COMMENTS
Matt these are great suggestions for anyone who uses the phone to prospect. Well done!
I spend many hours coaching inside sales reps and the two most important pieces of advice I give them are;
Before you leave your message, write it down and ask yourself these two questions
1. Is the message all about you or is there something in it for your prospect?
2. Why would they want to return your call?
Secondly have a prospecting not a stalking plan. Write out 3 meaningful voice messages and one email message and be sure your email has a strong call to action.
Make your 4 attempts to connect with your prospect within 10 – 15 business days. This will create urgency and curiosity around your messaging.
Trafty,
That is a great point. I frequently get a single (and very forgettable) voicemail from a salesperson.
I do take note, however, when I receive multiple contacts and they reference that they have been trying to reach me.
I would 4 attempts definitely remember 4 calls over a couple of week period.
Awesome. If more "almost talented" sales professionals understood these, it would not be so difficult for those that do. My greatest sadness is that companies that manage these salespeople don't understand it is their responsibility, like raising kids, to make sure a clear set of operating protocols are in place for the inside sales team.
I wish you had trackbacks enabled, I would point sales folks to this artcle through my own blog.
Voicemails are annoying, aren't they? I actually find that e-mails are more effective because the prospect have the time to reaquaint themselves with our material. Voicemails are made to be ignored.
Cheers,
Nathan
@michael
Thanks for the comment. Feel free to post any links in the comments.
@nathan
I tend to delete both vm & em. I will say I get far more sales email than voicemail. It really depends on what I am doing the moment I receive it. If I am clearing out my inbox, email stands no chance.
BUT email make it much easier to respond to the sales person with a status/interest update.