The way we communicate in the business world has changed dramatically in the last 40 years. Before the late 1970s, there was no voicemail. Voicemail systems were developed in the late 1970s by Voice Message Exchange (VMX). They became popular in the early 1980s when they became available on PC-based boards. In September 2012, a report from USA Today and Vonage claimed that voicemail was on the decline. The report said that the number of voicemail messages decreased 8 percent compared to 2011 due to the increase in texting and other forms of communication. Checking one’s voicemail seems to be considered an even bigger task than leaving a voicemail. Recovered voicemail fell 14% among Vonage users in the same period.
Fewer and fewer companies even have a living human answering the phone on their main number. Most of the time you will hear an automated attendant give you the opportunity to dial multiple departments with a particular number or you can dial an extension or dial by a person’s first or last name. Once you dial the last name, you are sent 98 percent of the time to another personalized automated voicemail with a happy greeting asking you to leave a message and they will call you back. Of course, anyone who makes outbound phone calls to secure new or existing client meetings chuckles and rolls their eyes because they know they are not talking to “YOU.”
There are some tips and tricks for getting around corporate voicemail systems. First of all, if you are setting an important goal that you would really like to have up front for sales, it is best to try it out with the prospect several times at different times of the day before leaving a voicemail. A little before or after the start of the day or possibly just at the end or just after the end of the typical business day for your type of lead. For example, a vice president of information technology is likely to be a very early or late worker, or both. By dialing them directly or typing their name to be transferred directly to you, the chances of them answering the phone are much higher because your administrative assistant may be gone for the day or has not yet appeared on the screen. your call.
If you’ve tried several random times during the day and decided to leave a voicemail, please leave a short, direct message and clearly state your name and phone number and you will follow up with an email. You have provided a business case to send that follow-up email and get it done right away. This will give you the ability to follow up on your initial action later. A great tool at this point is to follow up in a few days and when you get the same voicemail, hit zero. Many times, a person at that level will have an administrative assistant to whom they will be transferred. Tell him the purpose of your follow-up specifically and make sure you get his name and take good notes. Many times you can work directly with this person to enter Mr. / Mrs. VP’s calendar. If you get an operator instead, ask if the vice president has an administrative assistant and see if you can talk to him. If you still can’t get a “live” human on the phone, many times you can call back, press zero for the keynote operator. Explain that you are following up and could speak to someone in the general department you are targeting. With this example that would be the Information Technology department. Many times, if you are diligent, you can get a human being in the right department and possibly direct them to someone on the VP team who is more directly involved in the specific area you need to be in to start your sales process.
Leaving a voicemail should not last more than 20-30 seconds. As stated above, you should clearly and slowly speak your name, company name, purpose of the call, if possible, and this is of great help to you, who referred you to them, and slowly say your phone number. phone and it will. follow up with an email. 1 percent of the people you call will have a need or interest and will call you back. 99% will not. Clearly, you should never expect a callback. If you make a mistake in your voicemail and completely screw it up, remember the voicemail rules. Most of them allow you to start over and erase the message and record a new one before hanging up and allow you to listen to it before sending it. Pressing the # key once you realize that it probably sounded awful will give you a menu of “would you like to send this message now, delete and re-record, mark as urgent”, etc. There is no guarantee that they will even hear it, but in the event that they do, at least it comforts you that you left the best you could.
As more forms of communication continue to evolve, such as texting, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks that allow you to connect with business people, voice messages may decrease and you will find even more creative ways to reach your potential customer. This article should give you some fresh ideas on how to stand out when calling businesses and trying to reach your target audience. Good luck and good sales!
