Nothing bad ever happens by talking to people. The call blitz, and why your CRM can’t run one.

Why do call blitzes fall apart?

Call blitzes fall apart because of bad data. You’re trying to get through volume, and every third dial is “you must have the wrong number,” “they don’t work here anymore,” or “they died.” That last one’s the worst. Each one stops you cold, you fix the record or you don’t, and the rhythm is gone. My worst blitzes were the ones where I still hadn’t gotten good data into my CRM.

The other reason is the screen. No commercial CRM gives you a view built for plowing through the phones. You’re clicking into a record, scrolling past twelve fields, finding the number, dialing, then clicking around to log what happened. At 20 dials an hour, the clicking is the job.

What do most agencies try first?

Most agencies try a spreadsheet and a good attitude. That works for an hour. By the second hour, the notes column is a mess, two producers have called the same business, and nobody knows which rows are done. The other version is running the blitz inside the regular CRM, which is built for account management, not for dialing 100 numbers in a day.

Here’s the old-school schedule, and it still works: an hour and a half, a break, an hour, lunch, an hour and a half, a break, an hour. Five hours on the phone. The blocks are for stamina, not for measuring. Measure the day.

Wanna fix it?

A call blitz that fizzles gets fixed with a verified list, a dialing screen that shows only what you need, four buttons to log every outcome, and a number for the day that everyone knows.

1. Verify the list first. Real phone numbers, a named person, a business that still exists. A blitz on a bad list is a day of apologizing. The list article covers how.
2. Build the dialing screen. In my custom CRM, I pick the lead funnel and the lead stage and click a button. The leads port instantly into a blitz view. All that’s in front of me is the name of the person, the name of the business, and the phone number.
3. Four buttons, nothing else. No answer. Voicemail. Connected. Wrong number. Every dial gets one click, and the next lead comes up. Wrong numbers come off the list for good.
4. Set the pace. Strive for 20 to 25 dials an hour. That’s gotten harder over the years as phone trees get deeper, so 20 is the honest floor.
5. Know the day’s numbers. Over a five-hour blitz you should get to 100 dials. You’ll talk to 20 people. You should set 3 appointments. On 20 dials, that’s 4 conversations and a little under one appointment. The killers get 5 to 6 appointments on 100 dials.

What does it look like once it’s running?

Once it’s running, a blitz day is a button click in the morning and a report at the end. Everyone dials from the same view, nobody calls the same business twice, and every outcome is logged with one click. At the end of the day the counts are already there: dials, conversations, appointments, wrong numbers to purge.

Green means go, green means money. Businesses are open, so are you. We always did it on Tuesdays. Then a big organization in San Francisco published data that said Thursdays. For a while we thought Fridays were good because everyone was in a great mood. Never Mondays.

Can you do this yourself?

Yes. All you need is a phone, some numbers to call, and a smile. One producer, a printed list of 100 verified numbers, four columns for the four outcomes, and the five-hour schedule above. Nothing bad ever happens by talking to people. Zero. Zip. So pick up the phone and dial.

Where DIY stops is two or more people dialing at once, or a second blitz on the same list. Now you need one shared view so nobody double-dials, wrong numbers that stay purged, and the counts kept for you. If it’s one person and one day, print the list. If it’s the whole agency once a month, build the blitz view.

Quick answers

How many dials should a producer make in an hour?

20 to 25. Twenty is the honest floor now that phone trees are deeper.

What should a full blitz day produce?

About 100 dials, 20 conversations, and 3 appointments per person. The best get 5 to 6.

What’s the best day for a call blitz?

Tuesday or Thursday. Never Monday.

How long is a blitz day?

Five hours on the phone: 90 minutes, break, 60, lunch, 90, break, 60.

Why does a regular CRM make a blitz harder?

Too many clicks per dial. A blitz screen shows the name, the business, the number, and four outcome buttons.

What kills a blitz fastest?

Wrong numbers. Verify the list before blitz day, and purge wrong numbers as you go.

Image brief for Astra (header, same treatment as the other headers)