11 replies
When I call for my insurance agent, and I don't leave messages due to the sheer volume of calls I make an in a night. But, when I call for my own business, I would like to start leaving messages, but I want it to be something that gets them to call back.

Any of you with experience leaving a message (or even just receiving messages in your own business), how would you think a business owner would respond to the following:

Hi, ___ (business owner name). My name is ___ (your name) with ___ (company name), and I think I found something that may belong to you. Give me a call at your earliest convenience at ____ (phone #).

Then when they call, I can say that I found some money that they are leaving on the table and how I can help them.

What do you guys think?
#technique #voicemail
  • Profile picture of the author MaxwellB
    Eh, I mean anyone can agree it's definitely misleading. And saying "I found some money that your leaving on the table" to me sounds kinda corny.

    If you can't tell them why you called to get them to call back then what good is a call back from them. It's worth nothing if they aren't interested, it's just a big waste of time.

    "Hey Mr. Prospect, I ran across your site and I noticed there's a few things you could do to grow your business and just wanted to give you some advice and see if it interests you. Give me a call back"
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    • Profile picture of the author econnors
      Originally Posted by MaxwellB View Post

      Eh, I mean anyone can agree it's definitely misleading. And saying "I found some money that your leaving on the table" to me sounds kinda corny.

      If you can't tell them why you called to get them to call back then what good is a call back from them. It's worth nothing if they aren't interested, it's just a big waste of time.

      "Hey Mr. Prospect, I ran across your site and I noticed there's a few things you could do to grow your business and just wanted to give you some advice and see if it interests you. Give me a call back"
      Thanks for your perspective. My thought is even if people are interested they may not call back because they feel you're going to try to sell them something. I'm trying to think of a way to break past that "barrier".

      Your approach sounds like a good one. I'll just have to modify it because all of the people I call won't have a website already...
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  • Profile picture of the author zelgly2
    I have left voice mail to some clients and if there is need and they are interested in the project, they will give you a cal back. but you should let them know clearly what you have called for. Without knowing the reason if they call back it is of no use though.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Sales Guy
    Originally Posted by econnors View Post

    When I call for my insurance agent, and I don't leave messages due to the sheer volume of calls I make an in a night. But, when I call for my own business, I would like to start leaving messages, but I want it to be something that gets them to call back.

    Any of you with experience leaving a message (or even just receiving messages in your own business), how would you think a business owner would respond to the following:

    Hi, ___ (business owner name). My name is ___ (your name) with ___ (company name), and I think I found something that may belong to you. Give me a call at your earliest convenience at ____ (phone #).

    Then when they call, I can say that I found some money that they are leaving on the table and how I can help them.

    What do you guys think?
    Is this a joke? Do NOT do this! Not only is it misleading, it is WAY misleading!! Sure, a little "smoke and mirrors" when leaving messages is one thing, but, this will ensure that you get MANY callbacks, and virtually NO sign-ups.

    Try this instead...

    As a general rule of thumb, always try and be as vague as possible when leaving VM's. I've been doing this for years, and my CB ratio is quite high.

    So...

    If for instance you've found someone's information online, you would simply leave a voicemail like so;

    "Yes, hi (prospects name), I came across your services on Google and have a few questions for you. Please give me a call back at XXX-XXX-XXXX, my name is Ronald." Or...

    "Yes, hi (prospects name), my name is Ron. I found you online a few days ago. If you can give me a call back at XXX-XXX-XXXX, I'd appreciate it as I have a few questions for you. Thanks."

    I find these messages to work best, because...

    1. They are vague, but, NOT MISLEADING. It peaks a prospects interest enough to pick-up the phone and dial you back. You could be a potential customer is what goes through the head of the prospect most of the time. So, they HAVE to give you a CB, it could mean $$$ for them.

    2. It doesn't mention a company name at all. Some might argue that NOT leaving a company/business name is misleading, however, based on my personal experience of many years, I can tell you that leaving a company name results in MUCH few return calls. They automatically peg you as a salesperson.

    3. It's short and to the point. Most salespeople are horrible when it comes to messages. You want to be as succinct as possible. Direct. To the point.

    ** Keep in mind, the examples above work best for businesses. Calling residences is a completely different beast. If calling residences, I would be a lot more forthright and up-front**.
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    • Profile picture of the author econnors
      Originally Posted by The Sales Guy View Post

      Is this a joke? Do NOT do this! Not only is it misleading, it is WAY misleading!! Sure, a little "smoke and mirrors" when leaving messages is one thing, but, this will ensure that you get MANY callbacks, and virtually NO sign-ups.
      No, this is serious business LOL. My thought going into it was - sales is a numbers game. The more people you talk to, the greater your odds...I put the "talk to as many people as possible" cart before the horse...

      Originally Posted by The Sales Guy View Post


      Try this instead...

      As a general rule of thumb, always try and be as vague as possible when leaving VM's. I've been doing this for years, and my CB ratio is quite high.

      So...

      If for instance you've found someone's information online, you would simply leave a voicemail like so;

      "Yes, hi (prospects name), I came across your services on Google and have a few questions for you. Please give me a call back at XXX-XXX-XXXX, my name is Ronald." Or...

