Does Your Logistics & Supply Chain Company's Sales Strategy Include Voicemail?

You can't expect every lead or prospect whom you call to answer the phone. Because supply chain and logistics buyers consist of operational and managers, they are often busy running into meetings. As a result, some sales leads and prospects won't answer the phone when you call. Even if a sales lead or prospect doesn't answer, though, you can still leave him or her a voicemail. Voicemails can be effective if done right.

Keep Voicemails Between 8 and 14 Seconds

A common mistake logistics and supply chain sales reps make when leaving voicemails is using the wrong length of time. Their voicemails are either too short or too long. If your voicemails are too short, you'll struggle to convey your sales message and compel the sales lead or prospect to return your call. If your voicemails are too long, on the other hand, sales leads and prospects may simply delete your message without listening to it. Aim for a length of eight to 14 seconds. Now, what to say.

Emphasize Value Proposition

Perhaps the most important element of an effective voicemail is the value proposition. Failure to convey the value of your logistics or supply chain company's product or service will result in a low response rate. To get more callbacks, emphasize the value proposition in your voicemails. Explain how the product or service can benefit the sales lead and prospect. If you know something about their business, include that too! By emphasizing a tailored value proposition, you’ll get them thinking about how to apply your product or service within their organization.

Wear a Headset

You might be surprised to learn that wearing a headset can improve the response of your voicemails. Why is a headset important exactly? Well, assuming you work in a traditional office, there's probably a lot of background noise, some of which may end up in your voicemails. It's difficult for sales leads and prospects to comprehend a voicemail if it's cluttered with background noise. Wearing a headset, however, will isolate your voice so that background noise isn't a problem. So, if you haven't done so already, invest in a high-quality headset to improve the quality of your voicemails.

Address Prospects and Sales Leads by Name

Always address prospects and sales leads by name when leaving voicemails. “Hi Bob, this is…” You can still use a script as the foundation for your voicemails, but be sure it sounds conversational. Leaving voicemail messages that sound overly professional, or scripted will get little attention. Leaving a personalized voicemail that sounds personable and natural will result in the sales lead listening to your message.

Take Breaks to Help You Speak Clearly and Slowly…and Smile

It doesn’t matter how seasoned of a sales rep you are, the more you make cold calls and leave messages, the faster and less clear we all become. It's important take a 5- or 10-minute break every hour or so to help you control the speed and tone of your voice.  Some sales reps try to save time by talking fast. While this may help you leave more voicemails in less time, it can negatively affect the outcome of your voicemails. Talking too fast can make your voicemails difficult to understand. Be sure to move around to get the most results from your voicemails.

This may sound silly, and you’ve heard it before…but when you are on the phone leaving a voicemail…smile. The act of smiling comes through your voice and into the voicemail. The person listening will respond by returning your call.

Leave Voicemails at the Right Time

When should you leave a sales lead or prospect a voicemail? You'll really need to experiment with different days of the week, as well as times of the day, to determine when leads and prospects are most likely to check your voicemail and return your call. With that said, some studies have found that 6:45 to 8:00 a.m. yields the strongest response. Being that this is the early morning hours, most business owners and upper-level executives are working at their desk, so it's highly likely that they'll check their voicemail.

It's a disheartening statistic, but research shows roughly four in five calls go to voicemail. If you call 10 leads per day, you can expect about two of them to answer your call. The remaining eight leads will likely allow your calls to go to voicemail. With that said, perfecting your voicemail strategy can help you turn these missed calls and put them into your sales funnel.

Now that you’re armed with the right voicemail tools, let’s try it out. Call a few of SalesLeads’ project reports. These are companies in the industrial industry that are planning construction, expansion, or relocation projects in your area. Project reports are identified project needing your product or service. By calling them, the likelihood of getting a call back will be high. Try it out first by opening a free account. Then get a few project reports to try. Call, leave a message, have a conversation and get them right into your sales pipeline.