Recently, Susan posted a blog that generated a lot of discussion on the merits of leaving a voice mail. There were numerous comments left debating both sides of the issue. I would like to relay a quick voice mail story that happened at one of my clients this past week.
The clients sales team had long debated the pros and cons of leaving a voice mail message and a few of the sales people decided they were going to start leaving a well crafted voice mail and see if they would be successful.
Two days later one of the rep’s called me up so excited they were almost coming through the phone. He had left a voice mail for a prospect who he had never spoken to at a company on his target list. Twenty minutes after he left the voice mail the contact from the prospects company called him back to find out more about the product he was selling.
Instead of launching into a ‘pitch’ about his product he asked the prospect what prompted them to call. It turns out the client had just been told by a major supplier they would not be renewing their contract and shipments of the products would stop. The prospect pegged the value of the contract at over $3 million and asked for a meeting immediately to disuss the opportunity. Not bad for a 20 second voice mail.
By the way, all the sales team has started to leave voice mails.
Should you leave a voice mail when using the telephone to prospect? The answer to that question has been debated by sales people since voice mail was invented.
Some believe that leaving a voice mail is a complete waste of time. Since prospects will never return your call, it is more productive just to hang up and dial another number.
Top producing sales professionals, on the other hand, have a different view. They always leave a voice mail, no matter what. Granted, the chances may be low that you will receive a return phone call, but those chances are higher than if you just hang up the phone and never leave a message in the first place. You are there anyway. Why not leave a voice mail? (more…)
Voice mail is a fact of life in sales, but most sales people don’t know how to properly leave a voice mail message. First, always leave your number. In fact, leave it twice, once close to the start of the message and again at the end. Your recipient may not have your number handy, or your cell phone may cut out. There may be no way to call you back even if they wanted to.
Secondly, slow down! Your prospect will delete your message before they will listen to it a second time. When you leave your number, write it down at the same time. This will ensure you’re speaking slowly enough so your prospect can write it down too. Improve your voice mail skills, receive more returned phone calls! It’s that simple!
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