Voicemail is not a platform to make a sales pitch. Keep your messages short, leaving only your name and phone number. You should only leave the name of your company if you truly believe it is an important part of identifying who you are.
I’m amazed at the number of voice mail messages I receive each week from people trying to sell me things. The messages typically contain several reasons why I don’t need to return the call. They state the basics, but then go on to say what they’re selling, which is rarely what I’m looking for.
A recent example is a person who left a message stating that he represents a leading copier company. My response: I don’t care! So, that’s a call I’ll never return. However, if the person had merely said his name and that he works with businesses to help them be more efficient, I would have been inclined to return the call to find out more.
In addition, it is critical to understand that if you’re going to leave a message like that, make sure you have some great questions you can ask right away when the “suspect” does call you back. If you jump right into a fact-based comment like “I sell copiers,” you’ll turn me off very quickly. Here’s the deal: Your voicemail message must coincide with your live phone pitch. If it doesn’t, there’s no chance of ever getting any results from leaving voicemail messages.
