This is an important topic because so many people who run marketing agencies or offer other B2B services feel as though they must do a lot of cold calls to generate lots of leads. This may be true for some, but it is not the only requirement for getting a high volume of interested prospects. However, in case you want to include making cold calls (to businesses or consumers) in your marketing strategy, you should be aware of the regulations in your area pertaining cold calling. In addition, you should also have a contingency plan for when you reach the prospects voicemail. This post is all about powerful voicemail messages that you can use to increase the chances that prospects will want to call you back and have a productive conversation.

How Effective Are Cold Sales Voicemails?

According to Pipeline.com, they are quite effective when implemented correctly. They state on their website (available at the bottom of this post) that using this method can certainly boost response rates and grap the prospect’s attention. My issue will always be that the gatekeepers sometimes listen to and filter the voicemails for the company. So, the message we leave for the business has to be precisely strong enough to trigger that person to engage the decision-maker about the it. Right???!!!

The article at Pipeline.com goes on to say, “As a general rule, each voicemail should not exceed 30 seconds in length. Going on any longer will annoy the prospect by wasting their time or overwhelm them with too much information at once. While voicemail alone does not yield callbacks, when paired with targeted emails it has the ability to increase response rates. For something that takes less than 30 seconds, it seems like a no brainer, right?”

5 Great Tips For Leaving Cold Voicemail Messages

The article offers 5 great tips and expands on each of them. PLUS THEY PROVIDE FANTASTIC EXAMPLES but I will just list them here:

• Use a Personable and Relaxed Tone (they suggest that the message should be less than 23 econds!)
• Provide Context to Personalize Your Message (Explain how you found them & what prompted the call)
• Offer a Clear Value Proposition
• Identify and Reference Competitors
• Create a Sense of Urgency (Don’t forget to leave a call-to-action with your contact information)
• VISIT pipeline.zoominfo for the juicy details provided for each of these tips.

On the next page, there is an example of what NOT to do…