Approach voicemails with a scientific outlook, and score each one. Create a score sheet with a rating system that addresses the following: Would you save that voicemail? Would you return that call? Would you return that call right away? Are you missing the basics (alternative phone number, optimal ways to get in touch, a fallback person to call)? Did you craft it or wing it?
When you leave a voicemail message, be sure to identify yourself right away. Give your return phone number at the beginning of your message so that other people don't have to listen to you twice. Speak slowly and clearly. It helps to pretend to be writing your number in the air, which will slow you down and help with clarity. Say when you can be reached.
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Be brief. Don’t make your listener resent you for leaving a 5 minute long message. People are busy. Listening to 5 minute phone messages is not on the top of their priorities and wastes their time. Many callers seem to think they are the only person in the world leaving a voicemail for a particular person. Yet a dozen other people feel the same way and a man ends up holding the phone to his ear for an hour.
“Hi _________, this is _______ ________ again with (your company). For some reason we haven’t been able to connect since I sent you (your demo, proposal, etc.), and believe me, I’ve been sales long enough to know what that probably means. I’m assuming you’ve either found another solution or this has been put on the back burner for now. Either way, that’s fine.
"It might evolve into something kind of special and exciting," he says. "Like a telegram once was."
If your voicemails and emails are exactly the same, you lessen your chances of getting a response to either. So make them different by reserving certain questions for voicemail instead of email.
On another phone: Dial your own mobile number, press * or # (depending on your carrier) to bypass your greeting, then enter your voicemail password.
check words for the English /oʊ/ vowel. Many non-native speakers make this more like a single vowel and it’s a double vowel so it should have /o/ and /ʊ/ smoothly joined together. Check it in the word ‘phone’ . Another double vowel to look out for in your Voicemail Greeting example is the diphthong vowel /eɪ/. This vowel is in words like ‘wait’ and ‘able’. Many people use the word ‘can’t’ in their Voicemail greeting example. This can be a trap for non-native English speakers. That’s why we chose ‘unable’ instead! Watch out for the word ‘can’t’! In American English and British English the vowel in ‘can’t’ is pronounced with the vowel /æ/ like in ‘pat’ – /kænt/.
Salespeople are often coached to sound enthusiastic and excited on the phone, thus raising their natural voice pitch to a high, unnatural tone. In my opinion, this tone of voice makes it clear to the listener that not only is this an uncomfortable call, but a generic one.
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Building a unique voicemail greeting for yourself that is simple, friendly and professional will guarantee that regardless of who calls, it’s sure to be palatable to them.
14. "Hello, you've reached the Sales Department at [Company name]. All of our representatives are currently helping clients [insert goal such as, 'achieve 40% growth through streamlining HR operations'] and are unable to take your call. Please leave your name, company, and phone number and we'll give you a call back ASAP. Thank you!"
When you generate a lead from your website, mention how you obtained their information and reference any material they downloaded. Consider the following script when calling a lead who recently visited your website:
Find some common ground. If you’re cold calling someone, your voicemail is your 30 second chance to make a connection and leave a good impression. One of the best ways to make a connection in that short amount of time is mentioning a mutual acquaintance. You could also mention a shared affiliation with an organization.
This call may be recorded or monitored for quality and training purposes. If you don’t wish this call to be monitored or recorded, then please let the answering machine know when you leave your message.
21. “Happy holidays. Thanks for calling OpenPhone. Our hours are a little different during the holiday season. Please listen carefully to the following changes. Customer Support is available December 23, 27, and 30th as well as January 2nd, 3rd from 11 AM – 5 PM EST. On December 24th, 31st, and the holiday weekends from the 21st to the 5th we are open from 12 PM – 3 PM EST. We are closed on December 25th, 26th as well as January 1st. In the case of an emergency, please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. You can also reach out via email to [email protected]. Thanks for using OpenPhone and enjoy your holiday season!” Since our holiday hours are shorter, it’s a little harder to get in contact with us immediately. That means we need to be as detailed as possible for our callers’ convenience. Yet, we still kept it brief and friendly.
Make sure your sales voicemails convey the hard results customers see more than they relay how those results are achieved. Your first priority is grabbing your prospect's attention — you can dig into the nitty-gritty aspects of a sale as your relationship progresses.