Do you leave voicemails on your cold calls?
If you are cold calling, you will most likely be transferred to a voicemail multiple times a day. Most salespeople just hang up the phone with the thought to try again another time. But just because a decision-maker isn’t around to answer their phone, doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in what you have to offer.
If you aren’t leaving voicemails in your B2B cold phone calls, you are missing the perfect opportunity to connect with more prospects and generate more qualified sales leads.
The Value in a Voicemail
Most prospects view salespeople as self-serving, knowing very little about their industry or what they do, so when you view your voicemail as a tool, rather than to sell them something, you stand out from the rest of the messages in their inbox.
Your audience already knows you are selling something, so it’s important to spark their interest by focusing on how you can help them. If you were them, what would you want to hear? Do people in their industry connect through reports, news, events, or industry updates? The better you know your prospects, the more you can connect with them.
Think of your voicemail as a tool. It’s the first message between you and your prospect in a sequence of communications that should tell a story and help build trust. They may not call you back, but that one voicemail message can open the door to a long-term relationship.
Get Better Response Rates
Pairing your voicemail message with social media or email can help increase your response rates and help build on that connection between you and your prospect. This allows you to finish telling your story, rather than just “following up” with them in an email.
Plus, not everyone loves the phone. Mixing up your communication methods also gives your prospect another chance to respond using the platform that best suits them, their availability, and their needs. Make it easy for them to find you and contact you. Once you find a pattern, you can make small adjustments to your strategy.
Build Better Brand Awareness
Salespeople tend to not like voicemails, so chances are, if you leave a great one, you will probably stand out with your prospects. Leave them early in your cold calls so more prospects can hear the name of your brand, which can help increase the likelihood of connecting at a later time.
Most times, when you spark their interest in a cold call voicemail, they will perform their own research (like looking through your website and content) to decide whether or not your offering is worth their time. Be sure to provide them with good information along their customer journey and you can also reduce the length of your sales cycle.
Practice Makes Perfect
You need measurements in order to make improvements and your value statement is one you should be practicing and measuring consistently. By leaving more voicemails, you get an added practice that raises your confidence level, whether you’re on the phone or in person. Have you ever heard yourself in a voicemail message? Try calling yourself and practice on execution. Would you call you back?
Be sure to take note of which statements seem to show the best value and work on making small improvements to those messages. Test and adjust test which methods, templates, or frameworks have the best response rates for your target audience.
(Bonus: When you get confident on voicemail, you can always level up by using video to generate more leads)
The Most Effective Tips for Leaving a Voicemail
To get the most out of your cold calls, you need to make sure you are leaving effective voicemails. Create your own framework or find a template to edit, but be sure to research the lead and know how your offering specifically helps solve their root problem.
Leaving a voicemail is a lot like an elevator pitch. You have less than 30 seconds to introduce yourself and your value statement. Remember, your goal isn’t to sell them on anything.
1. Be Brief & Specific
You are still asking for someone’s time, so it’s important to be brief, but also specific. Personalized outreach that’s specific to the person and company you’re reaching out to works best in every channel, including voicemails. Just like if you were having a cold call conversation, every word is important.
An effective voicemail message should cover why you are calling and your contact information. When you “show them you know them” you can better state your story and the specific reason for your call in a brief value statement. Use the prospect’s name if possible.
If you leave a great voicemail, they may call you back. If it’s too long, they can’t hear or understand you, they probably won’t even finish listening. Always have a specific reason for calling and never waste their time.
2. Don’t Try to Sell Them
Trying to sell your solution in a voicemail won’t work. There isn’t enough time and you shouldn’t try – your prospects won’t appreciate it. You also shouldn’t try to load them full of benefits or buzzwords and expect them to be engaged. Try to find the best connection between you and the prospect and focus on being authentic and genuine in that message.
What you can ‘sell’ is your call to action. What should their next action be? Be specific as possible with what you want to achieve. They might not follow through, but it’s worth the shot. Feel free to share some times you will be available for them to reach out.
3. Speak for Transcribing
Keep in mind not all voicemails are actually listened to. Some are transcribed through text, email, or another service. Still keep that positive energy, and don’t talk like a robot, but also be aware of this translation. Be sure to speak clearly and steadily in an environment free of background noise for best results.
To be compelling, you’ll need good delivery, which is why practicing is key to crafting better voicemail messages. If you feel like you have to rush your message, you probably have too much information.
4. Leave Your Contact Info at the End
Leaving your number at the beginning of your voicemail may allow them to hang up before you say your value statement. Grab their attention first! Saying your contact information at the end requires them to listen fully before finding out exactly who you are.
Many experts also suggest repeating your number twice to make sure it can be noted correctly. By doing so, you are also making it easier for you to be contacted if they are listening to the message.
Leaving voicemails in B2B cold calls can provide value whether or not a prospect returns your call. A great message can solidify your brand and may trigger a response in the future. The better your voicemails, the more likely you’ll get a response.
If you’re worried about spending too much time leaving voicemails, find a sales dialer that allows you to prerecord and auto drop your voicemail message right into the call.
