Voicemails

Sales Voicemail Scripts

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4 Quick and Effective Sales Voicemail Scripts

Are you thinking, “Should I leave a voicemail? Nobody ever calls back! Am I doing something wrong? Why aren’t people calling me back? Can I leave a better voicemail?” 

Don’t worry, you’re not alone… and you aren’t wrong.

A good 90% of our outbound calls end in voicemails and less than 3% are actually returned. Oh boy, math time. That means up to 225 voicemails left every week if I’m making 50 calls a day. And only 7-8 potential clients calling me back. More bad news: That’s because your voicemails are probably bad (sorry). 

Frankly, most voicemails aren’t great. In fact, voicemails are the one time I advocate for a script. Actually, 4 scripts. After 15 years of teaching phone sales, we’ve found 4 voicemails that consistently get more calls back. We’re talking, double to triple more. Ready for the math? That means 14-23 calls back in a week instead of 8. Dude, 14 more conversations every week! That’s like getting a bonus day of selling time every week, for only the cost of changing up a voicemail. Yup, it’s literally that easy.

WATCH: How To Leave A Sales Voicemail That Gets Returned

You want to know the four types now, don’t you? You’re in luck. They’re all below with voicemail scripts. 

Awesome Voicemail Script #1 – Value

Honestly, most voicemails are either all about the sales rep, why THEY are calling, and what THEY want. Or, they are vaguely veiled sales pitches. If you want to stand out, focus all of your attention on the customer instead. We call that So, What’s In It for Them or SWIIFT℠. Each potential customer wants to know if a call back is worth their time, so answer their unasked question immediately by pushing the value. Warning: if you push too hard, these can run the risk of sounding like a sales pitch. So, we find they work best for existing accounts or existing relationships. To use them with a new account, we suggest using it in combo with some mystery. Did you say mystery?

Value Voicemail Script: 

Ted!? LB at Factor 8. (480) 555-2424. I’ve got three things that will save you time this quarter. Call me back for a five-minute run down. I’m at  (480) 555-2424. Thanks!


Awesome Voicemail Script #2 – Mystery 

Folks, FOMO is real. So let’s use it. Just a little mystery can have your potential clients saying to themselves, “Do I know them?”, “Why did they call me?” When you leave them wanting to know more it can translate into real-life callbacks. It may take guts, but when you use this strategy with the right customers, it will pay off!

Mystery Voicemail Script:

Ted!? It’s Lauren at  (480) 555-2424. Call me back. Again, I’m at  (480) 555-2424. 

 

Awesome Voicemail Script #3 – Levers

A lever is information that proves your credibility, convinces them this isn’t a cold call, AND that you know your stuff! A lever can be account information, history, company knowledge, or a person – from either your company or theirs. The BEST lever is their boss. 

Lever Voicemail Script #1: the Boss Lever

Hi Ted. Lauren with Factor 8. I’ve been talking with your boss, Amy, and she asked me to call you so I promised her that I would. Please reach me at (480) 555-2424. Again, Lauren with Factor 8 at (480) 555-2424. Thanks!

See the subtle implication that his boss wants him to talk to me? This voicemail script works if I call Amy and she says, “I don’t handle that, that’s Ted.” I say, “OK, I’ll call Ted,” and then we’re off to the races. I know, this is a special scenario, but use it as often as you can. For a regular lever, try something like:

Lever Voicemail Script #2: the Standard Lever

Hey Ted, LB here over at Factor 8. I’ve been working with your CXS team there for a few years. Will you please call me back? I’m at (480) 555-2424. Again, Lauren with Factor 8 at (480) 555-2424. Thanks!

Awesome Voicemail Script #4 – Urgency

If you’ve ever told someone that you’ll send an email anyway or that you’d call them back anyway, you’ve crushed the urgency in the situation. Reverse it instead! Ratchet up the intensity by adding a timeline and some energy (and even a little mystery). Try to get them to call back immediately after listening! 

Urgency Voicemail Script:

Hey Ted. Lauren calling with Factor 8. I’m trying like crazy to reach you by end of day. Please call me at (480) 555-2424. Again, Lauren trying to get to you urgently. Call me back quickly please at (480) 555-2424.

Of course, we love the good combination message. Bringing a few different voicemail scripts together can create some real voicemail magic!

Combination Voicemail Script:

Ted? Lauren with Factor 8. Sue gave me your name. We need to talk today about your account so I can help save you some money. Please return my call at (480) 555-2424. That’s (480) 555-2424. Talk soon.

This script has urgency, mystery, a lever, AND value! (And you can still say it in under 10 seconds.) Now, that’s a powerful voicemail. I’d call back… wouldn’t you? I hope you found one that speaks to you – so more of your prospects will too.

