Paperclip’s outbound calls service helps businesses and organisations recruit and retain clients.
Paperclip is recognised for its professional, tailored and affordable call-answering services. Call answering involves the Paperclip team responding quickly and effectively to our clients’ ‘inbound calls’.
However, what is less well known, is that ever since we started in 2008, Paperclip has also delivered a diverse range of outbound call services for our clients. This article looks at ten different types of outbound calls we make on behalf of clients, and the benefits these calls deliver.
This is one of the most popular outbound call services we provide. Debt collection calls are based on ‘aged debt’ information provided by the Paperclip client.
In the vast majority of cases, a short and simple outbound reminder call is enough to get the debt settled. Using Paperclip’s outbound call services to chase overdue payments, leaves in-house teams with the time and focus to chase up the small percentage of rogue non-payers.
Although we all need to ensure our invoices are paid, it is still a difficult subject to bring up with a client without, potentially, damaging a valued working relationship and, in many cases, friendship. Asking Paperclip, a neutral third-party with no emotional investment, to make the call is one way of managing debt collection in a sensitive non-confrontational way.
One of Paperclip’s longest standing clients is a Chamber of Commerce. We call the Chamber’s members to remind them their subscription is now due or outstanding. As a result, the Chamber has a much lower bad debt profile compared to other chambers.
Reason 2 - Data Cleansing
How many different pieces of information do you hold on each and every client and prospect? When was the last time you checked to ensure this information was still accurate? As any digital marketing expert will tell you, the focus in 2025 is on personalised marketing communications, maybe harnessing the power of AI. However, poor and inaccurate personalisation often does more harm than not sending a communication in the first place.
According to the marketing platform, Hubspot, data decays at a rate of around 23% per annum. This means that if you do nothing, almost a quarter of your data will be obsolete. In one major project, Paperclip undertook for a trade association, only 43% of the data it held on its members was accurate!
A short and simple outbound call by the Paperclip team to your client or prospect can ensure your data is updated. If you use a cloud-based CRM system or equivalent, the data can be revised whilst the Paperclip team is on the outbound calls.
Reason 3 - Obtain Reviews With Outbound Calls
In some sectors it is correct to say that reviews are the new advertising. They are heavily relied on by prospects to make purchasing decisions.
I am sure that we have all sent emails to customers asking them to post a review; you may even have implemented an incentive scheme to encourage them to post a review. However, there is nothing more effective than having someone call up and remind the customer that they have promised to leave a review online. The Paperclip team members can even take your customer through the review process in real time whilst they are on the call.
Reason 4 - Chasing Up Quotes
You do the marketing. You get the lead. You convince the lead to request a quote. You prepare the quote and send it out. And then…you get distracted by other matters and the quote is not followed up.
It’s a truism, but the onus for action is always on the part of the seller/supplier. Like you, your prospect has probably been distracted too. A simple follow-up call from the Paperclip outbound call team can either close the sale, determine a time for a further follow-up, or cross it off the list. Accurate data is key to effective business capacity planning.
One of Paperclip’s clients is a fire protection consultant. Outbound follow-up calls have proved particularly effective in closing sales for what is often a distress purchase.
Reason 5 - Appointment Management
This type of outbound call is particularly linked to Paperclip’s primary and allied healthcare clients – but it’s true for all activities where a reminder call increases the chance of ‘success’.
Each year, there are around 15 million missed GP appointments in England. That’s around 5% of all scheduled sessions. Similar figures apply to allied healthcare. For example, physiotherapy has the highest did not attend (DNA) rate in the NHS at 1 in 10 of all appointments.
Text reminders can help. However, nothing is more effective than a quick reminder call from the Paperclip outbound call team. If the patient genuinely can’t attend the appointment, then the Paperclip team member can rearrange it in real time. This reduces the stress levels of the patient and also clears an appointment slot that would other wise have been wasted.
Another example within a clinical context occurs when a therapist is unable to attend clinic due to illness or some other reason. The Paperclip outbound team can contact all the patients affected by the absence and rearrange appointments accordingly.
Reason 6 - Client Questionnaires
In many service sectors the effectiveness of a meeting depends on whether a questionnaire has been completed accurately and in good time. Examples include mortgage advice, insurance, medical forms in a healthcare therapy setting, financial advice and more.
The Paperclip outbound team contacts customers and prospects to remind them to complete the form and, in many circumstances, talk the customer through the process and answer any commonplace FAQs. This approach enables the service provider to focus on those aspects of service delivery where they add the most value.
Reason 7 - Customer Service/Client Care Calls
It is much more expensive to generate a new client than to retain an existing client. However, retaining clients becomes more challenging if you don’t speak with them from time to time. Emails and newsletters are all very well, but they are no substitute for a good old-fashioned conversation. Identifying and resolving a potential problem as quickly as possible is recognised to reinforce customer loyalty and retention even more than the problem never having arisen.
Although Paperclip does not undertake cold calling or selling, a customer care call can often identify a potential sales opportunity. For example, Paperclip regularly touches base with its own clients to check on service satisfaction and advise clients of any new services we have introduced.
Summary
This article does not claim to provide an exhaustive list of situations where Paperclip’s outbound call services have helped clients win additional business and retain clients.
However, we hope the article encourages you to think about the different ways in which Paperclip’s outbound team could help your organisation.
If you would like to discuss your specific outbound call requirements, I would be happy to host a discovery call. My contact number is 01246 418 181.
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Hi, I’m Louise Bellwood, Director at Paperclip. I am responsible for delivering Paperclip’s customer service and growth strategies for 2024 and beyond, I am a crusader for the benefits call answering can deliver for organisations of all kinds; customer service, sales generation, customer retention and more. If you have a question about call answering – pricing, set-up, benefits – I would love to hear from you at louise@paperclip.co.uk or 01246 418 181.