Official meetings, movies, parties…wherever a person goes one thing that follows are the sales voice mails.
Well, this is not related to the mobile network adverts that you see in television but this statement is made for the phone marketing groups.
Despite meticulous efforts spent in selecting people gifted with the great skills of speaking politely and convincing the other party; training them about product, giving them mock sessions etc, there are complaints that the sales numbers have not hit the required limit.
Why? Where do they lack? Let’s see.
What is a Sales Voicemail?
As a traditional marketing practice, to retain existing customers and attract new customers, companies leave voice mail messages and request customers to return the call if they are interested in the product.
However, many just press the ‘Next’ button the moment they hear someone advertising their product through voicemail.
So, in order to grab the customer’s attention the sales voice mail needs to be highly effective and unique.
Sales Voicemail Tips:
Let’s discuss few tips and trade secrets of leaving an effective sales voice mail that will capture the attention of the targeted audience instantly with a fail.
1. Limit the Length:
A carefully planned perfect voice mail message should not last long than 20 seconds maximum.
Practically, people do not prefer to hear any advertising message more than 30 seconds and they just press the DEL button mercilessly.
20 to 30 seconds is a sweet spot where in the message is neither too long nor short. The message should be crisp and complete within those 30 seconds.
It should be creative and at the same time contain clear details on how to call back to receive more information. Do not waste time in between by playing phone tags and beep messages.
2. Decide the Calling Time Sensibly:
The highly cognitive human brain is capable of remembering unique messages if presented at the right time when it is highly aggressive.
It is advised by voice mail marketing experts that advertisers shouldn’t disturb a prospective client during office hours or sleeping hours.
Many commute to their work place using public transport and that is when one can be targeted. Also while choosing prospective overseas callers, make sure to learn their time zone and call them at their free hours.
Strategic business coaches suggest the ideal calling time is between 7 to 9 AM and 4 30 to 6 30 PM.
3. Deliver Crisp Content:
A business sales voice mail should be short and sweet. There are 3 sections that a voice mail should address without fail. These sections include:
Greetings with full name of the caller:
Do not spend time and energy in explaining your designation in the company or details about the company. An eager caller who gets curious to know more will call back for sure. Then you can sit back and explain the details to him or her.
The problem statement:
State the problem in a few, but impactful words rather than beating around the bush. Mention that you have the most feasible and unique solution for this one problem that you are talking about.
The call back procedure:
State the contact phone number and the full name of the contact person clearly twice. End the call with a pleasantry note for the receiver.
If drafted well and rehearsed, this voice mail message will not exceed 30 seconds in total. There are plenty of professional coaching centers and personal consultants who can train the marketing professionals on how to draft these voice mail messages effectively for enhanced results.
4. Choose the Right Ambience for Calling:
Cell phone picks up noise from surroundings and amplifies them over the message. Hence, always leave a sales voice message from a quiet and peaceful ambience.
State your name, contact details clearly with adequate pauses. Repeat this essential information twice.
Be careful as this is the bait for the customer and hence you cannot employ a messenger who has voice problems like stammering, fumbling, lisp etc where the words do not get delivered with right intonation.
5. Focus on Clear and concise speaking:
Inculcate in yourself the art of clear speaking. Taking long pauses, using fillers like you know, right etc. are not appreciated while leaving a voice mail.
A well drafted voice mail becomes useless if it is not delivered with the correct attitude and tone. A customer who is listening to your message should be able to decipher the details upon just one listening.
Most of the audiences feel irritated if they get a voice mail that they cannot understand as the caller was not sounding properly and clearly. In such cases, either the hearer skips it or deletes it forever.
Make sure your instrument is in proper condition and does not induce any ringing noise at the receiver end. If you are communicating with mobile phone avoid locations where the signal is week.
Do not call a customer while you are traveling as there are chances for connections to get disconnected often which in turn can turn the entire effort to be futile.
6. Be Professional:
Professionalism is a must to possess quality while leaving a sales voice mail. While connecting to your prospective customer, be firm and polite.
Experts state that trying to be over smart, witty or clever does not add any value to the voice mail message.
Be sure and sound confident while you drop your sales voice mail. Sound friendly and approachable while leaving your message.
Remember your mission is to make a caller inquisitive and call back. So, tone and professional attitude are the most important virtues that a sales representative should possess.
