06 August 2017
In my new book, we talk a lot about speaking to people over the phone. Many people ask me, do I leave a message on a prospect’s answering machine?
The answer is YES.
Most people forget that other people are busy, and instead of leaving a message they call over and over again. Your prospects may be away from their phone for any number of reasons. So it’s important that you’re prepared to leave a message when you encounter a voicemail box.
Tip #1
Always let them know who you are, and include a contact phone number. Everybody knows that replaying a voicemail can be a pain, and sometimes you can accidentally delete a message. Make it easy for your prospect to write your number down without having to replay the message by repeating your phone number.
Tip #2
Try not to leave too much information in your message. First of all, people don’t like hearing really long messages. They feel that it's a waste of their time. Second, you don’t want to say so much that your prospect can make a decision about your service/product before you have a chance to talk to them.
You could start the message like this:
“Hi John, Bernie DeSouza here, you asked me to ring you at this time...”
Or you could try:
“Hi John, Bernie here, I’m ringing you in regards to our discussion on Wednesday…”
You could even add in a third party qualification such as this:
“Hi John, I was given your number by Sarah… “
Using a third party as credibility is great if you are cold calling.
Tip #3
I’ve learned that the best times to call prospects are between 7am-8am, or 4:30pm-6:30pm. This is the time when decision makers are in the office and you can avoid speaking to their gatekeepers. However, avoid leaving messages on a Friday afternoon as they are the least likely to be returned. Also avoid Monday mornings as there are more pressing priorities for most businesses to take care of, and talking to you is not one of them.
And finally…
Do not rely on your prospect to call you back, ever.
On closing out the message say this:
“If i don’t hear back from you in the next 24hrs, I will ring you back.”
This way your prospects will be expecting your call.
Learn more by watching this video here:
https://youtu.be/rs3kTPAODlw
A Bit Of Humour For You
A Journalist is interviewing the head of a new tech startup in Silicon Valley to get a quote for their online tech journal.
The Journalist asks, “So how many employees are working in your company?”
The CEO replies, “Approximately half of them…”
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