Have you ever scheduled a meal for you, your significant other and close friends? Did it take more than one or two phone calls, emails and texts to settle on a date, time and venue? Of course!

Multi-touch, multi-media and multi-cycle processes multiply results. Done right, you can expect that 20 – 40% of the leads you generate to be the result of a call back or email reply.

A wise person once asked: How many return calls do you get when you don’t leave a voicemail?

Watch the video and note the advice below regarding how to leave a voicemail:

A quality voicemail will never hurt you. You have dialed the telephone and gotten voicemail – why not take an extra 25 seconds and leave your prospect a quality message? Here are some tips on leaving quality messages:

1. Keep it simple. How will the prospect benefit from calling you back?
2. Don’t be tricky. Messages like: “It is important that you call me back immediately” will fail. Best case you get a call back that turns into an angry prospect because of your approach.
3. Speak slowly and clearly. Leave your telephone number twice. Both times state your number slowly enough that the prospect can write it down.
4. Use a series (three) of carefully scripted voicemails followed by emails that build on each other. Each in the series should be related, but different.
5. Be persistent. People are busy, but if you have a quality message you will get your share of call backs.
6. Use their first name in the voicemail – twice!
7. Create interest fast. Your message is not about you; it is about them. What challenge or pain are they likely to be dealing with that you have helped a similar company solve?
8. Don’t over-invest. 35 – 45% of targets will not respond to your first cycle of contacts. However, don’t give up! You will reach most of them in the second and third cycle of contact – and they will then be even better prospects.

It makes sense to leave voicemails. Start working on better, more effective voicemails and test, test, test.  Watch the 60-second video and comment!