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What is it - An Answer Machine or Voice Mail?
by BIG Mike McDaniel
Published on this site: April 20th, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
What Is It - an Answer Machine or Voice Mail? More about small
business from BIG Mike McDaniel
What I want to know is who decided that an answering machine
was to be called a voice mail machine? Hey, if it walks like
a duck...
Whatever they call it, if you miss your contact you may have
to speak to the machine. You can do one of three things. Leave
a message, leave your name and phone number or hang-up.
Forget the hang-up. You made the call, don't waste the opportunity
by not leaving a message that includes more than your phone
number.
What you say and how you say it is what sets the voice mail
pro apart from the disgruntled amateur. What should you say?
You have to plan this in advance. Scripting is not a bad idea. Eliminate the ahs and stumbles.
Just pretend the crummy machine is the real deal. You wouldn't
search for words if your prospect
answered in person, right?
There is research that says the average executive gets over
300 messages from mail, email, fax and more each day, not
to mention the bombardment of advertising messages from billboards,
TV radio and cable. That's a lot of clutter for you to penetrate.
You must get attention right off, or you go down with the
delete button.
First off, it's not about you. This phrase pops up in every
aspect of marketing, from advertising all the way to voice
mail messages, Its Not About You.
Take a poll. No one cares about you (well, maybe your dog).
What everyone cares about is me. What's in it for me? Leave
a message, not name and phone number and don't go on about
you... seek to entice interest by suggesting something for
them.
Everyone leaves the same tired message and they get tuned
out the minute it starts; "Hi this is Roscoe, we haven't
met but I thought I'd call to see if you would be interested in hearing about my new..." UGH! I, I,
I, Me, Me, Me.
Make your messages so compelling folks have to call you back.
And don't drone on and on, make 'em short enough to entice,
but long enough to incite.
Voice mails have been asking callers to "Leave a message"
for years, yet fully three quarters of those who do respond
to the beep leave only name and phone number. What message does that send?
Your voice mail message gives you a perfect opportunity to
call for action on the part of your listener (Remember you
are competing with 300+ messages and the horrid reputation of telephone telemarketers).
Go for the close. Ask them to do something. To call you. To
be on the lookout for a package from FedEx. Ask and you will
get.
Voice mail response can be an effective sales tool. Voice
mail is one of many tools the professional uses to get the
job done right.
For more about small business help visit: http://BigIdeasGroup.com
BIG Mike McDaniel, All Rights Reserved BIG Mike is a Business
Consultant and Professional Speaker. His BIG Ideas Group helps
business grow with promotions, special reports, mastermind
groups, seminars and consulting. Subscribe to "BIG Ideas
for Small Business" Newsletter visit http://BigIdeasGroup.com
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