What are your thoughts on leaving voicemail?

Voicemails are important, but they only work if you have something interesting to say! The voicemail you leave needs to be customer-focused, benefit-driven, with a strong sense of urgency and call to action to drive a response.

Think about your own voicemail box at the end of busy day. Which voicemails do you respond to? Or perhaps more obviously, which do you clearly NOT respond to?

I typically don't like word-for-word sales scripting, but voicemails are the exception. Find something crisp and succinct that includes the requirements above. Work with your marketing team to test different messages, offers, etc. and do your best to measure the response rates so that you're using most often the message that gets the best returns.

Funny that this is such a hot topic. We recently analyzed a significant discussion that was taking place in a LinkedIn group and found that 70% of all respondents felt that it was a bigger mistake NOT leave a voicemail.

We use this analogy...

Not leaving a voicemail is like being invited to a party, driving to the address and never ringing the doorbell. You get there but you don't get in!

Absolutely leave a message! Why hang up on a free branding opportunity? Get that company name directly into someone's ear. Then when they see your email, direct mail, blog post, tweet, postcard, etc., they will recognize it!

And when you do leave your message/s - vary them up, and don't get tongue tied on a 10-word positioning statement ; ), ie, "We provide customized, hosted SAACPRQ systems as a technical solution for integrated widget deployment for helpdesks." - you get the picture!

Maybe I'm old school, but it seems like a simple courtesy to leave a message. In most cases, the caller can tell who you are, so not leaving a message can reflect badly. Of course there seem to more exceptions than rules here, so this is very much a judgement call.

Clearly, telesales is a world unto itself, and this very much depends where you are in the sales cycle. If it's a cold call, and no contact has yet been made, then it's probably best to not leave a message. If you do, one of two things will happen. If they're interested, they'll call back or pick up next you call. If not, they'll know who you are next time around, and it's a pretty safe bet that they'll never answer your call.

We can debate this all day, but another consideration is the message you're trying to get across on the call. If part of your pitch involves emailing a document or steering them to a website, that's a great reason to leave the VM. Not only does it present a call to action with a clear path, but it gives you a legitimate reason to follow up later with another call.

Something to consider: with the advent of "missed calls" display and caller ID, you may be hurting yourself by calling and not leaving a message. I suppose it depends on the number of times you call and the opportunity costs of leaving the message, but the person you are calling could be displeased.

I personally feel it's always best to leave a voicemail and send an immediate follow up email. It gives the individual the opportunity to call you back or simply email you. By leaving a voicemail it means that you are serious about their business. I think it's good business practice to leave a voicemail too, but make it short and to the point.

Leave voicemails. Be upbeat, sweet and to the point. Prior to founding RareAgent, I was an executive assistant to a CEO of a software company. I screened calls and voicemails and sat in on board meetings. As an EA, I was aware of any board appointed directives as well as active projects.If someone left me a voicemail, and the value proposition addressed our organization's pain or board appointed directive, I'd forward that information on to the appropriate executive or department who received a directive. Just because you did not receive a returned phone call, does not mean your message has not been heard or forwarded to the appropriate person. Hint, value prop should mention a business driver, movement and metric.

I agree with the clear consensus above that it's best to leave a succinct and engaging voicemail as a starting point to your sales process, but where opinions seem to get mixed is later in the sales cycle when a prospect has gone dark (i.e. Not returned your last message or flaked on a commitment). In this circumstance, many (in my opinion misguided) sales managers coach their reps not to leave a message the first few times they call as a justification for calling back later that day/week/month...as if leaving two voicemails in a row betrays some unspoken rule of business ethics.

The justifications seem to be two-fold:
1. Since you didn't leave a message, they don't know you called previously, and you can pretend you're calling back to leave a message this time around.
2. Calling often enough will pester/agitate the prospect enough to take action.

