By Steve Anderson
You know the routine by now. You call. You get the voice mail. You leave a message. Your call is not returned. You call again. And again. And again. You have entered the producers' version of voice mail hell.
The Wall Street Journal reports that only 30% of all telephone calls reach the intended party on the first try. Without question, voice mail has dramatically altered the way we approach business-to-business prospecting and sales--permanently. It's part of the transformation to a selling climate that is a tougher, more barricaded one. Many of us who have considered ourselves "hot" producers have had our confidence shaken. Even our so-called "best customers" are harder to get a hold of. The challenges to getting your foot in the door are more difficult than ever, and voice mail may be one of the toughest challenges to overcome.
What can we do? Plenty! Following are some useful techniques for you to use, whether you're placing or receiving calls. Remember, voice mail is a technology tool you can use to better respond to your clients. And you can overcome the barrier voice mail represents so you can get face to face with that "hot" prospect and tell your story.
Organizations use voice mail to enhance productivity, and it does this quite well. Many times, we don't really need to talk to the person we are calling. We just need to leave some piece of information. And a message can do that just fine. It becomes a problem, however, when voice mail is used to screen calls or avoid them.
There are three parts to voice mail: 1) automated attendant systems, 2) your greeting (what callers hear on your voice mail), and 3) your message (what you leave for your clients or prospects on their voice mail system). Let's take a look at these three parts.
Automated attendant
This is a "groaner" because every time you hear, "Thank you for calling XYZ Insurance Company. If you know your party's extension, you may dial it at any time"...etc., you inwardly groan. Insurance companies seem to be infamous for this type of system. We strongly recommend that a live person answer the phone, even if your firm has a voice mail system. The receptionist for our agency answers the main telephone number. If the person the caller is trying to reach is not available, she then asks if she can take a message or if the caller would like to leave a message on the person's voice mail. This approach gives the caller some options.
If you reach an office with an automated attendant system, and you are offered no options, remember you can usually bypass and override the announcement by pushing "0" and your call will be directed to the operator who may be able to tell you if your party is in the office or when (s)he will be back. In many cases you need the operator for this kind of information because voice mail greetings are too generic--you can't be sure if your party is even in town, let alone in the office or on another call.
If you call someone often, keep that person's extension number handy so that you can bypass the automated attendant and go directly to the extension.
Your greeting
There are two types of voice mail greetings: poor and great.
Poor: "Hi, this is Steve. I'm either on the telephone or out of the office. Leave me a detailed message at the sound of the tone and I'll get back to you as soon as possible." Well, that's a hot lot of news! If the call is being handled by voice mail, it's obvious you're not available. And if your message sounds like our example, go rerecord it right now! Steve who? What department? When will Steve return the call? If you are out of the office for an extended period, mention the dates during which you will be away. A "poor" greeting leaves too many questions unanswered.
Great: "Hi! This is Steve Anderson in sales. I'm out of the building until 4:00 today, Monday, June 23. I do check my messages, so please leave yours and a telephone number. If you need other information, call Margie at extension 41 or the operator at '0.' Thanks for calling and have a super day."
Yes...when you use the great method, you will need to rerecord each day. That's about a 20-second job, guaranteed to be well worth a very small effort. Also, be sure your recording sounds good. Listen to it before you let your callers hear it. Keep your standards high. Remember that the caller is getting a glimpse of you--make it sound great. Rerecord your message if you aren't 100% happy with it. You'll receive better messages (and orders) with this type of greeting to your callers.
Wouldn't you like to hear this kind of message when you're calling one of your clients or prospective clients? Well, they'd like the same from you.
The message
We used to be able to "charm" our way through the gatekeeper. We could warm our way into "her" heart. Today with voice mail, it's very difficult to charm a machine.
Companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for a 20-, 30-, or 60-second commercial during a special event. They take their time to make it right and effective. Consider the message you're leaving for someone as though it's a commercial. It's your electronic business card. What would you pay to leave a 30-second commercial about you and your company that the prospect will hear verbatim, in your voice...and your tone of voice?
Don't underestimate the tone of voice. It's a major factor in voice mail. It makes all the difference in the world!
Don't wing it. Have a few key words written out before you call, or actually write out a script with different messages if necessary. Know what you want to say. Amateurish sounding messages are more likely to be zapped or stored for later listening.
Smile, smile, and smile. Happy, festive messages are far more welcome than monotone and dreary ones. Leave your telephone number twice, and slowly. The most common complaint we have about messages is the caller zipping through a telephone number so fast we can't write it down without listening to the message again.
An often-asked question is, "Should I leave a message on a cold call...in other words, to someone I haven't met yet?" The answer is yes and no. If you get voice mail, first try to find a human being to talk with--the assistant, the receptionist, someone who can tell you (if the voice mail message doesn't) when Mr./Mrs. Tough-To-Reach will be back. But unless you have a strong referral, we suggest you do not leave a message. Your presentation shouldn't be left on voice mail. However, your message of referral with a common name can be.
What does a good message sound like? Here's an example. It is always in a happy, upbeat mode:
"Hi, Mr. Jones. This is Steve Anderson, from American Insurance Consultants, calling long distance from Ft. Worth, Texas. I need a little friendly direction. If you'd please call me back, I promise to take only two to three minutes of your time. Again, it's Steve Anderson, in Ft. Worth, Texas, at (817) 581-6486. That's (817) 581-6486. Have a great day!"
Warm up first
One of the most effective ways to overcome the voice mail barrier is develop a rapport with your prospect so (s)he will want either to take your call in the first place or return your call if you have left a message.
An automated marketing system allows you to stay in touch and build relationships with a larger number of prospects than you ever could on your own.
A strategic plan for developing each prospect is crucial. It's what the prospect receives from you--letters, faxes, promotional pieces--that represents you and communicates the message that you're out there, waiting for when the prospect is ready to do business. You need to build a carefully scripted series of action steps that educate, cultivate and stimulate prospects, gently moving them toward the goal of becoming customers. This strategy must be well thought out and persist over what may be a long period of time.
Our February 1996 column details how an automated marketing system works. (If you want a reprint of that column, call InsurFax at 817-589-4530 and ask for document #420.) We have learned from personal experience, when you consistently stay in touch with prospects and clients they will be more likely to take your call.
With only 30% of people reaching the intended party on the first attempt, be prepared for voice mail and know how to use it. Whether you swear by it--or at it--voice mail is here to stay. *
The author
Steve Anderson is a producer at Cadenhead Shreffler Insurance in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He also heads American Insurance Consultants (AIC) which provides consulting services on how to maximize profits using common sense technology and is a partner in MarTech, Inc. He is a member of the TAAR network and can be reached at 800-657-6181 or by e-mail at:
SteveAnderson@compuserve.com
To obtain additional information by fax on the topic discussed in this article, call InsurFax, AIC's fax-on-demand system, at (817) 589-4530, 24 hours a day, 7 days per week and request document #350.