Mistake #7 – Not leaving voicemails, or leaving long winded ones.
The advertising industry says that it takes seven to nine touches for someone to even remember our name, let alone our message, so why waste the opportunity for two of those touch points (a voicemail and a complementary email) each time you dial. Think of it as personal advertising. So what if they don’t return this particular call? They don’t always call when they see one of your ads, do they? Does that stop you from advertising? And, what better way to get a well thought out and specific message directly to someone who uses what you sell and should be able to purchase it? It’s better than advertising, because it is targeted and personalized. Matter of fact, if you’re not doing this, don’t tell your marketing department you’re not. They’d kill for this opportunity.
Before I address the flip-side of this issue, let me make two additional points. First, I consider this point a big one, so I’ve written four other blogs on the topic:
- Six reasons to leave voicemails (and send emails),
- Two reasons why your voicemails (and emails) are NOT being returned,
- Six ways to get more emails and voicemails returned, and a related topic,
- Six reasons to build an appointment making plan for the long haul.
I encourage you to visit those blogs for additional reasons to invest in the process of leaving coordinated voicemails and emails. Second, our approach has increased the number of returned messages by five times. That means you’ll have to make fewer outbound dials, gave more conversations with targets that have pre-qualified themselves, and have a warmer territory the second time through the list even if you have no conversations.
Now, for the flipside of leaving no messages: leaving long winded voicemails. Long winded messages come in two flavors, rambling ones because we’re winging it, and, well, just long ones with just too much in them. Don’t waste your time. No one is listening to long voicemails.
If you’d like more information on the topic of using voicemails and emails to set more appointments, check out the highlighted blogs above and drop us a line or give us a call. Or, if you’re simply interested in why no team of sales professionals has ever failed to at least double the number of Initial Appointments they were setting after going through one of our programs, give us a call or drop us a line. We love talking appointment making!
Caponi Performance Group and Contact Science jointly market the telephone prospecting and cold calling solution called Coldcalling101™. It is the only comprehensive solution to solving the biggest barrier to success in most selling organizations—the inability to secure enough Initial Appointments to begin the selling process. We accomplish that through simultaneously addressing both the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. We can be reached at 817 224-9900 or at bcaponi@caponipg.com. You can also find answers to many of your challenges in our books: Contrary to Popular Belief, Cold Calling DOES Work! Volume I: Effectiveness, The Art of Appointment Making and Volume II: Efficiency, the Science of Appointment Making.
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