Why you need to leave a voicemail every time.

I’m frequently asked this question and my typical response is, “Why wouldn’t you?”  The answers I get back range from “They’ll never call me back so why bother” to “If I leave a message, they’ll know why I’m calling the next time and won’t pick up.”  Both are bad answers.  With the current work-from-home movement, it’s even more rare for someone to be at their office desk.  And we all know that mobile phone numbers are often hard to come by.  Here’s why some objections from salespeople to leaving voicemails don’t hold up.

“They’ll never call me back.” – WRONG!

This just isn’t true.  Our own statistics plus statistics from our clients who we’ve trained to leave voicemails all point to the same thing.  Some prospects will call you back.  While many won’t, some will and some is much better than the “none” who will call you back when you don’t leave a voicemail.

Naturally, the more clear, concise and compelling your message is, the greater the chance of a callback.  Our research has shown that callbacks can increase dramatically with the right technique and skill.

But there’s an equally powerful reason to leave a voicemail.  Even in the cases where it doesn’t lead to a callback, you are able to get your message through to the buyer.  You are able to convey the reasons why it makes sense for them to have conversation with you.  When you are able to convincingly speak of how you’ve helped others solve problems that they might have, it can cause them to sit up and take notice.  Just as in advertising, you’re making a “impression” on the buyer and for people to take action, they often need multiple impressions.

“If I leave a message, they’ll know why I’m calling the next time and won’t pick up.” – WRONG!

The notion that catching a prospect off guard will somehow help you engage with them seems very flawed to me. Question: Would you be more likely to have a conversation with someone if you a) knew what they were calling about and b) think that they might be able to help you resolve a challenge? Of course you would. And your prospects are no different.

When you catch someone completely off guard, their automatic internal knee-jerk response will likely be something like, “It’s a salesperson. I’ve got to get them off the phone.” They will be far less likely to think about what value you might bring to them. If, however, you’ve already touched them with your value proposition several times like you can with your voicemails, there will be a higher likelihood of agreeing to a brief conversation.

If you haven’t been leaving voicemails when prospecting, start today.  As with all your selling skills, you’ll want to practice again, again and again until you sound smooth and natural.  You will instantly see both the number of connections increase as well as the quality of your conversations.

Northbound’s “Connecting to the Big Cheese” workshop will teach you and your team how to be master this critical selling skill.  For pricing or more info, contact Craig Brandys, Vice President of Sales at [email protected].