The 30-Second Voice Mail

By Rao Wu

To be an effective sales person, you need to be able to leave a crisp, professional voice mail for your sales prospects. Sounds rudimentary, right? It is. Yet, it never ceases to amaze me how many sales people leave weak voice mail messages. Either they fail to say why they’re calling, or they speak too long, or they speak too fast, or they leave their phone number only once – or all of the above.Here are guidelines for leaving an impactful voice mail for a sales prospect. We’re calling it the 30-second voice mail because that is your benchmark – never leave a voice mail that is longer than 30 seconds. For the person receiving it, over 30 seconds can seem like an eternity.

To ensure that you don’t go over 30 seconds, get your stopwatch out and practice. If you’re in front of your computer, you can open up the clock and make sure it’s showing seconds. Or, if you have a smart phone, most of them come equipped with a stopwatch.

Here is a sample script for a 30 second voice mail:

Hello, Tanya.This is Rao Wu calling from Wheelhouse, the leader in B2B sales leads. My phone is (800) 123-4567.I’m calling to follow up on the information I sent you last week. I wanted to ensure that you received it, and see if there might be an interest in our service offering.

When you get a chance, please give me a call back and we can discuss your needs in more detail.Again, this is Rao Wu with Wheelhouse, and my phone number is (800) 123-4567.

Have a great day.

That’s it. Simple and sweet!