for International Calls: Many people are reluctant to call back international numbers due to potential charges incurred, especially if they're unsure about the purpose of the call. The perceived inconvenience and expense of making an international call can deter prospects from reaching out.

Local presence dialers eliminate these barriers by providing a local number that prospects recognize and feel comfortable calling back. This increases the chances of follow-up if they miss your initial call.

Cost-Effective Communication

Using local numbers from your VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) provider cuts costs significantly.

Here’s how:

By using local numbers provided by your VoIP service, you can avoid the expenses associated with renting area-specific numbers or establishing physical offices in various locations. This is particularly beneficial for businesses operating across multiple regions or countries.
Toll-free numbers (like those starting with 800, 888, 877, etc.) traditionally come with charges for both the setup and usage. These charges can add up, especially for businesses that receive a high volume of calls. By using local numbers, you eliminate the need for toll-free options altogether, thereby avoiding those additional charges.

Who Should Use Local Presence Dialing?

Any business with a call center that relies on outbound sales calls to generate leads and boost sales can leverage local presence dialing.

But, it is popularly used by sales teams while cold calling. The dialer displays local caller IDs when calling the prospect, creating the impression that the call is coming from a nearby or area code familiar to the prospect.

This feature of the local dialing solution is particularly beneficial if you’re targeting diverse geographical markets within a country or internationally.

With that in mind, here are examples of industries that can benefit from local presence dialing:

Telecommunications
Technology
Software
Financial Services
Healthcare

How Does Dial IQ Help You Improve Connection Rates?

With Dial IQ by Klenty, you can enable the Local Dial feature to contact prospects using their region code.

Key features of our Dial IQ are:

The Local Dial feature automatically selects a number with the area code matching your prospect's region from your list of purchased or linked numbers. If a local number isn't available, Klenty switches to a number with the prospect's country code or a default number.
It can cover a wide range of geographic areas to provide local numbers for various regions. This means you can establish a global local presence with ease and maximize the effectiveness of your sales outreach.
The numbers available on Klenty for purchase are real, which means if your prospect wants to reach you, they can call back on the same local number, ensuring hassle-free two-way communication.
You can also enable incoming voicemail. This lets prospects leave a voice message for the rep who initiated the contact.

Book a demo now to see in action how Dial IQ can help you establish a global local presence and improve call answer rates.

FAQs

1. Does Local Presence Dialing Work?

Yes, local presence dialing works. This strategy helps you connect with prospects more effectively, as they are more likely to recognize and answer calls from a local number.

2. How Do You Establish a Local Presence?

Establish your business's local presence by using a local presence dialing solution. Get a local number with your prospect’s area code and use it to make outbound calls.

3. What Is a Local Area Code Dialer?

Local area code dialer is a technology where the caller ID displays a local phone number to the recipient, even if the call originates from a different location.