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Sending an email to each prospect before you call gives them an additional way to get in touch with you when they're ready. As you're leaving your voicemail, mention that you've sent them a quick email as well that has further details on who you are and the purpose of your call. As Florin Tatulea of Loopio explains:
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Most importantly, have fun with it. If you don't enjoy leaving a voicemail, you might not be in the right job.
"Dear [Prospect's Name], this is [Your Name]. On [Date of Last Contact], I contacted you about [Reason for Previous Call] and as I haven’t heard from you, I can only assume you're either, one, not interested and I’m simply clogging up your voicemail with annoying spam messages; or, two, you desperately want to contact me, but you’re trapped under a fallen filing cabinet and can’t reach your phone. Please let me know which one it is. I'll gladly send help if it's the latter. Just call me back at [Your Phone Number]. Thanks for your time!"
A phone call to your business is often the first encounter your customers and prospects have with your company. If no one is available to take the call, having the best professional voicemail greetings possible is important to leave a great first impression and to ensure that business opportunities don’t slip by.
Hello. You’ve received Laura Brown in the Accounting Department. I’m not able to take your call right now but please leave a detailed message and I’ll return your call within 24 hours. Thank you.
But every once in a while, you get a really special voicemail. Maybe your partner called you early in the morning, knowing you were asleep, to leave a Happy Birthday recording for when you awoke. Or maybe a beloved family member recently passed away, and you have a voicemail from them that might’ve seemed pretty pointless at the time but now carries extra significance.
“Hello, this is _________ from _______. I’m calling because [reason]. I’d love to talk to you about _________. My number is _________. I’ll also follow up with an email tomorrow. I look forward to hearing what you think. Have a great day. Goodbye!"
After each one, evaluate your performance. Most systems provide the option of listening to the message you just left. Doing this as much as possible will improve your performance more than anything else. 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 fall-back person to call)? Did you craft it or wing it?
Having a reference sheet will help you stay focused while delivering your message. Make sure to keep your outline concise; only include the essential points that you intend to cover in your message.
Ah, the humble phone message. Thanks to texting, voice mail is becoming less common. But until it disappears altogether, it’s to your advantage to know how to leave clear messages. In fact, a phone message is sort of like a thank you note: You can earn big respect by leaving a good one… and lose points if your message is annoying or rude.
Hello Lynn, this is Annemarie from Speak Confident English. I’m calling to follow up on our discussion at the conference last week. The best way to reach me is by phone during the workday. My number is 222-231-2323. Again, that’s 222-231-2323. Thank you.
End your voicemail by asking your prospect to tell you more, whether about their recent vacation to Thailand or their unique business pain points. It's a simple request -- and easier than, say, "Give me a call back, I'd love to find out when we can write up our contract."
Conducting extra research on your prospects before you call them is always a good idea. This script from Mike Brooks is a great example of how you can use this additional information in your sales voicemails.
If, on the other hand, your clients work with a number of team members, you might consider hiring a voiceover professional to record your greeting. While a recording with a voice actor is an extra expense, the result often outweighs the cost.
So, is there an opportunity for your clients, referral partners, and prospects to reach you via voicemail? Or is your voicemail box always full?
And now schedule your 3rd attempt in your CRM in case you still don’t hear back from them.