1. Voicemail Techniques
11 rules to help get your calls returned
Hosted by –
Ian Seniff
Senior Account Manager
DiscoverOrg

2. Our advice:
 Never do this:
 Why? Because it’s
terrible, didn’t you
hear it?!
 What to do:
 Concise
 Clear
 Personable
 Quick

3. Rule One
You goal is to get your call returned, not sell your product
Keep it short
If you can’t say it briefly, don’t say it at all. Voicemail is not
“story time”. Leaving a long message is an invitation to have
the entire message skipped. The optimal voicemail message
is between 8 and 14 seconds.
Don’t leave information that would allow the person to
make up their mind. Keep it short and simple. You want to
open a dialogue not close a door.
Motivate them to take notes. Add a call-to-action to your
message by providing a key date or something of interest.
“In our initial campaign, our
messages were about 60
seconds in length and our
call-backs were less than
10%. ”
Businessknowhow.com

4. Rule Two
Repeat your number!
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition! The key to memorization is
repetition. Not only that, but if they didn’t catch your number the
first time, you have given them a reason not to call you back.
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition! The key to memorization is
repetition. Not only that, but if they didn’t catch your number the
first time, you have given them a reason not to call you back.

5. Rule Three
Never say “I will call you back”
This just gives the person you are calling another excuse not to call
you back. Their ears will instantly close upon hearing this. How
many times have you heard someone say they will call you back and
returned their call?
Other phrases to avoid:
“You’re a hard person to reach…” Never, ever say this.
“Hey there Mr. ____, your secretary said you weren’t available so I knew
you’d be the right person to talk to.”
“I’d like you to call me back so we can discuss…”
It’s not about YOU or your PRODUCT – it’s about THEM – their problems, their pain
points.

6. Rule Four
Use body Language
I know this may sound
strange but if you can
physiologically emote your
message it will come
through on their end.
Project you message,
deliver it standing, talk
with you hands, it will
come through on the voice
mail.
“7% of the message is
transferred and
understood by the
actual words used, 38%
is transferred as a result
of the way the words
are spoken and a
massive 55% by body
language.”
callcentrehelper.com

7. Rule Five
Write a script
You are making a call with the intent to talk with a person. Then you realize that they are not there. That
give you about 3 seconds to come up with a message. Are you ready?
Come up with a few options of what to say before hand and save yourself the panic.
(

8. Rule Six
Call at the right time
The best hours to leave voicemail messages are from 6:45 AM to 8:00 AM
and from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Aggressive people are usually working during
these time periods, and the person receiving your message could potentially
view you as one.
Wisely use time zone changes to make as many calls as possible during the
optimal voicemail periods.
Messages left on a Friday afternoon are the least likely to be returned. For
most people, Monday mornings are very busy and, as a result, only high–
priority activities will get their immediate attention.

9. Rule Seven
Be personal yet professional
Starting off with “Hi, Mr. Smith. I hear you’re in charge of buying
software.” is a sure-fire way to get you message deleted.
Mention the person’s first name at least twice in the message, but don’t
use their last name. Doing so comes across as very impersonal.

10. Rule Eight
Choose your words wisely
The way you speak is a good way of conveying your background, age,
professionalism and education.
Are you saying “um” or any other non-words? Are you using over
used words? Are you using a word incorrectly? Are you using generic
techno babble?
Consult a dictionary or a thesaurus and change that “good” to
“acceptable, pleasing, reputable, superior, valuable, etc.”

11. What if its transcribed by a device?
IF YOU HAVE CLARITY, THIS WORKS GREAT:
“Hi , it's Dave Jones. I just got your email when you get a chance if you could give me a call back. I had
quick question for you. Wanted to see if you guys could help me out with a couple different accounts. I'll
be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much. bye bye ”
IF YOU DON’T:
“My team is trying to screw all the
3000+ employee plus enterprises”
“We are a Discover
Pork Customer”
“We’ll go setting the
parade. I love you son.
“I’m drunk Sherman”
“Kids show holding with
ultra things”
“I’m calling for my
sock and I know
you’ve done with
Mandy”

12. Rule Nine
Pace yourself
If you are trying to keep you message short and sweet, do not just speak
faster. Shorten your message instead.
Talking too fast will make prospects think you are not worthy of their
time. On the other hand, if you talk too slow, they may lose interest.
Maintain a strong and steady pace that will capture attention and earn
you more time.

13. Rule Ten
Do your homework!
"I would like to introduce myself" is not a reason for prospects to talk to you. Why should
they care? Tell them what it is you think you can do for them in their own unique situation.
(see next slide)
DiscoverOrg provides you with the ability to target individuals based on their function, rank,
location and many other criteria. DiscoverOrg also links you to individuals LinkedIn profiles
and provides descriptions of many contacts. Use it. Numbers are great but use the
additional contact information to add key details to your message.
Use the Sphere of Influence
You can also use the org charts provided by DiscoverOrg to throw in names of individuals in
the contact’s department. If you say something like “I just reached out to John (his VP) and
wanted to include you in on the conversation as well…” This will grab the listener’s attention.
- Follow-up with an email to your prospect and cc John the VP.

14. Rule Ten (Continued)
Another great tool to use from DiscoverOrg to help with compiling
background information are the Real Time Triggers. Real time triggers
will keep you up to date with projects. Mentioning a specific project will
again draw the listener's attention.
Example:
“Hi John, this is John Smith at Company and I see you are implementing
Windows 7. If you are like Chevron or Shell you’re probably dealing with
backwards compatibility issues with your legacy applications. We offer a server
virtualization software that will allow you to continue using legacy
applications within Windows 7 even if the application is not itself
compatible there. Would Thursday at 2 or Friday at 1 work on your calendar
for a quick call to discuss?”

15. Rule Eleven
Use voicemail with Email
And do these within minutes of each other. Do not leave a voice mail
and follow-up that afternoon with an email. Response will drop when
the two are not synchronized.
Adding an email companion to your voicemail will give the contact an
additional way to get in touch with you and, as was mentioned in Rule
Two, provide additional repetition.
Sending both will show that you are very enthusiastic about getting in
contact with them.

16. You Blew It!?
You tried really hard but you blew it on the message now
what?!
Don’t be this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZChD_Gni8U
Hit # - many times it will allow you to re-record your message
or delete it.