The Anatomy of the Perfect Voice Mail
Written by Jan on April 8, 2008. Leave a Comment on this Post
Okay, here’s a question for you.
Let’s assume you cold call. And that you leave a voice mail message for a prospect who is unavailable. What are the elements of a voice mail message that gets a call back? What should be included? What should be left out?
Share your thoughts!
Ah, voicemail, the first step in the sales process. Here are some Don’ts rules for voicemails:
Don’t
- Refer to your company as the industry leader
- Spew your company history or name drop more than 2 relevant customers
- Reference the fact that they recently attended a trade show or downloaded a white paper
- Ask for a commitment of their time before you have established credability
- Leave your email or web address in your voice mail message
To read the Do’s you can visit the posting on our Inside Sales Experts blog. It is the second most read posting we have written so it is a hot topic!
your name and phone number to call you back at
Give a reason for the call, your contact information and then restate the reason for the call and your contact information.
In addition to the thoughts already given, you should leave your e-mail address. This provides the prospect an opportunity to return a call in a less engaging way and on their terms/timing. The biggest benefit is if they do respond; you have captured another piece of the contact profile puzzle.
Sales Rule 101: Don’t leave voicemail messages. You lose control of the sales process.
You are now asking your prospect to call you so they can be sold something. Not good. Meanwhile, you are left waiting for the return call, which is likely to come while you are on the phone, and requires them to leave you a message. THAT leads to the dreaded phone-tag frustration.
Hang-up and try again later, or contact the ‘gatekeeper’ to see if there is a good time to reach your ‘target.’ Voicemail is only to be used IF you have a specific time established between you and the prospect, and they are a no show. And then, leave a message stating you will call again at a specific time to ‘re-schedule’ the appointment.
This is usually a hotly debated subject in sales meetings. Some will tell you you’re wasting your time when you leave a message. Others tell you to use that 30 seconds as a chance to leave an engaging audio commercial, so to speak.
I hate tricks such as, “My phone number is 555-1234. I’m calling regarding…” then you disconnect yourself as though you were about to say something critically important for the person to hear.
And I agree with Denise to the extent that most voicemails I’ve heard are poorly constructed. There’s no forethought involved as far as what the salesperson wants to say, so it’s a waste of my time and theirs.
But in general, I prefer to leave a very short, very professional message that simply plants a seed and puts me on an equal level with the contact. It’s at most 30 seconds, it’s well thought out, and I don’t expect a callback but once out of every 100 voicemails. I can live with that.
I’m new to the sales field. I recently landed a position with a great life insurance company. I’m considering buying sales leads is this a good idea? or just a waste of my money and time?
Sales is one big odds game. The more people you talk to, the more sales you will make. The more messages you leave, the more chance you have that someone will call you back.
The key to success is getting better and better when you are in front of each client, getting better and better with each phone call that you connect with, and getting better and better with each message that you leave. I suggest that, if you choose to leave a message, it should be short and sweet. You must peek the client’s interest quickly.
Think out your call before you make it. Expect to get their voicemail everytime you dial the phone. Be prepared for it. Your opening line should be close to the same whether or not they answer. Just like an advertisement or a good book, the first line has got to be good. Think about it before you dial. Every call has to be justified.
Remember it’s short and sweet. Justify the call and add some spice. Leave your name slowly and deliberately. Leave your phone number slowly and deliberately. Repeat your name with some enthusiasm and then repeat the the number very slowly. Too many people give their phone number as fast as they can talk.
If the client doesn’t call you back, call them back. Be enthusiastic, tell them who you are, with a big smile on your face. Never talk on the phone without a smile on your face ——- it will through the phone —- even if you are leaving a message.
I was running some sales training recently and a lady tried to demonstrate one where she leaves half a message and pretends she gets cut off. I think she got it from a tips book somewhere. The only problem was she went:
“Hi this is Jane Doe, I really need to speak with you..click….”
I asked how many replies she had and she confessed none. Can you think why?
Answers on a postcard please…………………….