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sales outreach

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Sales Outreach: How to Incorporate Emails and Phone Calls Into Your Sequences

You’ve heard of sequences, right? They are an integral part of your sales outreach and a magical combination of touchpoints to your prospects that, if all goes well, will result in a REALLY good sales call. Recently, the AMAZING Brooke Bachesta of Outreach, aka the gurus of outreach and sequences, and I got together to talk about how to build the perfect sequence! Brooke (who also happens to be a #GirlsClub Gen 1 graduate) is a wealth of knowledge and we were so lucky to grab a little time with her. Okay, it’s time to get into the good stuff!

Let’s start with the basics…

What is a sequence?

A sequence is a repeatable set of steps used to connect with potential customers. These could be a manual list of emails that you send or reminders you set for yourself to connect on LinkedIn (Tip: it’s a heck of a lot easier if you use software like Outreach or additional tools that allow you to automate nearly everything!) Think of it as you setting your future self up for success.

When do we use sequences?

The idea behind a sequence is to connect with people who are not totally familiar with you or your company. So, you can (and should) be using a sequence in any of these situations:

  • Top of funnel
  • Prioritized prospecting
  • Refining your ‘hit list’
  • Cold Leads
  • Warm Leads
  • Account penetration
  • Account revitalization
  • Anyone else you’re not talking to on the regular

What is in a sequence?

The most successful sequences include a multi-channel campaign. When we say multi-channel, we mean a combination of email, phone calls, LinkedIn, direct mail, etc. Essentially, you want to use every available form of communication to try and find the one that will get you some virtual or live face time with your prospect.

What makes a GREAT sequence?

All of the following:

  • A multi-channel campaign
    • Phone, Email, LinkedIn, Text, Direct Mail, Carrier Pigeon (just kidding!), etc.
  • About 2 weeks of effort before changing strategies
  • 15+ touchpoints per contact
  • 3 days or less between touchpoints

We get it, 15+ touchpoints in 2 weeks sounds like a lot, but we promise there is research to back us up. Skip Miller released a really great book called Outbounding. One of the things he found was that if you wait for more than 3 days between touchpoints the prospect is going to forget who you are. Think of it this way, even if your prospects are not responding to you, shortening the time between your reachouts helps them to at least have familiarity with your name. While they might not pick up on the first call, they may answer on the 5th call. With this under 3 3-day window, they are more likely to, at the very least, recognize your name and be more inclined to talk.

How can I write a really great sales email?

Spoiler alert! People don’t really care who you are or what you sell. So, we have to bring them in and smoothly transition right to the point. Great emails typically hit all of the following marks:

  • 4-5 word subject line
  • Creative & relevant content
  • 150(ish) words total. We want it to be short enough to read on your phone
  • Use the SWIIFT℠ Method (So What’s In It For Them) – learn more about SWIIFT℠ HERE
  • Cleanly and uniformly formatted
  • Stick to a structure:
    • Make it personalized to them, their company, their industry
    • Highlight the areas for potential pain
    • Seamlessly transition to how you can help
    • Provide relevant social proof
    • Include a call to action

READ: How to Write Better Sales Emails: 12 Actionable Tips 

How about voicemails, should you leave one?

YES! I beg you, please, leave voicemails EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. We’ve already mentioned that there are 15 touches in a good sequence. About half of those touches should be voicemails. You are already putting in the time, doing the research, and making the calls… but if you are not leaving a voicemail, then it’s like that phone call never happened.

Hot Tip: before picking up that phone for your first call of the day, make sure your voice is warmed up. Whether that first call results in a living, breathing human on the other end or a voicemail, if your voice cracks it’s not a good look (err, sound).

DOWNLOAD: 4 Voicemail Script Samples

What makes a great voicemail?

Here are some tips for leaving a great voicemail:

  • Make it 10 seconds or less
  • Put some personality in your message and don’t read directly from a script. Pretend you’re talking to your best friend
  • Be clear in your messaging

In a great sequence, there will be about 7 phone calls. For most contacts that could equate to as many as 7 voicemails. So, switch up the message styles. My 4 favorite types of voicemails are:

  • Urgency
  • Mystery
  • Value
  • Lever

Insider Tip: in your sequence notes, keep track of the type of voicemail you leave. This will help you know what to say when they call you back and can help you find patterns in the styles of voicemail that are most successful for you. You can read more about my 4 favorite voicemails HERE.

Here are two examples of great sequences from our friends at Outreach:

Outreach

What’s the difference between these two?

If you read through, you would think these two sequences are exactly the same. And they almost are, with one BIG difference: the 1st email. The “manual” sequence includes a templated email (that may have a tiny bit of personalization). While the “personalized” sequence, on the other hand, includes a truly personalized email, like one written from scratch.

When do you use each type?

You will likely find yourself using the manual sequence for the majority of your top-of-funnel, prioritized prospecting, when refining your ‘hit list’, and cold leads. The return rate on automated emails is roughly 1%. So, we don’t want to spend too much time writing a truly personalized email for an unqualified account.