      "Yes, hi (prospects name), my name is Ron. I found you online a few days ago. If you can give me a call back at XXX-XXX-XXXX, I'd appreciate it as I have a few questions for you. Thanks."
      Those are good. Again, increasing the number of callbacks. Probably not as good at increasing callback as my example, but I trust that yours works better for sales. :p

      I will ask, though...of the people who call you back, are you succesful with getting sales from those? As we mentioned, callback ratio is one thing, sales is something different altogether...

      Originally Posted by The Sales Guy View Post


      I find these messages to work best, because...

      1. They are vague, but, NOT MISLEADING. It peaks a prospects interest enough to pick-up the phone and dial you back. You could be a potential customer is what goes through the head of the prospect most of the time. So, they HAVE to give you a CB, it could mean $$$ for them.

      2. It doesn't mention a company name at all. Some might argue that NOT leaving a company/business name is misleading, however, based on my personal experience of many years, I can tell you that leaving a company name results in MUCH few return calls. They automatically peg you as a salesperson.

      3. It's short and to the point. Most salespeople are horrible when it comes to messages. You want to be as succinct as possible. Direct. To the point.

      ** Keep in mind, the examples above work best for businesses. Calling residences is a completely different beast. If calling residences, I would be a lot more forthright and up-front**.
      I appreciate your constructive criticism. We all have to start somewhere, and I appreciate you not only sharing your thoughts as others have done, but also proposing a good solution.

      Thank you!
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  • Profile picture of the author David Miller
    Originally Posted by econnors View Post

    When I call for my insurance agent, and I don't leave messages due to the sheer volume of calls I make an in a night. But, when I call for my own business, I would like to start leaving messages, but I want it to be something that gets them to call back.

    Any of you with experience leaving a message (or even just receiving messages in your own business), how would you think a business owner would respond to the following:

    Hi, ___ (business owner name). My name is ___ (your name) with ___ (company name), and I think I found something that may belong to you. Give me a call at your earliest convenience at ____ (phone #).

    Then when they call, I can say that I found some money that they are leaving on the table and how I can help them.

    What do you guys think?
    Where on earth do you find this kind of crazy idea!?

    Just ask yourself, if you received a message like this and it turned out to be exactly what you're proposing, you would be fine with it?

    I would find that hard to believe....but I'm tired of talking to brick walls.
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    • Profile picture of the author econnors
      Originally Posted by David Miller View Post

      Where on earth do you find this kind of crazy idea!?

      Just ask yourself, if you received a message like this and it turned out to be exactly what you're proposing, you would be fine with it?

      I would find that hard to believe....but I'm tired of talking to brick walls.
      As far as getting call backs, it's not a crazy idea. I do, however, agree with you and others that it can be perceived as misleading. If I got a call like it, I wouldn't be thrilled, but if I got calls like a lot of the scripts I've seen people post here that work (or the script I use when calling residential), I wouldn't be thrilled either...go figure...

      It's all about learning and growing, and I'm willing to do both. Hit me with your best shot!
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  • Profile picture of the author FormerWageSlave
    What kind of lines do you use on women at the bar? Maybe some of those would work?

    "Do I know you? Cause you look a lot like my next client."

    -or-

    "[Prospect]I have a Marketing guy.
    [You] I have a pet goldfish.
    [Prospect] What?
    [You] I thought we were talking about things that didn't matter."
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    grrr...

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    • Profile picture of the author econnors
      Originally Posted by FormerWageSlave View Post

      What kind of lines do you use on women at the bar? Maybe some of those would work?

      "Do I know you? Cause you look a lot like my next client."

      -or-

      "[Prospect]I have a Marketing guy.
      [You] I have a pet goldfish.
      [Prospect] What?
      [You] I thought we were talking about things that didn't matter."
      LOL

      These are funny. Only thing is...I don't pick up women at the bar

      I get your drift, though...thank you for sharing!
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  • Profile picture of the author FormerWageSlave
    Look, I'm no master at it... I'm a pretty bad sales guy, but I do know that you can have a regular conversation with a business owner and they'll listen. No need for the trickery.

    I think you got some good advice above about being vague but forthright.

    And thanks for being a good sport about my post... it's all in good fun.
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    grrr...

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  • Profile picture of the author Stranger Danger
    econnors-

    As already stated, your proposed script is misleading and not recommended.

    Although I think it would be best to just call back later (as opposed to leaving a message), you might not ever get them to answer (no matter how many times you try).

    However, if you choose to leave a message, you should know that it's all going to be subjective, anyway. In other words, some business owners will be receptive and some won't - no matter what you say. It's all going to boil down to whether or not they need/want the services that you are currently offering, and also whether or not you can convince them or sell them on it in the event that they are not sure of and/or are unaware of something. For everyone else, it doesn't matter - they're not your target market.

    That being said, I think the best thing to do is get straight to the point. Tell them what you're offering, what it can do for their business and how much it's going to cost.

    Now, I may be wrong about giving them a price at this point, but my thinking is, a lot of people may not call if you don't reveal the price to them from the get-go. I probably wouldn't, unless I was really desperate. If you gave me the price, at least then, I would know if it falls in line with my current budget, and I could possibly save myself the time/hassle of calling you to find that out.

    Just my opinion(s), however - I am not an expert, by any means at all.
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