Voice mail hell.
My client, James, got this voicemail from some poor sales guy.
We transcribed it below. The bad parts are in bold…
"Hello, this is xxxx-xxxx calling from XX Business. I'm trying to reach out to the decision maker that's in charge of making changes to the business as far as adding internet services or a voice line so your clients or customers can get in contact with you or maybe your TV services that we're here to offer as well just for some type of entertainment our down time so if you could definitely give me a call back at xxx-xxx-xxxx with my extension being 0330 just want to have a discussion about what we can help out with the business when you guys use our products and services and what you guys can benefit from it so whenever you're free just give me a call thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.
This voicemail sucks.
But hundreds of thousands are left like it every day. And almost none of them get returned.
When James and I talked about it, we came up with at least 11 things in this message that make it AWFUL at doing what voicemail was meant to do: Getting a call back!
To be fair, there is no silver bullet for getting a call back from a voicemail.
At best, you should expect maybe a 25% call back rate over the long run if you’re really good. The difference between a 10% call back rate and a 25% call back rate, however, can mean the difference between a mediocre year and a kick-ass year.
So it’s worth learning to do right, right?
A good voicemail is smooth, understandable, and delivered in 12 seconds or less.
Here’s an example of a voice mail message that my clients tell me gets calls back consistently:
“Hey (prospect’s first name), this is (your first name). I was checking out your website and I had a couple of questions for you. Give me a call.”
Short. To the point. Gets the prospect’s attention with a compelling statement.
Try it out and see if your callback rate goes up.
Bringing Honesty, Transparency, and Selflessness to Business.
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