Now, when we’re talking about account penetration and account revitalization, we would recommend a personalized sequence instead. For these types of prospects, you will likely have solid background information or have had prior contact with the recipient. Warm leads will likely fall under this category as well, especially if you have spent time speaking with them at say a conference or networking event.

*Gasp* your sequence worked and they answered the phone! Now what?

Before starting your call series you should craft a couple of standard (but still great) intros for when your prospect actually answers. The key is to remember not to sell in the intro, instead focus on helping. The goal of your intro is to get your foot in the door and to get your prospect talking. Selling comes later.

Here’s what a great standard intro is going to include:

  • It should be short and focused on what’s in it for them (think SWIIFT℠)
  • Includes the goal of the call
  • Should end with a question
  • The entire goal of your intro is to GET THEM TALKING

The questions you ask in your intro should be short and shouldn’t require too much thinking. We want to aim for yes or no questions, or questions that involve an auto-answer. Think things like “How many reps are on your team?”, “Are you outbound or inbound?”, “Looking to add a couple of new team members?” Get them talking and THEN we transition to the sales call.

WATCH: Quick Tips For Better Cold Call Openings

Wondering what NOT to include in your intro?

If you play your cards right, there will be plenty of time for selling either later in this first call, or during your follow-up (more tips on bridging to the follow-up call here). The first time your prospect answers the phone, your job is to get them talking and engaged. We’ve talked about what to do… now let’s touch on what NOT to do:

  • No social proof
  • No introducing yourself
  • No value props
  • No features or benefits
  • Remember: Don’t sell – do help!

Shoving research in their ear as soon as they answer isn’t appealing. The prospect doesn’t care if you’re the regional vice president for the mid-coast Atlantic region of your company’s XYZ division. In the first 2 minutes of the call, they don’t care what your amazing features are. What they care about is getting their job done better, faster, and easier. So, let’s start out by showing them how we can help!

Remember, the whole purpose of a sequence is to amplify your already amazing sales skills and get you to the finish line faster. So when working on your sales outreach, take time crafting your initial sequence cadence and your templated emails (if you’re going the manual sequence route). Future you will say “Thank you!”

If you’d like even more information on crafting the perfect prospecting message or sequence, you can watch our whole session with Brooke HERE!

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cold call tips

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Top Cold Call Tips and Techniques

People love to ask, “Is Cold Calling Dead?” It’s probably for the controversy effect more than anything, right? My answer (like all great consultants) is, “It depends.” Marketing has come a long way indeed to ensure our brand is recognized before the call. Maybe content has been consumed, landing pages visited, social posts engaged. But if they’ve never talked to us before, is it still cold? Nah, let’s call that warm.

Not all companies are as fortunate. Start-up sellers may not have marketing support and the customer’s first impression is the first call. Even if they may recognize a little something from LinkedIn, it’s not enough to call it warm. Marketing tells us it takes at least 4 touches to actually leave an impression, and 6-8 to get to the point of purchasing (some companies even require 20+ touches!) 

But can we be honest for a second? Sellers don’t give a darn. An outbound call to someone who isn’t expecting the call feels cold. Frigid below-zero kind of cold to today’s sellers. Why? Most of them haven’t grown up using the phone. My kid was shocked to learn his phone dialed out. “What!? It’s not just for texting!?”

Your millennial sales force wants to email and send LinkedIn messages. I know this because I get 30 a day. Want to differentiate? Immediately… 

Ban the spam and get on the phone! 

New to phone sales? Here are some cold call tips to help the water feel a bit warmer:

  1. You’re immediately differentiating yourself by calling vs. emailing. This is a very good thing. I get 30 messages a day and about one voicemail per week. 
  2. It will take about six calls for you to get a hold of most of your prospects and most sellers give up after two. This is the game, my friends, do NOT give up. Do NOT take it personally. Cheerfully make your tally mark and know you are one call closer to a sale. Remember from above that it takes 6-8 touches to buy? Each time you leave a message it’s a touch. Sales is math.
  3. Yes, leave a voicemail! About every two days is great. No voicemail = no touch. You’ve made the dial but forgotten the return. Read more about voicemails that actually get returned here.
  4. Intersperse written messages. Use your outreach tool to help you send a series of voicemails, emails, and social messages over a period of 2-6 weeks. Close enough to be recognized from the last touch but not so close to being considered a stalker. You and your sales leaders can determine this.
  5. Design your outreach cadence based on client potential. If you’re doing account-based marketing and this is a top prospect, you’re going to touch more often and for longer. We recommend A, B, C, D lead qualifications. Read more on that here.

OK, now let’s move from strategy to psychology.

How do I beat cold call rejection? Rejection sucks. Be very clear that cold call dodging is not rejection! Imagine a stranger calling you just to tell you that they don’t want to talk with you anymore. Um, OK. I’m cool with that. Feels different if it’s your best friend or your brother, right? Now THAT is rejection. They know you. They don’t like you. Ouch.

