“I began my prospecting calls using your 3 part voicemail method that you showed us, and I have already received 2 responses back, one telling me no way (that's ok, sometimes we just need the no to move on) and one confirming my next call! These two prospects I have been trying to reach for weeks using my old and no longer used method." - Angela Farmer, HelmsBriscoe
"Colleen, your technique for using voicemail more effectively has increased our sales call success rate by 80%!" - Jerry Everett, OnConference
“Well, I have been… and getting much better results, even after one day. Also, I left the voice message that we discussed and she called me back this afternoon! You’re a genius!" – Thanks - Allison Terpening, United Online Inc.
These are real results by real people and I want you to get these results too. This week we take a detailed look at our voice mail system and provide you the outlines and scripts you need to be successful. Whether you are being reintroduced to these ideas or you are seeing them for the first time, your job is to implement.
First, some strategies for success :
Voice Mail Strategies
1.Never leave a voice mail on the first attempt you call. An Engage best practice is to call at least 3 times randomly during the day. If on the 3rd time you still don’t get through, leave a voice mail.
2.Never leave a voicemail message for someone who doesn't know you. To the prospect, you're an anonymous caller. The chances of this stranger ever returning your call are, at best, about one or two percent! The only time you should ever leave a voicemail for a prospect is when you have been referred to them.
3.Voicemail should only be used as a last resort. Too often, we give up as soon as the voicemail kicks in on a call, either leaving a message (bad idea) or simply hang up (better, but not great).
4.If you do leave a message make sure you have a reference. Use a testimonial or reference to breakdown the skepticism barrier between you and the prospect. Make sure that the referral source’ name is used up front in your message.
5.When in doubt, hit zero.
You owe it to yourself to try everything you can to either locate them, or at least find out something about them. One way to do this is to hit zero when a voicemail message kicks in. You’ll likely get bounced to a receptionist, an executive assistant or a co-worker. Try asking the following question:
“I was hoping you could help me. I'm trying to reach Jane Smith, and her voicemail picked up. Do you know if she's in a meeting, or out for the rest of the day?"
Depending on the response you receive, you can then try one of the following strategies:
Strategy one Them: “She's in a meeting." You: “Thanks for your help. Do you happen to know when she’ll be available?" “Maybe it's best to call back then?"
Strategy two Them: “She's away today." You: “Thanks for your help. Do you know if she will be back tomorrow?"
Strategy three If you speak to your prospect's personal assistant, ask if it's better to schedule a call in advance, and then have they set a fifteen-minute appointment.
6.Hit zero and ask for the sales or customer service department. Ask “I’ve been trying to reach Bob to speak to him about X and I notice he is difficult to reach. Do you know if he is the right person?" Generally customer service team and sales teams will help guide you through the organization and give you insight into how best to reach your contact and whether they are in fact the right decision maker.
3 Step Voicemail Success Script
If you decide that you want to leave a voicemail message, try this three-step process to dramatically increase your chances of getting a positive reply from your prospect.
This three-step approach works because it's non-threatening, honest and friendly�"attributes that all salespeople should develop if they want to be successful. It also works because it means you have shifted your focus from trying to make a sale to trying to start a conversation. In doing so, you give your prospect the expectation that you can be trusted to keep your word, and you begin to build the rapport you need to win new business.
1. The first call�"Example: “Mr. X, this is Colleen from Engage selling. Paul Smith suggested I call you because (insert Unique Selling Proposition statement or referral source or short reason for calling) Sorry I missed you today, I'll try to reach you again on DATE and TIME."
Make sure your tone is soft, non-threatening and friendly. You don't want to sound like a radio ad for a furniture liquidator. Plus, it's critical that you do call back exactly on the date and time that you say.
2. The follow-up�"Example: “Hi, Mr. X. This is Colleen from Engage Selling calling because I promised to reach you today at TIME. Sorry I missed you. Paul Smith suggested I call you because (insert Unique Selling Proposition statement) I'll try you again on DATE and TIME."
Again, it's critical that you call back exactly when you said you would. Anything else would result in your being less than honest, and risk losing your local-market contact's confidence.
3. One last try�"Example: “Hi, Mr. X. This is Colleen from Engage Selling calling, because I promised to reach you today at TIME. Sorry I missed you. I noticed that you’ve been difficult to reach and I’m wondering if that is because you're swamped at work, you are not interested in doing business with my company or I've been wrong at guessing the times you might be at your desk. Either is OK. If you wouldn't mind letting me know how to proceed, that would be great. I promised Paul I would be in touch with you, and that I would get back to him about our conversation. My number is 613-730-7700 ext 111".
