Understand the Why Behind Ghost-Dialing

Not all SDRs have ill intentions when they are making fake dials. 

In fact, there are two main categories of reps who choose to ghost-call, and not everyone needs to get fired necessarily. 

Category 1

The first category has people who fake their dials in order to somehow trick the system to their benefit. 

Some reps, for example, will juggle multiple SDR jobs at the same time so that they can get all the base salaries simultaneously, and the only way to achieve this time-wise is by faking their dials on both jobs. 

Others will fake their activity metrics because they are hoping to get promoted to an AE faster. They don’t like cold-calling and they want to move up in their career quickly so that they can get the pay of an AE, as well as their inbound leads. 

And then you have the people who just don’t want to work. They signed up for the role of an SDR and realized that they could pretend to be working and still get paid. 

All these reps are absolutely cheating the system and this is no doubt a serious and fireable offense. In these cases, you should definitely take drastic action to put a stop to this. 

Category 2  

The second category, however, is not as bad. 

Sure, ghost-dialing is very bad and no SDR should be doing it, but you might get them to stop it by adjusting just a few things within your team. 

A common reason for SDRs to fake their dials, and this is especially prevalent with new reps, is because of their fear of objection handling. They are scared that they are not familiar enough with the product to be able to handle objections in an effective way, and they are also scared of any difficult questions prospects might have.  

Similar to being afraid of objections, some reps are afraid of constant rejection. Hearing prospects say “I’m not interested” or “Don’t call me again” multiple times a day becomes very demotivating for cold-callers. They might feel like dialing is pointless to begin with, and that booking a meeting through a call is almost impossible. 

Then you can find reps that are making some dials, and by prioritizing quality over quantity they manage to reach quota with fewer dials than the expected daily amount. 

They often feel like their company is setting unrealistic call activity KPIs, and they think that faking dials is alright as long as they are actually reaching or exceeding quota. They are, after all, doing what they are being paid to do. They are bringing revenue to the company. 

So why should we care what SDRs are doing, as long as they are hitting their targets?

Honestly, I don’t care. When it comes to my top performers, I leave them alone. The only thing I care about is how I can help them to grow and improve. 

But, some managers will say to you that since they are getting a base salary they should be doing their daily calls diligently. And I can’t blame them, I get it. But I’m not that strict.

All of these reps don’t come from a bad place. They are faking dials mostly because of stress, fear, and anxiety. So instead of going ahead and punishing them immediately, you could look into ways in which you can eliminate the core reasons behind the fake dialing.

Change Your Culture to Stop Ghost-Dialing

As the manager, you have so much power over how your team feels. 

You have the power to change things around and make them feel more comfortable and relaxed. You have the power to change your team’s heart when it comes to cold-calling. Now cold-calling might be something scary and stressful for your reps, but you can make cold-calling something fun for your team. 

If you put in the time and effort to change your team’s culture, chances are that your reps won’t feel the need to ghost-call anymore. 

So just take the fear and pressure away from cold-calling.

How? 

1. Train your reps well. The more you train your reps, the more comfortable they will be on the phones. 

Help them understand fully what you’re selling. Explain to them why your product is going to bring value to the prospects. Teach your SDRs how to handle different objections and how to think on their feet if they are asked something they don’t know the answer to. 

Now, how can you do this?

Have your reps shadow more experienced SDRs so that they can see how they handle different situations. Also, you could jump into some mock calls with them so that they can start getting warmed up to the idea of having to talk on the phone. 

And, most importantly, have your reps learn by repetition. Have them jump into cold calls and have them face their fears and talk to actual prospects.

But be right there with them. Your job is to be like a safety net for them in the beginning so that your reps can get your immediate help if they are faced with a difficult question or objection. Make them feel supported by you.

And eventually, they will be able to stand on their two feet. But this doesn’t mean that the coaching should stop. You should keep coaching and helping your reps grow and evolve at all times. 

2. Be there for your team. The best way to know that something is wrong with your team is by listening to them. 

Talk to your team, hear them out when they have concerns, and do something about their feedback to make them feel heard. 

By having an open-door policy your reps will feel so much more supported, and it’ll help you build a culture of transparency and trust. 

So the next time an SDR is stressing about jumping into a call blitz, they will feel comfortable talking to you about it. Then, all you need to do is to help them feel more relaxed and open-minded about cold-calling. 

The same goes for when SDRs think that their activity targets are unreasonable. They will trust you to hear them out. Instead of just going ahead and faking half of their dials, they will probably come to you and voice their opinion. 

3. Make failure a part of the process. Mistakes are such a huge part of the learning process, and although it’s very human to be afraid of failure, it needs to happen for us to grow. 

So communicate this to your reps. Tell them that you expect them to fail many times before they start thriving. Start conditioning them so that they are not afraid of making mistakes anymore.

Tell them that “As long as you’re learning from your mistakes and you’re bouncing back, then it’s completely OK to make them. I expect you to make mistakes. It’s all part of the journey, you can’t learn and grow otherwise”.  

4. Motivate your team. Ask your reps why are they doing this job. Ask them what their goals are. Not just work-related, but what are the deeper reasons they need this money for.

Is it to buy a house? To support their families? Or to travel? Whatever the reason is, find it out and use it. 

Reminding your reps of the “why” behind their work can be very motivating. Even if your reps are reaching all targets, tell them that if they make legit calls instead of fake dialing to reach activity targets, they can have access to more commission. Tell them that they can reach their own goals so much faster if they just use their leftover time at work to book even more meetings.  

Basically, just tell them that they can make more money. Just speak to them in numbers. 

5. Have accountability. Whether it is in an office or remotely, check on your reps. Chat with them, see what they are doing. 

Ask them about their goals and their personal weekly sales targets. What are they working on? What do they need help with? How can they grow?

And, most importantly, jump into call blitzes with them. Show them how you handle different scenarios, but also observe them while they are calling. This way, there will be a bigger sense of accountability and reps will actually “have to” cold call.

Is your team working remotely?

Hop on a Zoom call with your team. Or, even better, invest in a virtual sales floor to get your team dialing in one place. Not only will you be able to listen in on your team’s calls, but you will also be able to give them real-time feedback and coaching, which will help them feel even more calm and confident.