A stranger saying they have no time, they’re not interested, or simply launching a call is not rejection. It’s a busy life. They don’t know your name, your company, your face, or your annoying habits yet. 🙂 It’s called call dodging, not YOU dodging.

Let’s also focus on sales as a helping profession. I recommend you spend a good four hours immersed in customer testimonials and case studies before picking up the phone for the first time. Learn why people love your product and your company. Learn about the problems you’ve solved and the situations you’ve bailed them out of at work! Your job is to find people struggling with these situations and save them. Your job is to educate them on a solution. What would they do without you? What if they don’t even know a solution exists!? What if they’re searching for a solution right now and are about to make a big mistake!? I want you to really dig in and picture this scenario and then picture this stranger thanking you for helping them. See it clearly and then see it every time before you pick up the phone.

In a cold call rut? Try picturing your best friend next time you hit “send.” Get a smile on your face and really imagine it. Your entire energy will change and you’ll be shocked how you’ll come off better.

Need more cold call inspiration? I want you to imagine that this outbound calling job is actually your business degree. Hell, your MBA program. Your job on every single call is to learn something about their business, their industry, their company, and their job role. It’s called genuine curiosity my friends, and nobody displays it in sales anymore. Be fascinated. Be inspired. Seek to truly learn and grow. Your prospect will be so flattered and surprised, you’ll learn everything you need to know to qualify or uncover a need. You may even find your future perfect job situation!

Finally, a few skills to help. The most important skills to turn dials into actual leads or opportunities are:

  1. Voicemails. Yeah, we covered this before. If you leave 10-15 voicemails a day using our techniques, you’ll get at least 2 returned. That’s 10 conversations a week. Folks, that’s like a bonus day of the week. You get 6 days to hit your goal while everyone else gets five. 
  2. Call Introductions. 90% of them suck. Yeah, sorry about that. If you’ve not spent a few hours training and perfecting your intro, it probably sounds like your value prop and is about 10 seconds too long. Learn the SWIIFT℠ Intro that perks their ear and gets them talking. You’ll be shocked at how many conversations happen instead of rejections.
  3. Overcoming the Brush-Off. Even with a better intro, you’ll get some brush-offs. Remember, this isn’t rejection – they don’t even know you! Most of us either hang up or answer it like an objection, and that’s wrong. How do you overcome “I don’t have time” or overcome “I’m not interested?” By moving around it. 
  4. A Better Value Prop. If marketing wrote it for you, it won’t work in phone sales. Sorry marketing. Value props need to answer who you are and why they care in a way that your grandmother could understand. The best ones use “The rule of three” to get their brain accidentally picturing your services. 

In summary, no matter the temperature of your outbound calls, when you make them a game, adjust your mindset, and layer in some skills, then you and your team can harness the incredible power that most of your competition has left behind. Sure, it’s easier to pop an email but remember:

“Nobody ever bought anything over email.”

Choose to be in sales instead of marketing. Pick up the phone and have some fun!

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Top Sales Prospecting Strategies

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4 Time-Saving Sales Prospecting Strategies

Can you guess what percent of sellers HATE prospecting?

(Hint: it’s not 100% – that was my first guess) But it is the majority of sellers…

64%! 

Yet 100% of managers DO say that sellers need to prospect more (and be better at it – if you’re one of those managers, contact us. We can help 😉)

So what can you do?

It all starts with planning.

In order to get better results without feeling like you’re wasting hours, you’ve got to put some work in ahead of time. But have no fear, there is a way for you to plan for prospecting without being part of that 64% hating it along the way (and if you already are, maybe this article will change your mind!)

Check out these top 4 sales prospecting strategies to help speed things up.

WATCH: Sales Shot –  Power Prospecting

Drastically Underprepare

Yep, read it again. Think about it this way: what’s your main goal when you pick up the phone? The obvious answer is to entice them to set up meeting 1. But that’s probably a pretty unlikely accomplishment with just one phone call.

What’s the most likely case? You’re going to get their voicemail!

READ: 4 Quick and Effective Voicemail Scripts

With speed in mind, think about the key elements you need to craft and leave your voicemail during your prospecting. Here’s a list of the usual suspects with a breakdown of why you do or don’t need them.

  • Name – This one is pretty obvious. Know their name when you call! (But guess what? Sometimes you don’t even need this when they’ll repeat it in their voicemail!)
  • Solution Match – If they aren’t even on the phone, you’ve got nothing to diagnose for them, so you don’t need it yet.
  • Value Prop – YES! (SWIIFT℠ everyone!) What value are you bringing them? An absolute must. A whopping 74% of buyers will choose to work with sellers who are the FIRST to add value according to Corporate Visions.
  • Case Study – Sure, a ready case study is helpful, but do you really want to bog down your call OR voicemail by spitting out stats? They don’t care yet! Skip it.
  • Pricing – Again, hard to know what they need yet, and that doesn’t lend itself well to providing pricing.
  • Job History -Spoiler: it’s not needed! Focus instead on one quick rapport builder.
  • Call Intro – Make sure you have this down pat.
  • Voicemail – ALWAYS leave a voicemail! Otherwise, the effort you put into making this call goes right down the drain. You’re not buying a billboard to leave it blank, are you? (Shameless plug: your voicemail is 3x more likely to get returned when you take our class, Messages That Get Returned, which we offer in our eLearning platform, The Sales Bar)

READ: Best Sales Scripts To Get A Buyer’s Attention 

So to summarize – when you pick up that phone, know their name, have your value prop handy, your call intro, and a voicemail if all else fails. Save the image below to help you remember.

