Good
Messages=More Sales
Thousands of people have overlooked the concept of using
voice mail as an extremely valuable selling tool. Distributors who know how to leave effective
messages sell more orders and experience higher closing ratios than those who
don’t. Make sure that you are someone
who is taking advantage of the selling powers that voice mail offers by
learning about its benefits today.
Telephone answering machines were invented in the early
1980s. With their advent, everyone suddenly had a better way of communicating
with others. Instead of having to call people over and over again in order to
reach them, the caller could leave messages in a quick and concise manner.
Millions of answering machines were sold, as the popularity of this new form of
messaging became a comfortable way to communicate.
Whether we like it or not, voice mail has become a part of
everyone’s life. It’s used on every phone in our homes, at our workplace, and
on our cell phones. What was at one time a novelty item is now a part of all
telephone communications. In order for you to be as successful as possible, you
need to use voice mail correctly.
Those who find it difficult to use are not selling
themselves or their products effectively.
They are leaving messages that detract from their efforts, instead of
aiding them. That’s because they have not set up their sales in the right way.
By performing the following actions, you can create an effective environment
for voice mail success:
Make sure that you
find the right buyer and determine his real needs.
Convince people that
you have their best interests in mind.
Let prospects know
that you expect to receive a fair price for your services.
Get back promptly and
consistently with all prospects and customers
These suggestions are things you should be doing on every
sales call. Once you’ve established good selling form, you can use voice mail
as an effective sales tool.
There is definitely an art to leaving good messages. The
number one thing to remember is to always stay on point, trying not to ramble.
Rehearse in advance what you are going to say. After determining the content
and tone of your message, do these things:
1) State
the message clearly
2) Leave
your name and phone number in the course of the message
3) Mention
your phone number a second time.
The biggest mistake that people make when leaving messages
is that they fail to communicate enough information, which makes it impossible
for the recipient to determine the purpose of the call. Here’s an example:
“John, it’s Ralph, please give me a call.” Messages
like this make things worse by prolonging the communication process. Always make sure your messages include the
information that is pertinent to your sales efforts.
It’s also important to speak clearly. Some people are so
nervous when leaving messages that they talk too fast, making it impossible for
the person listening to understand what they are saying. If you speak at a moderate speed, with a
pleasant tone of voice, your message will be better received and understood.
Practice before you leave a message if this is an area that you think needs
improvement.
A huge benefit of voice mail is that it allows important
information to be delivered in a timely manner.
When you return calls to people with whom you have pledged to follow up
and they are unavailable, take advantage of voice mail and leave them messages.
As long as you’ve done a good selling job, a voice mail message from you can
actually be more effective than talking directly to the person. Messages that
state the necessary facts help move sales forward.
The best time to leave messages for prospects is when they
are not likely to answer, such as during the following times:
The main reason that voice mail is effective during these
times is because you can be more at ease. Because you know in advance that the
person you are calling will probably not answer, you have more time to deliver
an effective message. In addition,
people who pick up messages after these times, usually listen to their messages
more intently than the ones they retrieve in the middle of a busy workday.
A great way to revive old accounts is with the use of voice
mail. If you haven’t heard from someone
in a long time, leave a message for them during their off hours. In our case, we set aside time every week,
usually on Saturday afternoon, to leave messages for old accounts.
After we call and their greeting begins, we leave them a
message along these lines, “Carol, it’s Don Sanders.
We’ve missed hearing from you in a while. I am not trying to be a pest, but I
just wanted to see if we could help you with anything. Please give me a call if
you can.”
When we leave messages such as this, our call back rate is
extremely high. If we can’t leave
messages because the number has changed or the person no longer works at the
company, we know to permanently cross this former customer off our list.
Since many companies have multiple departments, you can
increase your sales with voice mail by reaching other prospects. If you sell the marketing department of a
company 500 water bottles, you can up the order by leaving messages for the
heads of other departments. Find out the
names of other decision makers and leave them messages like this, “Vicki, we
have an order working with the marketing department for water bottles. If you need some, we can add a quantity
especially for you to the order. Please
give me a call when you can.”
Too few people understand the effective use of voice
mail. It’s a great way to increase sales
and profits without adding a great deal of expense to your bottom line. There are myriad messages to leave and people
to call, so start leaving great voice mail messages today.