Work with and around voicemail

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Brief is best, but there are three elements you want to include in each message:

1. Create curiosity Curiosity comes from what you don't say more often than from what you do say. Think of voicemail as a teaser for the conversation to follow. Messages should imply knowledge or benefit: “I have a quick update for you” or “I have an opportunity I wanted to go over with you.”

   Even telling your contacts that you have a question for them — without giving the question — creates curiosity. If you can pique a prospect's interest, you will receive the callback. Just make sure you deliver on your promise with a tidbit of information to share.

2. Limit risk Your next key is to limit the prospect's sense of risk in returning your call. Many prospects will fear a callback will either waste time (the deadly lengthy phone survey) or that you will just pitch them mercilessly to buy your latest widget.

   Say why your call will be relevant to your prospect. Highlighting a referral source can establish credibility and the sense that you will be considerate of their expectations. Including mentions such as, “John asked me to call you” or “Susan suggested I speak with you” implies that you have in a sense been prescreened for suitability.

3. Ask for the callback If you don't ask for a callback, you won't get it. Even a great voicemail message can be sabotaged with language like “if you want, you can call me at …” or “just call me if you want to …” Remove the “if” and see your callbacks increase.

   You can take this even further by suggesting a time and date for the call. “Call me tomorrow. I'll be available in the morning before 10 a.m. EST.”

   This is better than “I'll try you again later this week,” because it keeps the expectation on the listener to pick up the phone. When you set an expectation that you will make the effort, you remove the need for your prospect to call you back.

These techniques may take a little time, but they can give you a dramatic increase in the effectiveness of your phone calls — whether you manage to bypass voicemail or use voicemail to generate a callback.

It is a wonderful moment when you leave a voicemail message for someone you have spent energy and time trying to reach, and he or she actually picks up the phone and makes the effort to contact you. What happens next is up to you.

Terry Flynn (tflynn@marketchord.com) is president of consulting firm Market Chord Direct Group in Amherst, NH.

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