Group Your Leads

Make it easier on yourself by grouping your leads together. Here are some quick categories to organize them by:

  • CRM History
  • Trigger Event (did they all attend a conference? Fill out an inbound lead form?)
  • Profile/Demographics
  • Offer (do you have an incentive to offer when you reach out to them?)
  • Location (do you have a rep going to that location soon? Perfect time to reach out!)
  • Social Connection (mutual friend, past acquaintance, school history, etc.!)

READ: Build A Lead Qualification Strategy

Group Your Research

When you do your research, your first instinct might make you feel like you HAVE to give individual attention to every single person and potential lead. Guess what? You don’t!

Easily group call goals, qualify & explore questions, voicemail scripts, and your SWIIFT intros.

What should you individualize? The rapport builder – it’ll be unique for each person.

Boom, you just saved yourself a whole lot of time!

Never Prepare Twice

Be nice to future you! By taking better notes and including specific details about the voicemail you’ve previously left, you’ll never be left scratching your head wondering what you’ve already done and having to double back.

Here’s what to include:

  • What group is your lead in
  • What value prop did you use
  • What was your rapport builder
  • What was your call goal
  • What type of voicemail did you leave

BONUS: Always Add Value

Seems like a no-brainer, right? You always want to call to add value to your prospects. Try the following:

  • Interact with them on social media – comment and share their posts
  • Recognize something – give a compliment!
  • Customize your request
  • Be brief
  • Always GIVE something first
  • Ask short and closed questions to get them talking

Bottom Line

Prospecting is always going to be a numbers game. Remember: it takes 6-9 times to get to 90% of the people on your list! Put in the work – but don’t worry about putting in extra.

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Build Phone Confidence With Quick Voicemail Tips

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Quick Sales Voicemail Tips to Build Phone Confidence

Whether you’re new to phone sales or a seasoned pro, if you’re looking for tips to build phone confidence, then keep reading.

Start by setting yourself a call goal and stick to it! Always make that many calls per day.

Now, you and I both know that 80-90% of calls are going to end up in a sales voicemail, so be ready to leave one.

I cannot stress this enough: ALWAYS LEAVE A VOICEMAIL. It doesn’t count as a touch, if you don’t leave a voicemail.

And make sure it’s a “good” voicemail. If you’re not sure what that means, here are 3 traits of a good sales voicemail:

  1. It’s under 10 seconds
  2. You said their name like you know them
  3. You motivated them to call you back using urgency, mystery, value, or a lever

DOWNLOAD: 4 Voicemails That Get Returned [Script Samples]

Never, ever, ever pitch or sell in a voicemail. Odds are, you’ll never hear from the contact again.

So, why leave a voicemail? Well, good voicemails can lead to 3-5x more returned calls (vs. bad or no voicemails). That means that if you leave 10 voicemails every day, I promise you’ll get 3-5 more calls returned. That might not sound like great odds, but those are 3-5 more conversations that you weren’t getting before.

(Psst! Take our sales training course, Messages That Get Returned, to help you craft winning voicemails.)

So, set your call goals, take the time to craft a really strong voicemail, leave it every time, and put those notes in your CRM so you know which voicemail you left.

There’s no better way to build phone confidence than to see it work and actually get prospects and customers to call you back.

Watch the video below to see LB break down the 4 goals for leaving a sales voicemail.

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7 Phone & Video Prospecting Tips for Sales Reps to Crush It

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7 Phone & Video Prospecting Tips for Sales Reps to Crush It

Plenty of sales reps love the convenience of email and LinkedIn prospecting. But rapid-fire, stock messages do little to build rapport and trust with your prospects. 

That’s why, as much as some people despise it, you have to pick up the phone. 

As young reps continue to phase into the sales force, there is a growing challenge for them to get beyond the keyboard. And while the pandemic certainly didn’t help matters, fostering those face-to-face (or voice-to-voice) connections has become more critical than ever.

Suffice it to say that salespeople can’t afford to rest on their laurels. We have to fight harder to build pipeline, persuade prospects, and win deals. 

That means moving from behind the keyboard, picking up the phone, and utilizing videos in prospecting.

If you’re ready to crush it, here are seven tips that can help our reps make the most of phone and video in their prospecting efforts. 

1. Don’t rely on email alone

It’s important to connect with people on social and email, certainly. But think about it: when’s the last time you bought something over email? 

