Leaving a perfect sales voicemail isn’t easy. You’re on the spot, being recorded, and it can easily become nerve-wracking if you overthink it. Sounding natural and unrehearsed is important, but attaining that natural, confident tenor usually comes with, well, practice!
As more and more communication goes online and digital and actual phone conversations decrease, it’s even more important today to leave a voicemail that will actually get your prospect to listen and perhaps even return your call.
Here are some tips for how to leave the perfect sales voicemail and what to include in it to increase your chances of a callback.
Open strong
Greet your prospect by name. You want your prospect to know who they are and dispel any worries that you are just randomly calling.
Then, include your name, where you’re from, and your phone number right off the bat. Show you have a purpose for reaching out to them. By including your phone number immediately – then later, toward the end of the call – you give them several opportunities to jot your number down.
Demonstrate you can help them with a challenge or issue they are facing
Since you have a limited amount of time, you can’t go too deep into the intricacies of what your business could offer them, but give them an idea with just a line or two demonstrating you know what challenges they have, and how you and your organization can help.
Keep it short and sweet
As mentioned, as more communication goes digital, people’s patience for long voicemails is near nonexistent these days. A voicemail of no longer than 30 seconds is a good rule of thumb. Worried you’ll go over that time frame? Practice and time yourself. This will also help foster confidence, which will shine through in your message. Another way to sound positive and friendly through your message is to actually smile while you practice and while you leave the actual voicemail. It will lend warmth to your voice that you simply can’t fake.
Be memorable
One way to do this? Pose a thoughtful, unique question to your prospect. Done well, it can demonstrate you have a deep understanding of their organization and goals.
Finish up by thanking them for their time and repeat your phone number slowly.
Then leave them with a call to action, such as a simple, “Call me,” “Let’s schedule a quick chat next week,” or an offer you can give them that’s only available for a limited period of time.
Testing
Practice makes perfect, so don’t feel strange rehearsing your voicemail “script” before you pick up the phone. Another useful technique is to test different strategies. If you have 200 people to call, try using a certain offer or phrasing on 100 of those calls and a different offer or phrasing on the other 100. The frequency of callbacks could indicate which efforts are most effective.
Need more help with calling? Intelliverse offers sales acceleration software that can help you make smarter sales calls and realize greater results—using CRM integration, gamification, and analytics.