The reason some clients are not returning your telephone calls is that you don’t have a voice mail strategy.
I get these types of voice mail messages all of the time, the unscripted rambling ones, the scripted no emotion ones, the nine o’clock in the evening ones, and my favorite, the absolutely-no-reason-you should-be-calling-me ones.
We can do better, in fact, you have to do better to increase your sales.
Here are some points to consider when building your strategy.
Developing A Voice Mail Strategy
– No Voice Mail.
The best voice mail is no voice mail, but where you actually speak with the client.
During your sales presentation, it is vital to ask how you can communicate with the client again.
You have to nail down the answers to these questions:
1). What is the best number to reach you?
2). When is the best time of the day to reach you?
3). Would email be more convenient?
4). What is your email address?
Clients don’t have the time or inclination to play phone tag with you.
If you know the best time of the day to reach them, you can dramatically cut down the phone tag.
Make sure that the telephone number/email address with the client is secure.
You don’t want the surprise ruined, or the entire office / other business partners, knowing what he is purchasing.
– Off The Cuff.
Too many sales associates leave messages first, then think later.
This strategy results in having to call back to either explain your previous ramblings or give additional key information you forgot the first time.
Sit down first and outline the key points of the call.
Short and sweet is important, but make sure you cover all of the bases for the call.
– Poor Delivery.
You get one chance to leave a message.
If it is filled with, “aahs, and uums, or errors” you will appear to be less organized and less professional.
If it sounds monotone, as if it is being read from a script, don’t expect the client to be excited.
Remember that only 15% of your voice mail message is communicated by the words that you use 85% of it is delivered by the tonal qualities of your voice.
Far too many concentrate solely on the wording of the message and miss the delivery completely.
Practice the message out loud, make sure it has energy, and the delivery is smooth.
– A Call To Action.
If your messages are nothing more than your name, company, your phone number, and a “please call me” at the end, then expect few callbacks.
There has to be energy and a call to action in the message.
No one likes to be summoned or told what to do.
Give them a short reason to want to call you back quickly.
– Persistence.
Studies have shown about 87% of sales associates give up after a single voice mail, and 95% give up after a second call.
The fact is that the clients who are in the market for luxury jewelry are hard at work making money.
You have to be tough enough to have “polite persistence”.
You don’t want to be a stalker, but persistence does pay off more often than not.
A solid, well thought out voice mail strategy is important for a sales professional in today’s world.
Client’s are busier, time is more valuable, and the window of opportunity is smaller.
Learning how to effectively communicate with your client will transition you from a clerk in their eyes, to a friend in the jewelry business.
Develop your voice mail strategy today!
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The host of “Inside the Jewelry Trade” Radio Show – Jewelry Business Strategist – President of Four Grainer LLC. Author of the business books “A Reason To Chant,” and “A Reason to Chant – Jewelry Trade Edition.” Rod lives in Atlanta with his wife and two almost-human cats.