Never mind that people are wary of scammers and phishing attempts. No one buys from text on a screen. 

People buy from other people. More importantly, they buy from people they trust. 

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use email. But there are ways to make email more engaging and personal. 

For example, emails that use video get a 96% higher click-through rate than those that don’t. It makes sense: video shows off your face, which helps to foster that personal connection.

So if you’re relying on a “spray and pray” approach to email where you’re sending as many as you can hoping for something to stick, just stop. You’ve got way more tools at your disposal. 

2. Make your videos watchable

Just getting started using video in your prospecting efforts is a great first step. But if you really want to maximize your chance of success, then you need to make your videos as watchable as possible.

Most people drop off of videos 70-80% of the way through. So it’s important to structure your video so you get their attention and deliver necessary value as quickly and efficiently as possible—before they click away. 

Here are some tips to make your videos more watchable:

  • Start with empathy. Show the prospect that you truly understand the problem they’re facing. 
    • Lead with value. Catch the prospect’s attention by offering something to help with that problem as early in the video as possible. 
  • Use a list to structure your video. “3 things before our call tomorrow,” or “4 things I noticed on your website.” That will help make the video more scannable and increase the prospect’s likelihood of retaining that information
  • Caption your video. Adding captions to videos can increase the watch rate by up to 80 percent. Captions also help with scannability. 
  • Put your call-to-action in the middle. It logically makes sense to throw the CTA at the end. But by that point, most people have dropped off. Put it in the middle to increase the likelihood that people will actually see it. 

3. Use the prospect’s name off the bat

The first few seconds of a video are key to getting your relationship with the prospect off on the right foot. One great way to do this: use the prospect’s name.

This goes back as far as Dale Carnegie: people perk up when they hear their own name. When you use their name, you set the tone of the relationship as a familiar one, which increases their likelihood to trust you. 

What’s more, when you use a prospect’s name in a video, it’s proof that you aren’t batch-sending messages. You’re taking the time to record a personalized message, which shows that you’re putting effort into building that connection. 

WATCH: 10 Tips for Building Human-to-Human Connections on Sales Calls

4. Don’t just call prospects once

It’s no surprise that phone calls used in tandem with email help to increase the likelihood of a response. 

The problem, however, is that only 10% of sales reps make more than three attempts to reach a prospect. Calling more than three times may seem like a lot, when you consider that it takes anywhere from seven to fourteen touches to get a conversation with a prospect, then frequent follow-up is key to making that conversion. 

Also remember that while email and social media are powerful tools, they have one purpose: to get you on a call with the prospect. That’s the only way you’ll be able to sell them. 

5. Don’t waste time following up if your data is incorrect

Spray and pray is popular because it’s quick and easy. Even if half the data is incorrect, you’re spending so little time on each prospect that it nets out positive. 

But when you’re taking the time to follow up multiple times, record videos, and build relationships with prospects, investing in the wrong people can be a significant time sink. 

That’s why it’s important to do your homework. One tip we recommend at Factor 8 is if you get a voicemail, hit the 0 button to find the directory or talk to someone else in the company. 

What I tell people is: try to be James Bond for about 10 dials. You’re going to learn something critical that will help you find the right person or provide you with important information that you can then use to land the deal:

  • Who reports to who?
  • What system do they have?
  • How long has your decision maker worked there?
  • Are there any current projects that are a priority?
  • How many employers/locations are there?
  • Other key influencers that you should include in the process?

Use your personality, talk to people, and get some critical account information that can help you become more successful as you build your relationship with them over time. 

READ MORE: How to Use Sales Intelligence to Boost Profits

6. Qualify, qualify, qualify

First of all: sales qualification is not the same as lead qualification. The latter is a marketing indication that a prospect may be ready to buy due to their engagement. Sales qualification is about how much money you can make with a particular account—what’s the potential that they’ll buy from you?

There are a number of factors that go into play here:

  • Size of sales team—more reps means more revenue
  • Is the company B2B or B2C?
  • What tools or platforms does the company already have (especially important if you sell SaaS)?
  • Do salespeople have to acquire their own tools or does the company provide them? 

One great tip for this: don’t blow past the gatekeepers! In your haste to get to the decision maker, you may end up missing the opportunity to gain some vital information on the company that can help you tailor your video and phone communications. 

READ MORE: How to Build an Account and Lead Qualification Strategy

7. You were hired for your personality—use it

If marketing could source leads and close deals on their own, we wouldn’t need sales.

The reason you have a job is because salespeople can do something marketers just can’t. You weren’t hired to send canned messages. Marketing can do that more efficiently than you. 

Salespeople are there because personality makes a huge difference in how prospects feel about potential vendors. For many businesses, it’s the people that are the differentiator between themselves and their closest competitors. 

So let people get to know you. You’ve been hired to be a personality. Use it!

If your sales team struggles to use phone and video effectively, Factor 8 can provide the training and resources needed to get everyone up to speed. Learn more about our training and coaching services here. 

