Any salesperson trying to contact a new, prospective decision-maker knows that more often than not you’ll get their voice mail. “Hi, this is Joe Don’tbotherme. I’m away from my desk right now but leave your name and number after the tone and I’ll get back to you.�? Hah! A likely story. But, obedient soul that you are you leave the asked for info. Most of the time you never get the callback. You try again a few days later. Still no callback. And so on and so on. And, over time, you’ve learned to hate the message machine.

 BIG MISTAKE
 Instead, look at the message machine as your friend. It provides you with the opportunity to get a message across without interruption. The catch is that the message you leave must engage the recipient to take action and return your call. To do that you need to leave a very clear, compelling message not just name and number

WHAT NOT TO DO
Susie Plantscaper – “Hi Joe, my name is Susie Plantscaper and I’m with Green, Green, and Green Plantscapes. We’re the biggest ‘scaping company in Oofaloofa. We’ve won 46 awards and belong to 6 associations. Here’s my name and number, please call me back so we can talk about your new office building. OR Susie Plantscaper – “Hi Joe, I’d like to submit a bid for your new office buildings plantscaping, please call me at 666-6666.�? Neither of the above take advantage of this opportunity.

GOOD, BETTER, BEST
Susie Plantscaper – “Hello Mr. Don’tbotherme. My name is Susie Plantscaper and I represent Green, Green, and Green Plantscaping. I understand from Sid Friendly Property Manager for XYZ Corporation (outside referral) that you are in charge of the interiorscaping for your new office building on Greentree Road and he suggested I call. It looks like your new building is going to be an outstanding facility and I would love to submit an innovative design that will be in keeping with your plans. I’d also like to discuss Green, Green, and Green’s format of employing only trained, security conscious employees to compliment any security measures you may be implementing. Please give me a call back so we can meet at your convenience. Again, my name is Susie Plantscaper and I would appreciate a call back at 666-6666.�? See the difference? The last call was about the client’s needs and concerns and not about how great your company is. Much more engaging. To do this it takes a plan. A written script in front of you. And it takes perseverance and fortitude. Repeated attempts until finally he calls back or you connect. This is just one strategy for dealing with answering machines. Come up with your own and, then, go for it. I’ll bet you’ll see a difference.