7. Provide a Call to Action at the End:
A worthy ‘call to action’ statement captures the attention of a listener even more than the content of the voice mail.
A call to action quote should be effective and well-designed enough to make the listener jump into immediate action and do as expected.
There are many websites that provide ‘call to action quotes’ that may be handy in this case. Use a casual yet piercing tone to capture the audience’s soul and mind.
8. No Extraneous Information:
There is no room for a friendly chat in a sales voice mail. Enquiring about the health status will be an ideal way to start a voice mail related to insurance services but may not suit the rest scenarios.
Always have a ‘call to action’ with your message. Talking about the company annual sales record, the forecast etc. may not impress the listener.
Do not waste the precious voice mail by mentioning the day, date and time details as most of the voice mail devices have a smart history keeping systems in built within.
A neat and precise voice mail message is similar to the bullet fired from the gun. It should hit the bull’s eye at one shot.
9. Avoid Overloaded Messaging Menace:
Many assume that the more they speak in their sales voice mail, the more customers will hit back. But this is a myth.
Each voice mail must attack a singular and atomic problem for which you should convince your esteemed customer that no one other than you can provide the best solution. Adding more topics complicates this action plan.
A simple sales mail is preferred over a complicated one. A succinct and easy to understand voice mail always has great call backs.
If you still need to address various topics make sure you add a note in your mail before listing the topics.
10. Keep Away from Troublesome Two:
Never call a prospective client twice with the same voice mail message in a day or within a short span of time. This irritates the customer and they may block your number hereon.
Once a client replies to your call and shows some interest you can fortnightly call him and share latest updates with respect to the product, prevailing offers and deals etc.
And if you are trying to reach the same customer a second time, do not start the call with the “I had called you earlier” tag as he may cut the call as he did previously. It is not a best practice followed by voice mail messengers.
11. Send a Voice Mail to Your Inbox:
After you have drafted your contents, be sure to practice a lot of times before you hit the dialing pad. This creates a natural flow of contents and you will have an ease while mouthing the words.
It is also a best practice to record a voice mail for yourself and play back. This auto feedback method helps you to correct your tone and speed of delivery.
12. Chalk out the Calling plan:
Careful planning can turn any event into a milestone. Devise a calling plan beforehand. The plan includes the following checklist:
- Content phrasing
- Selection of leads
- Time of call
- Rehearsals
The biggest advantage of a pre-drafted calling plan is that it is “time saving”. You have all required information in front of you and this helps in making more dials and connecting to inboxes.
13. Choose Prospective Leads:
Selecting the list of prospective customers is an art. This is also the most important step in the field of sales and marketing.
A novice finds it hard to perform this activity. Talking to an existing customer is different from capturing new clients. Hence, based on the customer base the voice mail content needs alteration.
Existing customers, when addressed need not be briefed much about company and its holding details, whereas a new customer should be introduced to such important information.
Hence, while selecting the calling list, make sure you do not mix up the list and land up in confusion. A small mistake will cost you heavily as you may not get fresh orders but you may lose the existing valuable customer base as well.
14. Objective Driven Call Methodology:
Never give the customer the choice to delete the voice message without even listening to it for 10 seconds.
Think from a customer’s perspective before you draft your sales voice mail. What makes a customer call back one company and blindly reject the rest?
A well-crafted voice mail message should be objective driven and not just a regular formality call that goes like “Hello! This is Joe. I wish to speak to you about few things. Please call back at…”
This is a potent opportunity to begin, strengthen and establish a long time business relationship.
15. Don’t Sound Monotonous:
Lastly, sound real and animated in the voice mail message. There are B-to-B marketers who call more than 100 people, yet sound so very natural in spite of the monotony.
Practice such simple yet effective tips for voice mail marketing to increase your customer response ratio.
Bottom Line:
To keep it simple and structured, create a voice mail message that addresses the customer’s pain, brings a new lease of hope towards problem solving, refers to credible and trustworthy customers who have tried the technique and benefited, provides a unified and reliable solution for the stated problem and promotes additional features if any. But make sure you fit all these information within the available 30 seconds.
As you are reading this article, you may get even better idea for increased sales through voice mail marketing. Practice them and if you succeed, let us know about that one valuable trick that made you the star performer in your organization.
