Make Voicemail Your Friend
August 2005

Assume nothing. Whenever you leave a voicemail message, make a note to follow up.

If you invest a lot of time on the phone contacting customers and prospects, you probably listen to this dreaded question many times each day: “Can I put you through to voicemail?” This is probably the last thing you want to hear ... or is it?

Four Voicemail Rules to Live By

1. Don’t ask for callbacks – Anyone with a day of sales experience knows that most people don’t return unsolicited calls. Therefore, why should you behave like 99% of the other sales reps and asking for a call back? You shouldn’t! Instead, conclude your voicemail messages by making a small promise like: “We can help. I’ll send you an informative article in the current edition of XYZ printing pub and I’ll call you Tuesday afternoon to discuss it.” Then, keep the appointment. After a while, you will differentiate yourself as a sales rep that is in the business of making and keeping promises.

2. Keep messages short – There’s only one thing worse than finding ten messages in your voice mail box: finding ten long messages to wade through. When leaving messages, keep them brief and to the point. Twenty seconds is usually ample time to get your point across.

3. Don’t proceed to the next call without leaving yourself a “to-do” follow-up item. You don’t know what action the busy person on the receiving end of your voice mail message will take. Assume nothing because many busy print buyers don’t even write down the names and phone numbers of prospecting print sales reps. Whenever you leave a voicemail message, make a note in your organizational system (calendar, computer, PIM, etc.) to follow up with another activity on a specific day in the future.

4. Use negative check-offs – When you’ve been held at bay by a gatekeeper, consider setting an appointment via voice mail “negative check-off.” Here’s how: “Hi, Ms. Prospect, this is John Smith at ABC Printer calling. Hopefully, you’ve received my previous messages as well as the materials I’ve sent. I think we have a great solution for your specific printing needs. Unless I hear from you, I’ll stop by on Tuesday morning to talk further. If this time doesn’t work, please call me at 555-1212.” If the prospect doesn’t call back, on Tuesday, you can credibly tell the gatekeeper that you said you’d drop by, which increases the likelihood of a face-to-face meeting. On the other hand, if you get a call to cancel, at least the decision-maker is on the phone. What you do with the opportunity is up to you!

Will these voicemail rules get you an audience with whomever you want whenever you want? Of course not. Following them will work better than leaving countless messages and hoping that key business influencers will call you back for some inexplicable reason. Don’t think of voicemail as the enemy. If used properly, it really can be a printing salesperson’s best friend.

How Grow Sales, Inc. Can Help
Since 1996, Grow Sales, Inc. has helped numerous printing and graphic sales reps sell more. Let us help you and your team work better, get more leads and close more business. We have a sales support system that has been tested in battle for nearly a decade.

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