Recent estimates suggest that 97% of all business calls now go to voicemail!.
It’s never been more important for salespeople to be good at leaving voicemails. Not only that, but voicemail can, and should be measured, coached, and improved. First, let’s review general voicemail etiquette.
Voicemail Etiquette
1. Keep your greeting up-to-date.
Before we tackle appropriate voicemail etiquette for outbound messages, let’s first discuss proper etiquette for setting up your own voicemail system. As a professional, make sure you are regularly updating your voicemail greeting with information that is relevant to those calling you.
For example, if you are planning to go on holiday for two weeks, make sure you update your voicemail greeting stating how long you’ll be out of the office when you’ll be back, and who can be contacted in your absence.
2. Let callers know when they can anticipate a response.
While you’re updating your voicemail greeting, make sure you let callers know when they can expect to receive a call back from you or from someone else from your company. Most professionals opt for a 24-hour callback window. Clearly state this in your voicemail greeting to set expectations with your callers.
Now, let’s discuss voicemail etiquette for outbound messages.
3. Share your name and company.
If you are calling an individual you haven’t spoken with before, clearly state your name and company. Sharing a brief introduction provides some helpful context for the individual you’re calling.
4. State the intention of your message.
Get to why you’re calling. Did you have a question you couldn’t find the answer to online? Are you enquiring about future business? Are you weighing your options about a purchase between a few different companies? State it clearly so the recipient of the call knows how to proceed.
5. Include your contact information at the beginning and end of the message.
While it is a best practice to end your message with your contact information, that’s only valuable when the recipient listens to your message until the end. By stating your name and phone number earlier in the message and repeating it at the end, you’ll be able to pass your information along to those who may not initially hear the message in its entirety.
6. Be concise.
If you can, try to keep your message 20 to 30 seconds long — max. This is the sweet spot for sharing just enough information without going overboard and potentially getting cut off by the recipient’s voice mailbox system, or having the listener hang up early because your message was simply too long. Speak clearly, avoid rambling, and get straight to the point.
7. Share your availability.
Let contacts know if there’s a good time to reach you when requesting they call you back.
For example, when leaving a voicemail you could say, “You can give me call back on 07776 203 431. I’m typically available Mondays to Fridays between 9 am to 3 pm. I look forward to hearing from you.” This lets your contact know exactly when they can reach you to continue the conversation.
So let’s look at how you might pull all of this together with a Voicemail Script.
Hello, this is Phil Sayers from Proten Sales Development.
I’m calling because [insert reason for calling]. I’d love to talk to you about [insert benefit you can offer if they call back].
My number is [insert phone number]. I’ll also follow up with an email tomorrow. I look forward to hearing what you think.
Many thanks and I hope we can speak soon.
Protect your script from becoming wooden with repetition. Instead, use bullet points to stay on track while keeping your tone and delivery casual.
Here are my effective voicemail script bullets:
Your name
Reason for calling
Benefit of calling you back
Your contact information
Promise of a follow-up email
How to Leave a Voicemail: 6 Tips for Business
1. Practice.
If you want to improve your voicemail performance, make sure you practice. This means creating a highly structured practice routine that offers ample opportunity for repetition and immediate feedback.
This practice consists of three phases: before, during, and after.
Before you dial: Before you make any calls, start with setting a goal for your voicemails that day. Will you be working on your tone? Your passion? The length of the message? Whatever it is, decide how to accomplish that goal by developing specific, technique-oriented plans.
While leaving the message: During voicemails, focus on execution in the moment. This process, called metacognition, enables you to mentally observe your own process from the outside. Develop this skill and you will be able to react to changing conditions quickly, in addition to improving your voicemail skills.
After you hang up: After each voicemail, evaluate your performance. Most voicemail systems provide the option of listening to the voicemail you just left. Listen to the recording — it will not lie. The recording gives you the most specific feedback for improvement. Doing this as much as possible will improve your voicemail performance more than anything else.
2. Be personable and straightforward.
As you practice your sales voicemails, you’ll start to determine some best practices. Write these down, and use them as an outline for future calls. Here are a few of my best practices.