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What is the SWIIFT Selling Methodology

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What Is the SWIIFT℠ Selling Methodology?

Every 2 years there’s a new airport sales book, am I right? The longer I’ve been around, the more I’ve watched them cycle through. Ask questions! No, share insights! Add value! Wait, actually challenge instead. I don’t think I’ve read one I find incorrect, but I’ve also never aspired to be an airport author.

To me, the methodology is always secondary to the process. Also, the sales methodology only addresses the decision-maker conversation, and in virtual selling, the conversation is less than half the battle.

I take pride that Factor 8 content helps sellers find the right people, capture new contacts, figure out who to call, how to get (and keep) their attention, and get a call back – and all of that is before conversation one! (and yes, you can buy a tool to help with nearly all of that, but trouble ensues when tools replace strategy – that’s a different blog). 

All that said, we don’t have a sales call where we aren’t asked about our methodology, and this is fair. You don’t want us teaching your people something counter to your culture, your process, or your existing methodology. 

So for the first time in 15 years, I’m finally defining Factor 8’s methodology. It’s called:

SWIIFT℠ Selling

No, it isn’t a typo. SWIIFT℠ stands for, “So, What’s In It For Them?” and it’s the opposite of WIIFM (“What’s In It For Me”, in case you needed help with that one 😉 ). And although nobody purposely teaches reps to use the WIIFM methodology, it’s what happens in sales calls when we don’t teach them not to. 

If you’re unsure what I mean, check your inbox. 99.9% of sales messages are about the rep, the company, the product, and what they want. 

“I wanted to check in with you to see if you were getting enough leads because my company is helping others get leads and we’re the leading provider of leads and we’re doing an event about leads…”

Enough!

This is what happens when we onboard reps with company and product information only. They go out and parrot that information. Instead, SWIIFT℠ Selling teaches sellers to always first ask, “So, what’s in this call for them?” And to re-focus a message, a call, a value prop, or a call intro into one that leads with value for the customer. 

If you’re thinking, “wait, I thought value-based selling is dead,” just try letting your 24-year-old rep lead with a challenge. Ouch! Also, SWIIFT℠ Selling doesn’t mean it’s ONLY about value, it means we use value and customer centricity to get and keep attention for our discovery call and our product demo, and our closing call.

Of course, SWIIFT℠ Selling also implies speed. Bingo! This is absolutely critical in virtual selling. 

  • If my email is too long OR all about me, we’re dead in the water.
  • If my intro is too long or all about me, we’re dead in the water.
  • If my discovery is too long or all about me, we’re dead in the water. 

You know I could go on, right? Voicemails, value props, solution proposals, objection handling… 

I can’t think of a single place where keeping our focus on speed and what the customer cares about hurts us in sales.

Wait, maybe there’s a book in this after all.

Wondering what customers care about? Watch our video on Factor 8’s SWIIFT℠ Selling Six below!

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voicemail mistakes

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Top Voicemail Mistakes Inside Sales Reps Make

Reps often tell us they feel like they could be replaced by an outgoing voicemail message. Sound familiar? Pretty much nobody returns a call, right? Wrong.

In training, we’ve seen the percentage of returned calls increase 2-4X. In fact, we like to run contests to see who can get the most returned calls DURING training (because we put reps live on the phones during training – doesn’t your training vendor?) 😉

So why aren’t they calling you back? You’re probably making one of these three fatal voicemail mistakes:

  1. Selling in voicemail: Really, what are the odds they call you back with a PO? The voicemail is like the resume: it’s there to get you the interview, not the job. Quit the pitch and instead sell why they should call you back.

  2. Chatty Cathy: Too much is NOT a good thing. In other words, “Shut up already!” Voicemails should be about 20 seconds or less or I won’t even make it to your name and number.

  3. The obvious sales call: In intros, we call this the setup: you’re just setting yourself up for failure. Unless you strike it lucky (1:1Million) your contact isn’t waiting for you to call and sell them something, so get creative and think of what value you can add now that WILL get their attention.

Now, two confessions.

Confession #1: I collect unexceptional voicemails… we have found they are a great training tool! Last week I got one that was seven minutes long – and I’m pretty sure he was drunk (“Sheriously LV, we gotta get doo in here and help these peeelew…”) Actually, that might have been a lead. Still didn’t call back.

Do you have an unexceptional voicemail that you’d love to share?  Feel free to send them my way! What’s the worst you’ve received (or left)? I’ll start:

Confession #2: Nine years ago I hung up the phone and said, “Oh no. (Actually, I said something else but I’ll keep it PG.) Did I seriously just tell Steve Sharr that I am single in a voicemail? How did that even happen? How do I get it back!?”

Dear readers, we’re married now with two amazing little boys. So all’s well that ends well, right? Actually, yeah. Some of the best voicemails are less robotic and more human. Be authentic, be real. You’ll be more memorable (and apparently desirable! Haha).