My thoughts:
1. As noted in multiple replies above, the days of Caller ID have relegated pretending you haven't tried to reach them earlier to the yesteryear bucket of the "What can I do to get you in a new car today" sales pitch. Nobody's fooled, and nobody wants to buy from a stalker. Plus, leaving a message saves you the work of calling back again later when you're more tired, discouraged and desperate.

2. I want sympathetic prospects, not angry ones. It's best to leave a second, or even third or fourth...maybe not fifth, message expressing your increasing confusion and/or distress, and to ask for some guidance. Help them feel your pain just as you have tried to solve theirs, and they'll feel compelled to call back.

Some sales managers instruct reps not to send emails later because 'emails are easier to reply no than phone calls" Silly. If they're going to give a definite no, let's get it and move on.

Thoughts on whether calling without leaving a message makes more sense further down the line?

Brian - thank you for the belly laugh!

No matter how I look at it - I can't justify calling w/o leaving a message. I'd really love to come up with something, just for the mental exercise of it, but I can't come up with a reason for not leaving a voicemail that in any way shape or form moves business forward.

Imagine the person sitting at their desk (or hearing their cell ring). They don't answer. They see that the caller did not leave a message. Makes the caller look sort of silly.

Kathy - here is one reason not to leave a message... you do not do research into the target and their company and have nothing unique to say:) Unfortunately, that typifies most of the so-called "lead generation" available out there today.

Excellent Dan - If you shouldn't be leaving a voicemail, you shouldn't be making the phone call!

Leave a VM that's well scripted. I suggest using below two voicemails for prospects you haven’t spoken with yet. (I have an article in my Blog about two other situations - 1. When you’re calling a prospect or client back. 2. When your prospect or client isn’t calling you back.)

Sample Voicemail Message #1:

Note: The best voicemail message you can leave is one with a specific purpose that addresses the needs of your prospect or client, and offers them a solution that is worth them taking the time to call you back to learn more about. Here is the classic template – adjust and adapt it to fit your product or service. In this and all examples, leave your phone number SLOWLY:

"Hi __________, this is ___________ with (your company). I'm calling about your new office that's opening in Houston next month, and I wanted to provide you with some ideas that may help with your networking issues. We work with a lot of companies in the area, and I think you'll find it useful if we talk.

You can reach me by calling area code (800) 222-0568. That number again is area code (800) 222-0568, and ask for _________. I look forward speaking with you and thanks in advance for returning my call.”

Sample Voicemail Message #2:

“Hi _________, this is _______ _______ with (your company). You and I haven’t spoken yet, but I’ve been doing some research on your company and I think you’re a great fit for (our networking solutions – your products here). We can provide you with (BREIF list of one or two benefits) and I know you’ll be happy if we spend just a couple of minutes discussing how this can help you.

When you get this message, please call me back at (800) 222-0568. That number again is area code (800) 222-0568 and ask for _________. I look forward to speaking with you, and I guarantee you’ll be glad you returned this call.”

VM is a question of managing your expectations more than anything else. The purpose of a VM is NOT to get a call back. The purpose is to establish some name recognition and let the other person know that you are there and you aren't going away. To that end you can try all sorts of different things with VM. Have you ever left a very long VM letting the other person know about all of the research you did on them and why you are calling? And what about the action item - is it easy for your prospect to do the action (reply to email) or hard (call you back). I'm writing this in Colorado Springs where one of our biggest clients has an office. How did we land them? They called back after the 3rd VM that my colleague left. You don't want to know how many emails he sent. Now we have an amazing realtionship with them.

VM = Just Do It!

If you decided to leave a message act like you have known them forever only leave you first name and asked them to call you back. Or don't ether way it gives you fresh start just remeber to be prepare to know what your callin when they return your call

I don't see how one can say "no" after Dan's comment

I believe leaving a voicemail followed by an email is great. In some cases I let them know that I will be sending an email as well with a link and that they can contact me via email as to when a good time to have a conversation would be.

Wow love the party analogy.

