Those Pesky Voicemail Messages

Astonishing. The number of outbound calls that end up in voicemail. Last week, seven different telesales reps from seven different companies told me that more than 80 percent of their outgoing calls wind up in voicemail. 80 percent!

That means – with every call we make – we need to be prepared to leave a voice mail message. But – to get a return call, the first few seconds of the message must be clear, get attention and create interest.

Getting Attention with Your Voice Mail Message

The caller who begins the message focused on her own company runs the risk of being deleted. The prospect does not care about your products or services.  S/he wants to hear a motivational voicemail message, especially the answer to the mental WIIFM question – “What’s in it for me.”

Four Keys to Getting Your Calls Returned

1.  Speak Clearly.




2.  State your first and last name, company name and telephone number first.




3.  Focus on a Benefit for the listener – and NOT how great or famous your company
and products are.




4.  End your call with your name and telephone number again. Reason: This makes it easy for the listener to return your call.

A Shocking Voicemail Message

This is the voicemail message I received one day a few years ago:  “Don’t be alarmed.”

What?

When these are the first words in a voicemail message, it is an attention getter – but not in a good way.

Especially when I was preparing for Tropical Storm Hanna. Taking furniture off of the deck, bringing into the house anything from outside that could be blown away or turned into a missile by 55-mile an hour wind gusts.

Turned out, the call was from my insurance company. The next words were: “For a special hurricane preparedness guide, visit our website.”

But those first words, “don’t be alarmed,” were a shocker. I was annoyed.  If the insurance company’s primary goal was to motivate me to visit their web site, they failed.

You will see good examples of attention-getting voicemail scripts, as well as step-by-step, fill-in-the-blanks worksheets in my e-book Voice Mail Tips and Scripts, the book your clients will want you to read.