Stop Leaving Voicemail Messages that Kill Sales

When was the last time you listened to one of your voicemail messages?

Lousy voicemail messages will kill sales faster than you can hit speed dial.

This week I received a voicemail message from a salesperson who was looking to sell me something. Problem is I have no idea what they were trying to sell, because the voicemail was so bad.

First, it lacked energy. If you’re going to sales prospect by way of the telephone, then you better be able to do it with energy.  This person was not just bad. They were embarrassing to the telemarketing sales profession.   It sounded like he had just rolled out of bed. The voice had no strength.

Second, this telemarketing salesperson ran his words and syllables together to the point I couldn’t understand who or what he was.  Although, I admit that I couldn’t care less who he was or what he was trying to sell because of the way he presented himself.

Third, the quality of the telephone equipment he was using was horrible!  I have no idea what type of system he was using, but it was muffling his voice even more.

It is amazing the number of bad voicemail messages I get.  What amazes me is why would anyone leave a message  that lacks any level of clarity and energy.  You could have the best message in the world, but if you can’t leave it clearly and with energy, then forget it — you’re not going to get anywhere.

Do yourself a favor.  Leave yourself a message and listen to it.  Most people are amazed at what they hear when they listen to their own message.

Listening to your own message will enable you to hear first-hand how easy it is to say something on the telephone too quickly — or to run the name of your company together and say it so fast that a person who isn’t already familiar with it would have little clue as to who you are.

Before even thinking about what you’re going to say, focus on getting clarity and energy.  After you have those qualities, then you can begin thinking about what it is you want to say.

Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.