Is Leaving A Voice Mail A Waste of Time?

Is leaving a voice mail a waste of time? Not if your message has a unique or impressive impact!

1. “HEY LOOK AT ME” – Leaving a message lets the business world know that I exist. And making that best first impression begins right at the beginning! Leaving a meaningful but short message plants a seed. It is the first step in opening a door. The recipient of my call knows that, moving forward, I’m going to be searching for an opportunity to reach them.

2. “I MIGHT JUST HAVE SOMETHING OF INTEREST FOR YOU” – One thing is for certain; my prospect are getting hammered with sales calls all day long. That is why they aren’t answering their phones. Voice mail acts as a filter where sales people move themselves into or out of the picture. My goal is to leave a message puts me in the game!

3. “SET THEIR HAIR ON FIRE WITH EXCITEMENT” – When calling on qualified prospects, they will likely be looking for new solutions, upgrades, and alternatives… if not now, then at some point in the future. My voice mail positions me as an option and a backup plan. There is nothing worse than finally getting the decision maker on the phone after months of calling and hearing, “Actually, we just signed on with one of your competitors.” That’s when you think, “How did I miss out on this deal? I should have left a unique message.”

4. “HOW CAN WE HELP EACH OTHER? – I need to leave a targeted 15 – 20 second commercial. There are plenty of prospects who initially make the statement, “I’m not interested… we’re fine where we are.” Click, they hang up the phone. “Wait a minute! I haven’t even said anything yet.” What good is it to finally get someone on the phone if they are going to hang up as soon as they realize you are a sales person? A compelling voice mail, prior to the first conversation, can create an opportunity for a more professional discussion when they finally answer the phone. Leaving quality messages begins the process of opening doors that were once closed tight!

5. “I’M NOT A PROBLEM, I’M A SOLUTION” – One way to differentiate myself is to consistently follow-up. While my competition is not following through, not using their CRM, and turning over sales people left and right, I have to be the consistent consultative voice breaking through all the noise barriers.

6. “ONE CALL DOES NOT DO IT ALL” – I need to have multiple influencers within the company, for example, I will leave messages for the CFO, Controller, and Director of XYZ. I want them to know that I just left a message for their colleague. The goal here is to have them sitting in a meeting or conversing over lunch about a problem and all of a sudden my name comes up! My new strategy must include a very specific set of five to eight targeted voice mail, email, and maybe even regular mail messages that I can leave and send over the course of time. If I am dealing with targets that are very difficult to reach, I have to prepare for a long term attack!

7. “WOW! I’M SPEAKING TO A REAL PERSON” – If you are expecting voice mail and instead you get the party to whom you have called……………Only one message here……..You’d better be just as prepared to be unique, informative, impressive and able to deliver What’s In It For Them in the first 20 seconds or so. Otherwise my point in paragraph 3 above will ring true and you will have wasted time and maybe closed a door that could have been opened.

As always, please accept my wishes for a tremendous week. Go forth and make a difference in your life and in the lives of those around you. You comments or questions are always welcomed here. If I can be of any assistance to you, please call or write and I will respond immediately!

Regards,
George F. Mancuso, CPC