Leave your telephone number twice: This ensures understanding and helps the prospect write it down accurately.
Use the prospect’s name often: People pay attention when their name is mentioned. After all, they have been conditioned to pay attention to their name their whole life. If you want to get someone’s attention, use their name.
Include a credible example: Who have you helped? If you don’t speak with authority, borrow it.
Keep it to 17 seconds or less: Too many sales people are the inside sales equivalent of chatty grandmas — pitching solutions, discussing features, and offering value propositions over a voicemail. Long voicemails are not going to get you responses. Quite the contrary. Voicemails should be 17 seconds or less. They should merely pique a prospect’s interest. Save your real pitch for an actual sales call.
Always provide context: Whether it’s your last encounter or a recent eBook download, have a relevant reason for calling in order to get the prospect’s attention.
Offer clear value: State upfront how you can help the prospect. Are you saving them time or money, or helping them get promoted? Let them know the benefit.
Ask for what you want: Clearly state your purpose and the next steps. Whether it’s a demo, an appointment, or the best contact to talk to, simply ask for it.
3. Research your prospect.
The difference between a cold voicemail and a warm voicemail is research. Research creates a distinction compelling a prospect to return your call over the countless others in their voice mailbox. Visit the prospect’s website and investigate their solutions. Use tools and technology that collect more information about the prospect, such as their social profiles, their past experience, their connections, and so on.
Look for common elements you have with them, such as common connections, a favourite sports team, or a common pet (I’m a dog lover, personally). This opens the conversation and shows that you’ve done your research.
Your research should include finding other people in the prospect’s organisation. Selecting the right people, such as the prospect’s manager or department head, facilitates the ability to build rapport and adds a sense of urgency when you mention them in the voicemail.
When you build rapport, you’ve got more influence and you’ll get more call backs.
4. Be positive.
If you want your prospects to get back to you, you better sound exciting. If you have a monotone voice or sound generally unenthusiastic on a voicemail, you are almost certainly not going to get a response.
Remember, the idea is for prospects to want to talk to you. Your tone can make or break the voicemail. So, remember, you’re not bothering them; you’re enlightening them. If you have a purpose for calling, you’re never going to trouble them.
A positive attitude extends to your voice and how you’re speaking. At the same time, if the prospect can’t hear or understand you, all of your work is wasted. Follow the four Cs:
Be Clear. Drink water, clear your throat, invest in a good headset, phone, etc. Be as mindful as possible about speaking clearly.
Be Concise. Keep it short and simple.
Use a good Cadence. Don’t be afraid of strategic pauses, and vary the speed of your delivery.
Be Compelling. Speak with authority.
Perhaps the biggest mistake in a sales voicemail is pitching too aggressively. If you sound like a smarmy used car salesperson, your prospects are going to delete your voicemails faster than you can say “lowest price guaranteed!”
Qualified prospects don’t mind hearing from sales reps. They just want to speak to reps that are helpful, knowledgeable, and possess integrity. Most importantly, have fun with it. If you don’t enjoy leaving a voicemail, you might not be in the right job.
5. Provide value.
A good voicemail should be more about the prospect than the salesperson. Especially when cold calling, you want to provide as much value as possible to incentivize your prospect to return your call.
If you can, try to mention a tangible benefit the prospect can gain by working with you. Whether you quickly state understanding of a challenge they are facing (that you learned of during the research phase) or can share a brief statistic related to an area of interest for them.
This tells the prospect that they will benefit from calling you back and hearing what you have to say.
6. Leave a call-to-action.
After a prospect finishes listening to your email, they should be very clear on what the next step of the sales process is. Whether you ended the voicemail asking a question they are prompted to answer, left your contact information instructing them to call you back, or told them to look out for a follow-up email, the message recipient should know exactly what’s coming next, and how to behave accordingly if they are interested in the deal.
To keep the sale moving, be as specific as possible about next steps.
Voicemails can add value, whether or not a prospect calls you back right away. Even if a voicemail triggers an email response or call back six months down the line, it’s valuable. The better your voicemails, the more likely you’ll get a response.
If you or your team need to improve how they communicate with customers and prospects, then maybe we can help.
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