Call-back

You’ll find dozens of recommendations to build your sales strategy so that you won’t allow prospects to control the sales cycle. That means you should be persuasive enough with your cold calling. 

But what if the majority of CEOs never respond to cold calls at all? That mustn’t be a reason to stop trying to reach them. At least you can ask your prospect for a call-back.

What is a call-back in sales?

A sales call-back is a prospect’s call you expect to get after leaving a voicemail message. In fact, 97% of sales calls end up going to voicemail. But what’s incredible is that 80% of salespeople don’t leave a voice message when given a chance. Meanwhile, this is a perfect sales opportunity. What you should understand is how to make the best of it.

Tips on how to increase the number of call-backs from your customers

Here are seven tips on how you may grow your chances of getting a prospect’s call-back.

Do research

Expecting a call-back, you should be sure you’ve done your homework. In other words, you should gather data in advance to demonstrate your knowledge of what your prospect is doing on the market. Try to grasp specific information about the company, something that others might not be aware of. 

Don’t sell

If you start offering your solution right away, you’ll risk killing the opportunity to receive a call-back at all. Instead, come up with something relevant to your prospects.

The best way to do this is to set a Google alert for a company you will be calling in two or three weeks. That way, Google will send you all the updates about your prospect, which you may use as a hook. 

Be timely

Make sure you don’t offer anything beyond the relevant timeframe. To make a prospect dial a call back number, you should come in with an offer that would be aligned with the time of the year, urgency, and customer buying cycle.

Stand out

Your offer shouldn’t just be relevant. If you want to catch attention with your voicemail and get your prospect to call you back, be ready to say something they haven’t heard about before (in the realm of their business, of course). If you feel it’s a bit difficult, start with a rhetorical question that would provoke some thoughts and differentiate you. 

Don’t talk about the weather

Making an attention-grabbing lead-in for your message, avoid talking about the weather, current social events, and any other topics that may sound too artificial, especially, for decision-makers who have been long in the business world and are reluctant to waste their time on shallow issues. 

Bring value

Ensure your communication with the potential buyer is value-bringing. It doesn’t mean you should present the top features of your product at once. Remember: a good sales rep always speaks about the customer, not about themselves. Focus on your prospect’s goal and connect reaching that goal with your interaction, i.e., with their call-back. 

Get prepared for every call

Don’t count on a call-back if you are planning to repeat the same script over and over again. About 59% of customers say that personalization influences their purchase decision. Find some time to make your message personalized, so that it could sound genuine.

Effective voicemail script techniques and examples for getting a sales call-back

To help you make up voicemail messages that would bring more call-backs, we have compiled a list of script techniques and examples. They will be presented as templates you may use in your practice.

Use a lever

As mentioned in the previous section, your voicemail shouldn’t sound like a cold call. Use a lever that would relate to the prospect you are trying to reach, for example:

• People you might know in common
• Customers’ testimonials in similar businesses
• History shared with the prospect

Let’s take a look at the voicemail message sample that contains a lever:

“Hi [Prospect’s name], 

This is [Your name] from [Your company]. I liked and supported your comment on LinkedIn about [LinkedIn post] you left in [LinkedIn group] on [Date]. 

I would like to have a brief chat with you. 

Please call me back at [Your phone number]. 

Thanks!”

Be helpful

Another tactic you can apply to your sales voicemail script is providing help, i.e, something your prospects may consider a real value. For instance:

• Hint on your possibility to provide options for saving their time and money.
• Point out how you can simplify their sales process.
• Provide an answer to something they want to know or are interested in.

IMPORTANT: Using this technique, you should be careful not to sound too salesy. 

Here’s an example of a script that highlights how helpful you may be to your potential clients:

“Hi [Prospect’s name], 

This is [Your name] from [Your company]. I have found out that your sales have fallen in 2020. That’s true about the majority of companies, yet we managed to help our customers maintain and even increase their revenue this year. 

I have a solution that may streamline your sales process next year.

If you could give me a call-back at [Your phone number], we would discuss this opportunity in detail.

Thanks!”

Create a FOMO effect

Try to play to a fear of loss in your sales voicemail script. That would motivate your prospect to find out what is hidden behind your offer. In particular, they might get interested if you hint that:

• Something might be wrong with their account.
• They are the only ones who have not called you back.

Here’s a template of a brief script that creates a FOMO effect:

“Hi [Prospect’s name], 

This is [Your name] from [Your company]. I am at [Your phone number]. 

Please, call me back. Again, I am at [Your phone number]. 

Thanks!”

Create a sense of urgency

Add a timeline within which your prospect may call you back to arouse the feeling of urgency. With this technique, you’ll also again convey a FOMO effect.

Let’s take a look at the template script:

“Hi [Prospect’s name], 

This is [Your name] from [Your company]. I am trying to call you before the end of the day [Your phone number] with an important issue to discuss.  

Please, call me back. Again, I am at [Your phone number]. 

Thanks!”

IMPORTANT: The urgency you create should be real. If, say, you tell your prospect their free trial expires when it isn’t, this will only spoil your image and avert them from cooperating with you at all. 

Keep in mind that you may combine various voicemail script techniques. Make it creative but up to the point. 

Wrapping up

Most of your business prospects won’t buy from you instantly. Even more, the majority of your prospective customers won’t reply to your cold call. But this can’t be the point of disappointment. 

Remember, you can always go to a voicemail and do your best to get a prospect’s call-back. Tactics are plenty. Plan your sales voicemail script and make sure your message isn’t too pitchy and sounds worthy of their attention. 

And don’t forget that Snov.io is always here to help you develop your sales strategy.