Should you leave a voicemail?
One of the best responses to this question that I have seen is from a somewhat dated (2015) article in Eyes On Sales in which the author asks: “How many callbacks do you get if you DON'T leave a voicemail?”
The following is from my favorite author (“New Sales. Simplified.” and “Sales Management. Simplified.”), Mike Weinberg:
“Voice mail is a reality, and anyone in sales needs to deal with it. I’m tired of all the whining about reaching a prospect’s voice mail. If we’re going to get voicemail more than half the time, let’s change our attitude about it. What a wonderful opportunity to drop a tidbit of our sales story, position ourselves as a value creator, and begin building a relationship. Yes, you can build a relationship with someone through voice mail messages.”
From Trish Bertuzzi, the Bridge Group:
“Voicemail and email are equally important. And, together, they’re twice as effective as all other touches combined.” (from “The Sales Development Playbook”)
Now for a real success story. Here is what happened on December 6, 2016 (the names have been changed to protect our client, a Fortune 200 company):
- Voicemail left by our business development associate forwarded by the VP Finance to the Director of Risk Management (DRM).
- DRM states in a conversation with our BDA:
- DRM heads up the global credit team
- They are always trying to increase profitability
- The industry has been down so they need to grant more credit, and (most importantly)
- He has a goal to streamline their global credit decision process.
- The DRM has only been there a couple months, but this is a priority. Prospect has multiple regions, each with their own process and nuances. He has been reaching out to the regions, collecting information on their needs and pain points. Some areas are more automated than other, but it is mostly manual.
- The DRM asked for a call back on a specific date at a specific time.
This was a “Gold Call” that has led to a huge opportunity for our client. It started with a voicemail that was forwarded by one senior executive to another.
Do I believe that you should leave voicemails? Yes. Multiple voicemails, in fact.
For information about what to say, how many voicemails to leave and recommended cadence – reach out to me through this blog. For insight on how many leads you'll need to achieve your revenue goals, click this link or on the image below.
Topics: B2B Sales, Prospect Development