The last reason for not reaching the prospect “I've been wrong at guessing the times you might be at your desk." Is the most important because you are taking ownership of the reason you can’t reach the customer. You can change the other two reasons based on your specific sales situation. For example if this was a follow up call after a proposal was sent you might say “I’m wondering if that is because you didn’t have a chance to see the proposal, you were unhappy with the pricing I sent or I've been wrong at guessing the times you might be at your desk."
Take these ideas and make them your own. We know they work. Engage clients all over the world are using them and receiving massive success. So unless you are receiving an 80% call back ratio from your voice mails or better…you owe it to yourself to try something new!
Dedicated to increasing your sales, Colleen
P.S. - For even more ideas on how to get past voice mail and gatekeepers check out our recorded web class: How to effectively use gatekeepers, voicemail and email to engage with your prospects, get the appointment and make the sale at the Engage store
Voice mail and unified messaging are automated telephone technologies used by businesses large and small to increase productivity and efficiency while providing 24-hour responsiveness to callers. Also called "virtual office systems," "virtual assistant" and "virtual PBX," they don't require you to buy any software or hardware. You're simply renting a monthly service, and the service provider automatically routes your calls to a number that's exclusively assigned to you. All calls to this number arrive at your physical phone.
Depending on the features you choose and how you tailor them, most voicemail/unified messaging services make it possible for your callers press keys for more information by voice and/or fax, and to leave voice mail messages, and to be forwarded live to the person they're calling.
There's a range of different voice mail and unified messaging services available, all with different features and calling plans. They charge a monthly fee for the basic service, plus long distance by the minute for all usage. Most include a toll free number, and some also offer local (non-toll) numbers in selected cities.
Pricing varies depending on the features you choose. You can get everything from a toll free number and/or one voice mail box to a unified messaging aka a virtual PBX with the works.
If all you need is a toll free number, shop your local Yellow Pages and the Internet for companies specializing in toll free numbers only. Or if all you need is one or two voice mail boxes for taking messages (and you'd rather not use an answering machine), begin with your local telephone company and then compare their prices to other such services.
But now let's talk "unified messaging, virtual office, virtual assistant and virtual PBX," all of which generally mean the same thing: a single phone number that does it all for your callers, automates your communications and consolidates all your messaging, 24/7.
The starting point in determining the nature and scope of your service requirement is to know how many voice mail boxes you need. You figure this according to how many different products and/or options you want to present to your callers via outgoing audio recordings that you place in the system. You also look at this based on how many associates, if any, are using the system with you.
For example, you'll need more than voice mail box if you need an automated way to deliver various kinds of messages/announcements to your callers, say, about different products or different options. This allows your callers to press designated keys to hear what they're looking for and to leave messages relevant to that topic.
You'd also need more than one voice mail box if anyone else works with you in your business. This allows callers to leave messages and make contact with the staff member you've assigned to that voice mail box extension.
If you want to take your calls live, you need "Follow-me-live" aka call forwarding. Ideally, the service you choose should have unlimited call forwarding where it can ring as many different phone numbers as you want until it finds you. (Many services will only forward to one additional number so keep an eye out for this.)
Another thing you'd most likely want to avoid is the service that limits the length of your voice mail messages, in, out or both. Be sure you don't mind having your callers cut off at the ankles before subscribing to limited-length messaging services.
So far we've only scraped the surface of unified messaging services. Among the many other features and functions of the best services are caller ID, call screening, paging, fax on demand, email voice and fax delivery, voice blasting, name/address capture, lead distribution, music on hold, automated order taking, automated interviewing and more.
The service you choose should be just that robust, versatile, scalable and flexible without costing an arm and a leg. The best example is a user-centric service that has years of consistent uptime, lots of features, simplicity of use, and never a busy signal. The idea being to support your need to deliver the highest form of responsiveness to your callers that automation can provide while gaining greater productivity and efficiency for your business.
Both Colleen Francis & Elizabeth Miller are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Colleen Francis has sinced written about articles on various topics from Sales and Negotiation, Public Relations and Children. Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions . Armed with skills developed from years of experience, Colle. Colleen Francis's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.
Elizabeth Miller has sinced written about articles on various topics from Programming, Learn Spanish and Home. Copyright MBPCO 2006 and beyond. Elizabeth Miller is a professional freelance copywriter and a general partner in Miller Bridges Partners. For more information about business voicemail, virtual PBX and unified messaging visit. Elizabeth Miller's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.