Have you noticed that I find Albert Einstein to be a rather smart person? I don’t go looking for his quotes but they always seem to help make my point. One place where simple explanations are essential is in situations where you need to let someone know why they should get in touch with you.
You may have reached voice mail. Perhaps you are sending an email or text message. It could even be a quick note written on the back of your business card. Time after time I find people taking a great opportunity and turn it into a bad connection.
Let’s look at the opportunity part first. You have managed to get as close to your prospect/customer as is possible without actually holding hands! You have their undivided attention for a few seconds and you must convince them to get in touch with you. What do you do? All too often you leave a message that is something like, “I have a great way to improve your business” or some other non-informational gem. You believe that your message is so intriguing that nobody can resist calling you to find out what amazing knowledge you possess! Only people with too much time on their hands react to this kind of message.
The excuses I hear most often from people who leave this type of message is usually that people won’t call me if they know I want to sell something. News flash – they know! Next frequent excuse is that the topic is too complicated and will scare the prospect away. This is precisely what Einstein’s quote addresses. The top three ways to create a bad connection is completed by the jargon laced three letter acronyms throughout the message to try to show that you are a hip modern business person. Use one term or abbreviation that is not familiar to the prospect and you will never get a call back!
So how do you use this opportunity? There are several things you can incorporate into your message that will improve your chances of getting a phone call. The strongest is a referral. “Bob Johnson suggested I talk to you” is powerful. If you don’t have a referral, infer one. “I have have worked with several businesses similar to yours” can give your prospect a better comfort level. Be sure you can point out some similar companies if asked. Don’t hesitate to make it personal. If you have come across news about the prospect, mention it.
The actual content of your message should tell the prospect exactly why talking to you could be important to them. I call it answering the unasked question: What’s in it for me? That is what every business person is thinking. So tell them! I used the following message for the twenty plus years I was and independent distributor/sales consultant:
“Sorry I missed you. I help businesses with their advertising and marketing by creating programs that utilize promotional specialty advertising materials. This is the most cost effective marketing available and results are amazing. Please call at your convenience or I’ll check back with you later.”
When you leave informative messages that tell exactly what you want to discuss, you filter out calls that will waste your time. Trying to be clever and conceal the subject and still get a call back is tough and if successful is rarely appreciated by the prospect. When you leave a clear message you know that any call back is an interested prospect.
The example of a voice message I gave above takes exactly 12 seconds. When a callback number and my name are added it comes in at less than 20 seconds. That is about the limit you have of total attention. Longer messages have less impact. Save all the details for the eventual conversation.
All these suggestions also apply when leaving email messages. There are some other considerations. If you know that a conversation is the best way to generate business, you might want to avoid links to your website in initial communication. It is easy for a prospect to take a look at your website and quickly decide that they don’t need to talk to you. It is also important to get a prospect to call rather than exchange email. One study showed that you are 12 times more likely to do business with someone you actually talk to.
Don’t let a good opportunity turn into a bad connection. Work on being able to accurately let someone know what you do and why it matters to them - and do it in less than 30 seconds.
One final note for voicemail - slow down! You know your phone number well but your prospect does not. Give your name and number slowly and draw attention to anything special like a spelling not typical. Then repeat your phone number. An informal survey I recently did showed that more than 8 in 10 people will not take the trouble to find out your phone number if it was not clear on the message.
Gregg Emmer is chief marketing officer and vice president at Kaeser & Blair, Inc. He has more than 40 years experience in marketing and the promotional specialty advertising industry. His outside consultancy provides marketing, public relations and business planning consulting to a wide range of other businesses and has been a useful knowledge base for K&B Dealers. Contact Gregg at gemmer@kaeser-blair.com.