Guys, you’ve been an amazing audience, and you’ve been jamming with Milena from English Made Simple. Until next time. Hasta la proxima!
I don’t know about you, but I’m shocked every time I listen to a voicemail message left for me by sales reps, prospects and even clients. They are filled with ‘um’s’ and ‘ah’s’, they ramble on and on, they leave no compelling reason for me to call back, and they almost always leave their number so fast that I have to listen to it two, three, sometimes four times to make it out!
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Avoid sales speak and buzzwords. It’s okay if your prospect knows you're a sales rep. Qualified prospects don’t mind hearing from sales reps. They just want to speak to reps that are helpful, knowledgeable, and possess integrity.
State upfront how you can help the prospect. Are you saving them time or money, or helping them get promoted?
1.) A study by AT&T found that five out of every six phone calls go straight to voicemail. Since you’re always more likely than not to get someone’s voicemail, before calling, script out what you want to say. Maybe even practice it out loud once before you dial.
I’m calling because [reason for calling]. I’d love to talk to you about [benefit you can offer if they call back].
I find it helpful to imagine that I am writing a memo when I leave voicemail messages. Outlining points enhances my own clarity and puts the listener on notice for the information.
As I mentioned earlier, this won’t be the last voicemail you leave so get creative with future messages. The next day you could leave a voicemail similar to the following:
If you recently restored or updated your iPhone, your network setting may have been affected and may be causing “iPhone voicemail error try again later.” Please reset your network settings. Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings Enter your password. Press Reset network setting in red font. The phone will automatically reset it. After it restarts, your phone then tries voicemail again.
Don’t confuse voice mail with automatic attendant systems. Automatic attendant, where the computer actually answers the phone, is the single worst business invention ever. Human answers. Human determines if the person you’re calling is in by ringing their phone and monitoring the response. If not in, human returns and says, “Mr. Jones is not in. Would you like me to help you personally, take your message personally or would you like to leave a detailed message on his or her voice mail?” You faint from the shock.
The adjective outgoing describes someone with a friendly, easy personality. Your outgoing friend might not understand how hard it is for shy people to speak in front of an audience. If you're the only member of your outgoing family who is reserved, you might feel silent and invisible in their sociable midst. What does outgoing mean on phone?
How do I check my voicemail from another phone, or check another voicemail from my phone (Shoretel)?
Here are some proven techniques for how to leave a voicemail message that gives you the best chance of getting a call back:
Visit the prospect’s website and social media and find a piece of connective tissue, such as an alma mater, a favorite sports team, or a common pet (I’m a dog lover, personally). This opens the conversation, and shows that you’ve done your research.
This video on English Voicemail Greeting Sample covers the key areas of English pronunciation such as double / diphthong vowels, long vowels, word stress and word endings and more.
Continue to follow the instructions to complete setting up your voicemail greeting.
Recently one of my students asked a great question about voicemail in English and I thought that you might have the same question as well.