It’s Friday afternoon, you’ve been calling prospects all week, and you pick up the phone for one final call. You dial the prospect’s number and listen to the phone ring several times until you’re finally greeted with yet another voice mail recording.

Kendra Lee

April 30, 2015

3 Min Read
Are You Ignoring the Most Important 40 Seconds in Sales?

It’s Friday afternoon, you’ve been calling prospects all week, and you pick up the phone for one final call. You dial the prospect’s number and listen to the phone ring several times until you’re finally greeted with yet another voice mail recording. Is the prospect ignoring you? Too busy to answer? Not interested in talking? Whatever the reason, you’re tired of leaving voice mails, so you just hang up.

Many salespeople would argue that’s the smart thing to do. But I’d suggest that neglecting those precious 40 seconds (give or take a few ticks of the clock) is an enormous missed opportunity. In fact, I believe VAR sales reps should always leave a message when they call a prospect for three key reasons:

  1. If you don’t, how else will the prospect know you want to speak to them?

  2. In today’s world, where it’s acceptable to screen calls, failing to leave a voice mail might mean contacts never get the chance to hear what you have to say.

  3. When you leave a voice mail, it allows prospects to hear your voice and it allows you to convey a sense of personality and professionalism that isn’t possible through other forms of communication (e.g. email or social media).

The truth is that voice mails might be your best, and only, option for communicating directly with a prospect. Why not take advantage of those 40 seconds to grab their attention, leave a positive impression and build the relationship?

Of course, not all voice mails are created equal. To be effective, your messages must be concise, valuable and actionable, which is why I’d recommend following these tips when you leave a voice mail:

  • Stick to a trigger event: The core of your message should be about a trigger event or business issue your prospect is grappling with. Don’t talk about your offerings or the latest special deal. Don’t even refer to them. Focus on your contact’s issue and mention that you have some ideas about how to address the issue based on work you’ve done with similar companies.

  • Request a return call at a specific time: Don’t simply ask prospects to call you back. Instead, say something like this: “I wanted to schedule 15 minutes to discuss my idea with you. Are you open Thursday at 2:30? Let me know. My phone number is 303-773-1285 and my email address is [email protected]. I look forward to our discussion!”

  • Always follow up: If you don’t get a response using the tip above, you should still call the prospect on the day and time you suggested. This will further demonstrate your professionalism and interest in talking with the prospect. If the prospect doesn’t answer, leave a voice mail reminding him or her that you’d promised to call and reiterating that you had an idea you wanted to talk about. Suggest a new time to talk and do it all again.

Now, this approach won’t work every time (in fact, some prospects may never call back), but it will pay dividends in the long run. The secret is to go into every call with a real idea to share and to always leave that idea with the prospect. When you do that, a higher proportion of prospects will take notice and, eventually, they’ll come to appreciate your commitment, tenacity, and professionalism and take your call.

Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert, author of the book, “The Sales Magnet” and the award-winning book, "Selling Against the Goal" and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the small and midmarket business (SMB) segment.

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About the Author(s)

Kendra Lee

Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert, author of the award-winning books “The Sales Magnet” and “Selling Against the Goal,” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment.

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