FollowThose of you that have taken classes with me know that I believe cold calls are one of the least effective ways to get new business, but regardless of whether you make cold calls or not, you’ll still need to use the phone to return messages, call suppliers and contact referrals.
Below are six things to avoid when leaving a voice mail message and how to easily correct them!
1. Rambling. Decide what you want to say ahead of time. The fastest route for your prospects and clients to hit the the delete key is to leave a long, rambling message. Practice what you want to say before you make that important call and keep it short and to the point.
2. Talking too fast. This is especially important if you’re leaving a telephone number. Speak slowly but with authority. Leave your telephone number twice; once at the beginning of the message and once at the end.
3. Being self-serving. Here’s the cold, hard truth: the prospect you’re trying to contact doesn’t care about you or your company. But they do care about the RESULTS your company can get for them. Instead of saying, “I’m calling to introduce myself and my company”, try saying, “I’m calling because I help companies like yours decrease lost time accidents, increase trade show traffic and build brand awareness quickly and I’ve got some great ideas I’d like to share with you.” You get the idea!
4. Not asking permission. If, per chance, a live person does pick up the phone, the first thing you need to know is if this is good time to speak. Nothing will turn off a prospect faster than a salesperson calling at a bad time. Always get permission to proceed first.
5. Being defensive. Not everyone is a good prospect for you. Don’t take it personally, be polite and move on if you get someone that is clearly not interested. Pushy and aggressive sales techniques went out with the last century!
6. Giving up too soon. Here’s another cold, hard truth. Most people won’t return your call, but that doesn’t mean they’re not interested; they’re just busy. Use your intuition. When a prospect has good potential, there’s no reason to stop trying. Just space out your calls and make your messages enticing. And if the phone messages you’re leaving aren’t getting the results you want, try contacting in a variety of different ways. A personal letter, a spec sample or an interesting article with some useful information may get a better response.
What’s your biggest voice mail frustration? How have you gotten past the voice mail barrier? I’d love to hear from you! Just comment in the box below.
© 2006 – 2013 Rosalie Marcus
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Rosalie Marcus, The Promo Biz Coach ™ is a promotional products business expert, coach and speaker. Combining her skills and years of experience in promotional sales, she helps her clients sell more at higher profit margins and dramatically increase their incomes! Get a FREE special report: 10 Big Mistakes Promotional Professionals Make and How to Avoid Them and a FREE Skyrocket Your Sales audio download at http://www.promobizcoach.
Reach her at Rosalie@promobizcoach.com or 215-572-6766.
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