The key to success with voice mail  is to come to grips with the fact that on some level most of your buyers despise it and either ignore or delete most of their messages. It is wishful or, more likely, delusional thinking to expect your voice mail messages to actually be returned. However, with a few simple adjustments that make your messages easier for your prospects to deal with, you may succeed in getting many more messages returned and at the same time earn the respect of the people you call.

Here are the top three tips:

1. Give Contact Information First: 99% of the time when we leave a voice mail we want the other person to call us back. When you give your contact information first you are far more likely to entice the person you called into writing down your name and number for a call back. Besides, it is just good business. Try something like this: “Hi this is Jeb Blount, from SalesGravy.com. My phone number is 555-222-1212.” This demonstrates your respect for the other person’s time and your professionalism.

2. Keep It Short: Your messages should be thirty seconds or less and deal with only one subject. When you hold yourself to thirty seconds it forces you to be succinct and to focus on the most important information. Always remember to say why you have called. There is nothing more irritating to a buyer than salespeople who are less than honest about their intentions. After you give your personal information just say, “The reason for my call is” or “The purpose of my call is.” Then tell them why you are calling and leave your message.

3. Repeat Your Name and Phone Number: Before you push # always say your name again slowly and clearly and always, always say your number twice. It should sound something like this, “again, this is Jeb Blount with QuickandDirtyTips.com my phone number is 555-222-1212 that’s 555-222-1212.” This will ensure that your name and phone number are registered correctly and that you leave your potential client with a positive impression of you.

 Jeb Blount is the CEO of SalesGravy.com, the world’s largest sales career website. A respected thought leader on sales and sales leadership, he is author of three books, People Buy You: The Real Secret to what Matters Most in Business

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Tags: client contact, talking with clients, voice mail

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Guest Blogger, Selling Skills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.