Even if you don’t sign up for my teleseminar (although you should), these tips will help you get more of your voice mail messages returned.
Being surprised by voice mail
Why do so many people leave long, rambling voice mail messages?
Because they were trying to get the person on the phone, and they were surprised when the person wasn’t there.
They were surprised when the person wasn’t there?
Why were they surprised??
No one’s ever there!
Before you pick up the phone, assume that in a few moments you will be leaving a voice mail message.
Not having a clearly defined goal before you dial the phone
You need to know exactly what you want your message to accomplish.
“Well, to get the person to return my call.”
Okay, that’s a good start.
But when do you want the person to return your call?
What, specifically, will motivate the person to return your call?
More to the point:
Exactly what do you want the person to think when he or she hears your message?
Not knowing exactly what you’ll say before you dial the phone
“Oh, I’m good with words. I’ll figure out what to say as I’m leaving my message.”
Is that approach….
Foolish?
Lazy?
Typical?
Yes.
Most of the time, it’s also:
Ineffective.
Not structuring your message so that it grabs the recipient’s attention from your very first words
The average business executive listens to his voice mail messages with his finger poised over the “delete” button.
And as soon as he decides this phone call is not one that he needs to return or one that he will benefit from returning, he hits “delete”…
…and never looks back.
You need to command the interest of your prospect from your very first words.
Giving your sales pitch in your message
The purpose of your voice mail message is not to sell your product or service.
It’s not to give a commercial for your business.
It’s to get the prospect to return your call.
Your message should not include even a single word that isn’t calculated to make the recipient call you back promptly.
Sounding eager
Eager salespeople do not attract customers or clients.
Confident salespeople do.
Yes, next week’s teleseminar gives you the information, the mindset, and the very words you should use to infuse your message with an unmistakable confidence.
Creating a personal distance
At least 90% of voice mail messages left by salespeople (or other business people trying to establish contact with strangers) create a huge chasm — a great physical space — between themselves and their prospects.
And they do so with their very first words.
They use common phrases that immediately signals the prospect, “This is a stranger who wants something from me. Time to hit the ‘delete’ button.”
Not determining where on the hierarchy of calls you want to be perceived by the recipient
Your prospect returns to her office and finds 20 voice mail messages waiting for her.
Does she simply return all 20 calls in the order they came in?
Of course not.
First she decides which calls to return.
Then she decides which of those calls to return first.
You need to leave a message that commands a premiere position on the hierarchy of calls that will be returned.
Not making the recipient want to call you back
How do you get someone to return your call?
By making that person want to return your call.
Think about the messages you’re currently leaving: Do they really make the prospect want to return your call?
Measuring the wrong numbers
Selling via telephone — which includes cold calling new prospects as well as calling “old” prospects, existing clients, and for former clients — is “a numbers game.”
But contrary to what most salespeople are taught, there are two numbers that determine your amount of returned voice mail messages.
One is the number of calls you make. Everything else being equal, the more voice mail messages you leave, the more will be returned.
Most salespeople (and sales managers) focus on that number because it can be objectively determined quite easily: Keep an accurate tally of the messages you leave, and you’ve got a very accurate measurement.
The other number also can be measured, but few people even consider it.
That number is the “impact rating” of your voice mail message.
A “zero” impact rating = No one ever returns your voice mail messages.
A “100” impact rating = Everyone always returns your voice mail messages.
Your own impact rating falls somewhere been 0 and 100.
It’s all up to you.
Do you want to double your sales by making twice as many calls?
Or would you rather double your sales by making the same amount of calls — but with twice the success rate?
It’s all up to you.
How To Get Your Voice Mail Messages Returned (teleseminar)
