I called one of my potential clients prepared to leave my final voicemail. This voicemail is usually my fourth or fifth attempt to reach someone to see if I can help them. And it is final for a period of ninety or 120 days, after which I recycle them through the sales process.
The prospect said, “You were on my callback list, sorry, I haven’t had a chance to call before.”
We chatted for a while about his problems and my services. I asked him what issues were unique to his organization and he rightly said “None.” I told him what was unique about my business and why the difference in my approach and content. I then emailed him a proficiency test, along with a helpful tool.
question. Did I always leave her a voicemail when I called her? No. There are some categories of decision makers who are overwhelmed with sales or marketing calls. No matter how good the first fifteen seconds of your engagement message are, most of the time they will eliminate it. There are other categories of decision makers who simply never answer their phones; Many sales managers never answer calls from their boss or their sales reps, why would they answer yours?
Today, many busy executives have their manager listen to their voicemail and eliminate any sales or marketing calls. Most bad managers listen to these instructions and follow them to the letter. Excellent managers listen to character, charisma, and content and alert their boss when someone or something excellent stands out. Smart executives ask their managers to listen to character, charisma, and content. “If someone really stands out for their offering, approach or style, please leave your message on my voicemail and let me know.”
I call, without leaving a message, to try to talk to the decision maker. I call and leave a message on voicemail to establish rapport and credibility through my series of messages. I don’t plan on being called back until the “last” message.
The short answer is to leave a series of messages to build rapport and show competence, and hopefully get a call from time to time. Other times just call to catch the decision maker.
Activity triggers / action items
1. Leave messages to build rapport and demonstrate your competence.
2. Call to connect with the decision maker, not necessarily leaving a message each time.
3. Leave a “last voicemail” and recycle lead in 90-120 days.