Share your story on LinkedIn and tag me @Lauren Bailey so we can all learn from each other’s mistakes. (You can send the story over via message too if you wish to remain anonymous!)

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prospecting

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How the Hell Do I Prospect Right Now? Part 2

In part 1, we talked about call planning.  I hope you’ll check it out here as your outreach depends on getting to the right people with the right questions.

Outreach

So let’s talk about the outreach call, email, or social media message? 

Written

My advice: keep it short, zero sales, and very human.  Lead with humanity, the desire to help, and an eagerness to learn and talk.  Not pitch.  I dare you to craft a message that has nothing at all to do with you and everything to do with them.  I’ve replied to messages who even say that it’s a strange time to reach out, even those who vaguely apologize for doing so.  I haven’t replied to a single three-paragraph value prop. 

Voicemail

Ask yourself what calls you’ve returned in the past few weeks. Company I’ve been dodging for months to sell online credentials – hard pass. In fact, I’ve eye-rolled at the message as he and I both know damn well I should have been segmented to the bottom (read about segmenting and more planning in part 1 here)

FedEx account rep who was sorry to bother but thought she could save me some money – yes. Even called her during “I’m on kids” time and talked for fifteen minutes.

We have four simple strategies that work better than any other I’ve seen for getting a call back (watch more here) but the key is to customize these even further with empathy.  During these times I recommend you downplay the “mystery and urgency” approach and lean more on the “value or lever” approaches.  Let your message show that you know who they are and you get their situation.  A few lines I like to get you started:

“I’ve been thinking about you and wondering how you and your team are doing”

“What a crazy time to call…or maybe crazier NOT to call…but I do hope you’ll call me back…”

“You may not be taking sales calls, but if you’ll give me five minutes, I might be able to save you some money right now / make things easier right now.  Anyway, I’d really appreciate it…”

“I understand you won’t be going to XYZ conference anymore this summer with person A and person B, could we talk about that…”

Call

Same with our opening call.  How are you doing?  How is your business doing?  How are your people doing?  These are your go-to questions right now, and people want to answer them (a year ago I told folks to ditch the “how are you?”).

Keep the rapport building and empathy section of your call long and strong.  A quick pivot into exploring for sales opportunities starts to smell.  Want to build the fastest rapport?  Get real and share your side as well.  Skip the pat, “Hanging in there…it’s the new normal.”  If you want to connect, share something real.  What are you struggling with?  For me it’s managing homeschooling and not drinking every day.  It’s a little personal and a lot real and it builds fast connections with virtual strangers.

Now is the time to be 100% human.

Not an employee.  Not a rep.  Not a brand.  Be you.  And enjoy it.  Connecting with people is probably a big reason you got into sales in the first place.  If you achieve nothing else but a fifteen-minute rapport-building session at a personal level, you’ve achieved a lot.  Be willing to leave it there.  In the wise words of my friend Colleen Stanley, author of Emotional Intelligence for Sales Leadership: Ask yourself if your prospecting effort demonstrates that you get their world right now.  It’s the perfect litmus test.

Disco Anyone?

If you’re lucky enough to go further and you’re in a discovery call, lead with learning.  Understanding how your customers and prospects are approaching their business and lives gives you great stories to share with the rest of your prospects.  I want to know:

1.       How are sales?

2.       How are they serving their customers?

3.       What are the biggest challenges?

4.       Any hiring or layoffs?

5.       Any new markets or approaches?

6.       Any changes to the tools they are using?

7.       How has their leadership approached this?

8.       Have they had to change or cancel plans?

9.       Are budgets frozen?

10.   What are the top priorities right now?

And that’s just getting started.  These answers will not only help you connect but even change your approach as needed. 

Tell Stories

Even better, if you’re leading with learning in discovery, you’re collecting stories to tell others that can help other prospects and even yourself (XYZ company is actually hiring right now because….spending right now because….buying software because…)  Storytelling is key right now – right up there with empathy.

You are providing a service by doing some cross-pollination.  What is the flowerbed over there doing?  How about our competition?  What are you hearing that’s real and not either fake news or LinkedIn fluff?

And the Pitch!

Finally, if you’re in a position to pitch something, very carefully lead with value – and customized value to the situation (you planned this above!).  You’re not just convincing people why to do business with you, it’s why to do business with you RIGHT NOW.

May I also be so bold as to recommend a backup.  If you pitch the sale, be prepared with an offer.  I’m offering discounts, payment plans, and delayed payments.  I’m trial closing for next month or quarter when this doesn’t work.  Help people who want to say yes to do it or to sell it internally right now.

I hope you grabbed some nuggets in the above.  Take “lead with empathy” to a new level with your planning, your outreach, your discovery, and your pitch.  Note what’s working, cross-pollinate stories, and set yourself up to love your sales day rather than feeling (and smelling) like failure.  Harsh…but fair.

It’s time you guys.  Let’s get after this together.

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