The First 9 Seconds of Your Voicemail…
May 14th, 2008 by the medical sales recruiter
I came across a great article on The Hire Sense which says that decision-makers listen to only 9 seconds of a “cold” voice-mail before deciding to press “delete” …so, you should use that time to tell them something that will buy you another 9 seconds. Make sure they don’t delete it before they know they should call you back. Since I thought that was good advice that I will incorporate myself, I went looking for more on the subject.
Enticing Voicemail Messages is good. It says to research so you know who you’re cold calling in order to be able to offer them a strong value proposition or share an insightful idea. Dangle important information (this is bait, after all) and conclude with confidence (because you’re offering something they want). The Sales Hunter says that even so, you need to keep it short and don’t tell them everything. You want them to have a reason to call you, right? And 15 Tips to Voicemail Survival for the Sales Professional has info on things like the best times to call and how to avoid giving them an excuse not to call you back.
All of this advice can be critical to your success in healthcare sales, medical sales, pharmaceutical sales, clinical diagnostics sales, imaging sales, laboratory sales, pathology sales, medical device sales, cellular products sales, molecular products sales, and biotechnology products sales.
Great tip to help us practice and get the script just right!
Another job search phone tip I share is to advance the conversation when leaving messages.
Rather than saying - “Hi, this is xyz, returning your call.” Move the conversation forward by adding meaningful information. For example add an email address, a specific time you will call back or a specific time you will be available.
Phone minutes are not just about how many you are racking up, but how much time you are spending not really communicating.
Parents might want to check out Cell Phone Etiquette for College Students.
we get 12% to 15% repsonses to our voice mails because we know the prospect is interested n only one thing “what’s in it for him.” We don’t say our name or company name until AFTER the first 15 seconds. The crazy idea that people will leave a message “this this is John doe from the doe company” simply indicates to any prospect that you must think you are more important than him. Stat your message with the benefit to him.