1. Take a moment to collect all your thoughts
This happens BEFORE you make the
call; not as you're making the call or listening to their
automated message. Take a few moments to jot down the points
that you want to get across.
1 minute of preparation makes the difference between a message
that is professional and one that makes you wince. We all
know, YOU CAN'T GO BACK AND FIX IT. I have
actually received a second voice mail message from someone who
apologized for the first. Ouch! That's embarrassing and
totally avoidable.
2. Everyone loves the sound of their own name -
twice!
While everyone seems to understand the importance of starting
their message with the person's name, the smart communicators
END with a "Thank you and their name" once
again. This works well whether you know the person or
not. Even if you are making a cold call or leaving a message
for someone you've never met, starting and finishing with their
name is a great way to show the signs of starting a
relationship.
3. Sound like you're worthy of a call back with a
HOOK
This consists of many components. First of all,
SLOW DOWN and
ENUNCIATE. You most
definitely want to show enthusiasm and personality. Just be
aware that most people will naturally
speed up their delivery as they become excited.
Remember, if you're lucky the person listening to your message
has a pen and paper handy
intending to write down the information to RETURN
the call. How many times have you had to back the message up
to TRY get a name and number especially if you're
not familiar with the person who called?
Being natural with your delivery will automatically make your
message stand out because it will SOUND different
than all the other messages. SMILE and add
some warmth to your words. Yes, you can HEAR
a smile!
If you're leaving a prospecting message, leaving a
HOOK with a sincere VALID
BUSINESS REASON will increase your chance
of a call back. Ensure the business reason is truly valid
from the BUYER'S perspective.
4. 30 seconds - no more!
No one wants to listen to a lengthy message - NO
ONE. Imagine the expression on the person's face
when after accessing their voice mail they hear…."you have eight
messages…" They press yours and you ramble on about something
because you didn't take the time to prepare to leave a quick 30
second message. There's a good chance your message is skipped
for the next because of frustration.
Please don't be that person who fills up 2 minutes of voice mail
and gets cut off in mid-sentence. That's just being one
sandwich short of a picnic, honestly.
Preparing for the 30 second voice mail message takes
VERY little time.
5. Repeat your contact name and number
Whenever I receive a message from someone who does this, I smile
and think…now I'm dealing with a professional communicator
WHO GETS IT. Thank you! If you repeat
your name and number, you are giving me a chance to write it down
without having to REPEAT THE MESSAGE from the
start.
You are saving me time and I like you already! Maybe you
just made your first impression on me. Obviously, if you have
an established relationship you can rethink this. Yet, this
habit is so entrenched into my message delivery; I DO IT
ALL THE TIME and don't have to remember to not forget it
when establishing new relationships.
The Summary
Here's what this should sound like…
"Hi Julie! It's Dave Warawa calling from PROSALESGUY
TRAINING….780-318-3114.
I met one of your Sales People recently. Mark and I
had a discussion on your new software program and he
suggested I call you directly.
It's Dave Warawa from PROSALESGUY TRAINING…780-318-3114….I
look forward to talking to you. Thanks Julie!"
These 5 steps to leaving a professional voice mail message came
from my personal experience of what works and doesn't. I will
always say there are many different ways of being successful.
Find the RIGHT ONE FOR YOU and CONTINUE TO
PERFECT IT!
By the way, thanks to many of you who have sent me
encouraging emails and responded to my Tweets on the PROSALESGUY BLOG. I appreciate
the feedback and welcome you to comment in the area below. I
put a lot of time and effort into this initiative and am pleased
you are finding it useful.
I urge you to subscribe to the PROSALESGUY BLOG to find it in your
inbox every week free of charge!
Thanks for reading!
Dave Warawa - PROSALESGUY