“The bad news is time flies.  The good news is you are the pilot”. – Michael Altshuler

Many years ago, I was an inside sales representative for Mass High Tech.  They published the mass high tech newspaper as well as directories and databases of technology companies in New England. I sold the directories and databases. In the beginning, I always left a message or a voice mail if I couldn’t reach someone live. I probably left 20-30 voice mails or messages every day. How many call backs did I get? As close to none as possible. Rarely did someone return my call and even when they did it was a toss-up whether they bought or not. I realized this was taking too much of my time with virtually no reward. I decided that I would no longer leave messages. I treated voice mail as white noise and hung up. Receptionists were given my upmost courtesy but I was quick to end the call without leaving a message.  My focus was on live conversations with decision makers. I really hit my stride when I stopped leaving messages. My paycheck confirmed that it was the right decision.  We have all been there. Making call after call and speaking to no one. There is no technique or magic wand to reach someone who is not at their desk or on the receiving end of their phone line. Through the years I have heard many persuasive arguments from people who are committed to voice mail messages. Many times, I have been agreeable for my staff to try them. Always at some point down the road, I’d ask how the voice mail messages were going. “Oh, they’re ok”, “Is anyone calling you back?” “Well no, but…” Typically, I was able to point out that it’s a lot of time for little reward and its probably best to ignore voice mail and hang up.

I think not leaving voice mail or messages has enhanced A Better Call’s reputation for excellence. Getting the attention of a decision maker is a privilege and it takes an investment of time and effort to reach them.  Staying focused on live conversations, being proactive, putting our energy and focus where it needs to go has made all the difference.

Our job is to capture the most opportunities for our clients. We stay proactive, doing the work and follow-up in order to make it easy for the prospect to engage with our client. We don’t leave voice mails, ask them to visit websites, really; we don’t ask them to do anything but engage with our client.

If you would like to know more about A Better Call and how we can help your bottom line through outsourced, proactive, cold calling, please give us a call at 888-845-6495.

Regards,

Maureen