I'd say leave a voicemail. The points on being relevant and benefit-driven and so on are no-brainers to me...meaning you absolutely need to do that. I'd add that you want to avoid over-the-top enthusiasm where the calls sounds awfully, awfully "salesy." Passion for your product or company is one thing, using words like "amazing," or "killer," or "astounding" just drains your message of credibility.

I would say the only other time I don't leave a message is when they are on vacation. I don't want to be one of the hundred messages they already have to return. I would rather call them a couple of days after they have returned to catch them. Even if i don't I could leave a voicemail and a least acknowledged that I recognize they were on vacation and might not be caught up yet and here is why I am calling.

I couldn't agree more with the party analogy. I leave a voicemail every time I call a prospect and I follow up with an email within the next ten minutes. Maybe prospects are screening calls, but at the same time, maybe they left their desk for 10 minutes to go to a meeting. If you don't leave a voicemail they will never know you made the attempt, so it would be wasted energy in my opinion.

I can give you an example of how this worked for me today. I called into a prospect and left a voicemail. I followed up immediately afterwards with an email. Within 10 minutes of sending my email and leaving my voicemail, I received a reply from the decision maker within the company. The original contact I was prospecting not only forwarded my email to the right contact, but forwarded my voicemail as well (I have the email chain to prove it;)) The decision maker and I have a call scheduled as a result.

With all this being said, and to agree with a lot of what you all have been saying, it is crucial to create voicemails that grab the prospects attention and to sound genuinely interested in their company and their company's pain points. My colleague made a great point yesterday - leave every voicemail as if it was your first of the day. If you sound bored or not interested in your prospect, they will hear it in your voice and won't call you back.

My best advice is to call your own voicemail and leave a message for yourself and listen to it. Or, if you have a sales team, have each rep call you directly and have them leave you a voicemail and provide feedback.

Voicemail is a great tool to reach your prospects. Just like with cold calling, it isn't that prospects don't want to take calls, they just don't want to take bad calls. With voicemail the same applies. To avoid a wasted effort with voicemail, try the following:

1) Make sure you know what you are going to say on a voicemail. If it sounds unsure or the message is unclear or rambling, it will get deleted midway.
2) Leave the voicemail you script for yourself and listen to it--ask yourself "would you call you back?" Sometimes scripted voicemails are written for the rep but not the prospect, think of it from your prospects' point of view.
3) Leave your number twice so they can write it down. I have people leave voicemails for me that are talking too fast, or their cell had a brief interruption and I miss a number.

Even if a prospect doesn't call back, your voicemail can have a powerful impact. People forward them to others in their group to follow up on, they will research your company, or reach out at a later date.

Also, execs are busy and work in an interrupt-driven environment. They may have every intention to call back but got brought into something urgent and it fell off their radar. Just call them back and don't take it personally.

ALWAYS leave a voice message. Recent example of why. Been leaving a VM for a VP IT on an
irregular basis for over 5 years with no response. Zero. Nulla. But always a friendly and cheerful message was left with no ultimatum or concern about why there was never a returned call.

A month ago I learned he joined another company and left him a message congratulating him and wishing him well. A week later he called me. "Have we ever talked?" he asked. "No" "Have we
ever done business?" "No" Then he said he was so impressed with my persistence that he asked to meet me the following day. We met and I have 2 assignments to fill. Probably get more if it works out well. BTW, I am a recruiter and specialize in the IT area. Moral: ALWAYS leave a message. herbert@hessjobs.com 416 447-3355 Founder: Hess Associates

If you leave a voicemail message, it should include a "Call to Action" and it should NOT give the full details about why you called. If your message babbles on and on, there is no incentive to call you back, because you have already delivered all of your message. The recipient may think "That's nice" and ignore you.

A "Call to Action" message might be "Dave, I have information about that item we discussed. Call me." CLICK

Get it? Now the recipient is wondering WHAT information? They have an incentive to call you back.