Prospecting Success: Four Rules To Make Voicemail Your Friend
By: T.J. Tedesco
For: High Volume Printing
Published: October, 1999

No, I didn’t get the title of this article wrong.  Most printing sales representatives think of voicemail as the enemy, not a friend.  In fact, “voicemail hell” will probably find itself in Webster’s Dictionary before too long.  There are ways to turn voicemail into an advantage.  The key is good planning and changing your hardened attitude about this inescapable and sometimes-frustrating technological reality.

A few months ago, I gave a couple of seminars on sales and marketing to printers in Texas.  Afterwards, one attendee came up to me and said that my voicemail slide was worth the cost of admission by itself.  I have to admit, I was rather surprised, but upon further reflection, voicemail is something that print sales reps encounter everyday.  Therefore, it makes perfect sense that knocking down the voicemail barrier is as important to success as implementing a strategically sound sales and marketing plan. 

If sales professionals think of voicemail as the enemy, dealing with it everyday is a mental war.  How many sales managers have heard their reps lament, “I’ve left dozens of messages for these buyers, but they won’t call me back!”  Somewhere deep in the recesses of most sales managers’ brains is empathy because they’ve been through the voicemail mill too.

In the early part of the 1990s, the statistics were frightening.  People placing business-to-business calls had a one-in-six chance of speaking with the person whom they dialed.  I don’t know the current numbers, but it sure seems that the ratio is worse today.  Whenever you make prospecting calls, plan on getting voicemail every time, especially if you’re trying to contact major print buyers.  Stack the odds in your favor and adhere to the top four rules for voicemail effectiveness.

Rule #1 – When prospecting, don’t ask for callbacks

If your prospects are significant print buyers, they are already deluged by telephone calls from print reps.  I once sold printing for a 40” sheet-fed printing company that served a major metropolitan market.  My company had all the prepress bells and whistles, cylinder horsepower and name recognition that a sales rep could want, yet it was still hard to get people to return my calls.

A customer of mine put it in a way I understood.  She said, “T.J., look in the top drawer of this file cabinet.  In it are twenty printing companies, similar to yours that I’ve already done business with, and still want to use.  In the next file drawer down, there are thirty more companies that want me to use their services.  In the bottom file drawer, there are dozens of printing companies that I’ll never use.”  I asked her how many of these companies still call.  She said, “all of them, including the ones on the bottom.”

Print buyers want information and knowledge.  Voicemail should be used as positive, obligation-free contact.  Don’t leave voicemail messages with requests like, “call me at your convenience.”  Let’s face it; “never” is the most convenient time for most print buyers to return calls.  Instead, leave something like this:

“Ms. Prospect, this is John Doe from XYZ Printers at (222) 345-6789.  I saw a great article about your industry in the newspaper.  Your company was mentioned quite favorably.  Since you’re not available to talk, I’ll send the clipping to you.” 

That’s it.  If the prospect feels motivated to call you, she can because you left your name, company and phone number.  And, you set an expectation of a different selling experience.  Regardless, you will stand apart from the crowd that leaves a quagmire of similar-sounding messages such as, “We’re a good printing company.  We want to be your partner.  Call me at …”  Since most print buyers won’t call you back until you’ve earned the right for them to do so, don’t even ask. 

Rule #2 – Don’t leave l … o …n … g messages

If you’ve ever observed a harried type “A” print buyer listen to voicemail messages, you know how annoyed they get by longwinded callers.  Most of the time they’ll be bleeped out after a few seconds of drivel.  Listening to messages is a chore for busy people.  Avoid being mentally tossed into the time-waster pile.  It doesn’t matter if you’re the nicest person in the world if you can’t get in the door.  Be quick and to the point.

If your voicemail messages are too long, try mapping out what you’re going to say in advance and stick to the plan.  However, most people should avoid boxing themselves in with a voicemail “script” because it may sound canned.  Mapping out your message usually means only jotting down a few key words.

Rule #3 – Don’t proceed to the next call without leaving yourself a “to do”

You don’t know what the busy person on the receiving end of your message will do.  Assume “nothing.”  (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, Day-Timer, computer, PIM, etc.) to follow up with another activity on a specific day in the future.  Manage the prospecting process yourself.  Don’t rely on people getting back to you, which they won’t do anyway.  Keep in mind that it is essential for today’s printing professional to have a great organizational system. 

What’s a print rep to do?  The selling landscape sounds pretty bleak and unfortunately it is … until you get to rule #4.  After prepping prospects for a few weeks or even months, you have to get sales appointments to be successful in your career.  Once you feel that your marketing efforts have earned you the right to ask for an appointment, do so.  At this point, it’s OK to ask for a callback.  If one doesn’t come, then use rule #4: the “negative check-off” system.

Rule #4 – Do use “negative check-offs”

Here’s an example how to set an appointment using a negative check-off.  If you’ve already provided useful information to the new prospect, it should be possible to say something like this:

“This is John Doe at XYZ Printers again.  Hopefully, you’ve received the articles and brochures I’ve sent you.  Let me show you how your company will benefit by using our printing services.  Information drives everything we do.  We are a different kind of company.  I’ll be in your area next Tuesday and I’ll stop by then.  If this day doesn’t work for you, please call me at (222) 345-6789.”

The beauty of the negative check-off system is that you haven’t required your prospect to do anything.  Yet, those who don’t want your visit can pick up the phone and cancel.  (If this happens, at least you’ll have them on the phone, which is better than nothing.)  If they don’t cancel your visit, you’ll be able to honestly say to the gatekeeper (receptionist) that you mentioned you’d stop by.  The gatekeeper will put the call through. 

There’s still a chance that the hardest prospects won’t see you, but many will.  No matter how you get there, once you’re face-to-face with the prospect, let the selling begin!  Remember the hardest people to see often have a ton of business and are the most loyal to their current vendors.  It’s hard to get in with these difficult-to-see accounts, but once you’re in, it’s hard for someone else to outsell you.

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Will these voicemail rules get you an audience with whomever you want whenever you want?  Of course not.  But 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 right, it really can be a printing salesperson’s best friend.

T.J. Tedesco is a “hands-on” marketing, sales, coaching and training consultant to the post press industry. He is the author of Binding, Finishing & Mailing: The Final Word, and Win Top-of-Mind Positioning, both published by GATFPress and available at Amazon.com. T.J. can be reached at (301) 294-9900 or tj@growsales.com.