How to Make Your Voice Mail Stand Out in a Crowd

By Jeff Beals

Because of the rapidly increasing clutter and excessive communication in today’s marketplace, the world is now suffering a serious epidemic. It’s the highly contagious disease of blowing off and completely ignoring voice mails and emails.

Are you frustrated about the lack of messages you leave that are never returned? If so, you’re not alone.

According to Brian Sullivan, author of the book, 20 Days to the Top, prospects only return five to 10 percent of all voicemails. Despite the shockingly low response rate, Sullivan believes you must keep leaving those recorded messages. In fact, many of the most successful professionals in the world regularly leave voice mail after voice mail until they finally get the client to call back, or they actually manage to catch him or her live on the phone.

According to Jill Konrath, author of several books, many professionals are having to leave 10 or more voice mails before receiving a call-back from a c-level executive. Konrath doesn’t believe this is a function of executive-level rudeness, rather it’s the fact that these people are “crazy-busy” and simply can’t get back to calls that don’t fall into the “emergency” category.

Clients and prospective clients are more likely to return your voice mails if you make them interesting. First of all, Konrath recommends you never say you’re calling to “touch base” or “check in.” Those are useless reasons to waste a prospect’s time. Always say something of value. Remember that the prospect you are calling defines what is valuable, not you. How do you know what they value? Sullivan recommends you do a little research on the person and reference something unique about them. Doing so will show that you cared enough to learn about the person and will grab their attention because you’re talking their language.

Next, Sullivan advises that you hint what benefit the person will receive if they return your call. Then spark their curiosity, saying you have something to share with them that they will find valuable or interesting. If appropriate, you might want to offer a gift, something for free, such as a free report, counseling session, market advice, etc. Then follow up with the close, encouraging them to call you back.

After all that, you still might not hear from them. When that’s the case, leave another message and be prepared to keep doing so. Because everyone has become frenzied in our cluttered communication environment, it has sadly become acceptable to delete voice mails without returning the call, because the prospect assumes you’ll just call back. If you don’t follow through and keep calling back, you’ll probably never catch the person. When dialing for dollars on the phone, you have to keep dialing. Don’t stop. Be assertive, because rarely do would-be clients call and volunteer to give you money.

While big-name business titans like Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet and Oprah Winfrey usually succeed in catching a person’s attention when they call, lesser known professionals have a harder time. “John Smith” and “Jane Doe” need to make their messages stand out in the sea of sameness.

Jeff Beals is a professional speaker, award-winning author and sales consultant, who helps companies increase their profits and associations achieve their missions through effective sales and personal branding techniques.

Here’s Why Should You Choose Jeff Beals as Your Next Speaker:

"The Kansas City Chapter of Meeting Professionals International recently had the pleasure of hearing Jeff Beals present the keynote address at our Professional Education Conference. The topic was remarkably pertinent to the busy meeting professional and Jeff hit it out of the park by sharing a combination of real market strategies and anecdotal life experiences. He rallied the crowd with his dynamic speaking style and the effortless way he tailored the subject to his audience. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick-off our conference! Jeff also presented an additional education session which was equally well received and valuable to both meeting planners and suppliers alike."
- Shari B Hockenbery, CMP, Program Specialist, Francis Family Foundation, Kansas City, MO

“Jeff is sure to deliver an engaging and motivating speech! He cleverly ties together his stories and makes the speech end with a punch. Being the closing speaker is tough, but he stepped-up to the challenge and hit a home-run. Due to the high ratings and overwhelming response to re-watch his speech, we are planning on using his video during our NextGen watch party.” - Megan Dotson, Senior Client Success Consultant & Event Director, GovLoop.com, Washington, DC

“Your workshop was a huge experience for our attendees by giving them the opportunity to improve their work in the critical environment in which we are living today. Your talent as a speaker and your qualities as a person made the difference during your time with us. I would certainly recommend you to anyone who asks.” - Ana Paula Costa, Educational Planner, Febracorp, Sao Paulo, Brazil

“Our corporate partnership team had great takeaways regarding how to network smarter while also understanding the importance of our personal brand to current and prospective partners. Jeff does a great job weaving in real-world examples and how you can apply his teachings to growing your business and building long-term partnerships.”– Jason Booker, Senior Director of Corporate Sponsorships, The Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball Team

“If you are considering hiring Jeff, I will only say this: do it now. His ability to connect with an audience and explain the importance of telling the story is nothing short of extraordinary. The true litmus of any great speaker is authenticity. And when authenticity is coupled with an incredibly high amount of energy, humor, and engagement – you get Jeff. I would highly recommend him to anyone who needs a speaker attendees will talk about for a long time to come.” - Alison Cody, Executive Director, Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry, Atlanta, GA

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