9. Outgoing Message with Samuel L. Jackson Treatment. Stephen Colbert asked Samuel L. Jackson to record his infamous voice on his outgoing message recording.
First look: Lucid Motors starts production in Casa Grande with first deliveries expected in October
.
4. Turn on Autoplay. You don't have to press 1 to listen to messages if the Autoplay feature is on. To turn AutoPlay on or off: From the Main Menu, press 4 for Mailbox Settings.
A separate after-hours attendant menu can inform callers that your office is closed, state your business’ operating hours, and provide options that callers can immediately act upon. For example, you can direct them to your website for FAQs. If your business provides an account login page, remind your customers that they can login at any time to get general account information. In this situation, be proactive.
8. Let Your Callers Know What To Tell You. This tip is more for you than your callers. It’s particularly helpful if you need more information than the standard name and phone number.
Ivan Gomez is a Force Management Partner who specializes in training inside sales teams. He's also the President and Founder of NextStage, LLC, a consulting firm that helps companies accelerate go-to-market strategies with sales development and inside sales. This blog was originally published on NextStage's website.
To some extent, we all have a “phone voice”. But there are phone voices and then there are PHONE VOICES. We’ve all gotten a voicemail from the stiff, ultra-peppy, overly rehearsed cheerleader; it doesn’t sit well with you, right?
1. Call the UCSF voicemail system using the number appropriate for your location, then log in to your mailbox. From a Campus phone, call x66000 or press the Message Waiting button on your phone. From an off-campus phone, call 415-476-6000 and press the Star key when you reach the voicemail system. You will be prompted for your ID; enter your 5-digit phone extension. From a mobile phone, call 415-476-6000 and press the Star key when you reach the voicemail system. You will be prompted for your ID; enter your 5-digit phone extension.
“(Intro) I’m calling regarding the voicemail I left you (earlier today/yesterday) about (example: how we recently helped competitor 1, 2, and 3 avoid ______ while ______) and wanted to see if it would make sense for us to have a conversation to determine if what we do would be of some help to you as well. If you’d like to discuss this further you can reach me at __________. I’ll send a follow up email to this message so if it’s easier to reply that way you can or if you’d rather talk via the phone, again, my number is _________.”
*Use the word “with” instead of “to.” It sounds more positive. You want to talk “with” the person, not give them a “talking to.” It’s a subtle difference, yet it keeps the message positive.
11. "Hi, you've reached [company]. Unfortunately, we're currently unavailable. But we want to talk to you — so please leave your name and number, as well as your reason for calling, and someone will call back ASAP."
Sort of like putting the most important information above the fold in a news article, you have to front-load your voicemail with the most compelling and relevant information. Stating your name and company is not compelling, and it’s not as relevant as what you can do for the contact. What the person hears is, “I’m a salesperson and I want your money.” That’s the quickest way to get your voicemail deleted.
Sales reps tend to be very declarative in their messaging. Their starting phrase in both voicemails and emails usually sounds something like, "My name is John Doe, and I work for Gadgets Inc."
The bad news is that, if you are a millennial, you cannot afford to regard leaving voicemail messages as obsolete. There are four generations actively participating in the workplace. This is unprecedented. It means that, while Baby Boomers are learning to text, millennials also must become adept at using voicemail.
10. "Hello, you've reached [X company]. We can't take your call right now, but please leave your name, contact information, and reason for reaching out, and one of our team members will be in touch within 24 hours."
Say, "I know we identified implementation, onboarding, and QA as topics to cover in our next call, but I wondered if there were any other areas we missed -- specifically whether you could use Feature A, which was an area of concern for you."
When do you leave a voicemail? This is largely dependent on your call sequence and cadence. It is recommended that you make several call attempts in order to engage the prospect on a “live call.” After you have done this and your attempts have not been fruitful, then you leave a voicemail.