How to leave effective messages
How to leave effective messages
By Tim Sales
http://mlmlessons.brilliantexchange.com
This month's newsletter and conference call is on: Don't be surprised by the answering machine .
You're ready to call your prospect and invite them to... look at a video, listen to a conference call or come to a meeting only to discover that you get his answering machine. What do you do? No, you don't freak out; you leave a message that conveys such confidence that your prospect will want to call you back the minute he hears it!
"At the sound of the tone, leave your message, beeeeep." Uh, uh _ _ _ hi _ _ uh I was just calling um _ _ I'll just try later.
That only happens when you're not prepared. So you might as well learn it now and practice it so you're never surprised by an answering machine.
What you're going to learn here and on the conference call I recommend that you rehearse several times and then call your own answering machine and leave yourself a message and listen to it. Listen to how you sound; you may be surprised. Make corrections and do it again. Continue practicing until you can leave a confident message that sounds really good.
Generally for a warm market person (someone you know), you can vaguely state the reason why you are calling and leave it at that. He's your friend and should call you back. How ever you "normally" talk I suggest you keep it that way. Don't suddenly sound like a different person.
Here are some examples:
"Hi John, this is Tim - how are you. I'm calling to talk a little business with you..."
"Hi John, Tim here - give me call. I've got something I want to run past you..."
"Hi John, Tim here - haven't talked in a while. I'd like to catch up on what you've been up to and run something by you..."
"Hi John, this is Tim. Hey man, something's come across my desk that you may find interesting..."
"Hi John, this is Tim Sales - we've not talked in a VERY long time. Give me a call when you can, I want to hear about what you've been up to..."
And if you're normally goofy on the phone, by all means be goofy:
"Hey John did you see the Gators beat up on the Bulldawgs? I'm calling to rub it in a little... (laugh) not really - I want to talk a little business with you..."
Of course, with a cold market person (someone you don't know), you want to be smart with how you handle the call; give yourself the authority in the situation, in a non-assertive way of course.
"Hi I'm calling for John Smith. John, you filled out a questionnaire indicating that you have an interest in a business you can work from home. I'm calling in regards to that. I'd like to get to know you a little bit and find out what you had in mind to see if it's a fit with what I have. Let me give you my number..."
I don't have a lot of examples on this one because this is always the message I leave. The only thing that varies is how I got his number.
I don't recommend you leave long-winded messages - nor very short messages - "This is Tim, call me back."
All of those examples are the first part of the message. The last part of the message should ALWAYS be the same. Let me repeat that, the last part of the message should always be the same!
Here's the last part:
"...let me give you my number 888.888.8888. I'll give that to you again, 888.888.8888. Look forward to talking with you."
NEVER ASSUME HE HAS YOUR NUMBER.
NEVER ASSUME HE HEARD YOUR NUMBER THE FIRST TIME.
ALWAYS ASSUME YOUR PHONE (OR HIS) HAS A BAD CONNECTION AND THE ENTIRE MESSAGE DIDN'T GO THROUGH.
Many times people leave me messages and they rattle their number so fast (because they know it very well) that I have to rewind the recording several times to hear it.
Do not leave anything of value after you give your number. The prospect may hang up after hearing you say, "I'll give that to you again." So if after the number you leave something like, "I'm available after 7" which is very important information your prospect may not get that because they hung up before it played.
With heaps of admiration,
Tim Sales
__________________________________________________
About the Author
In 1989, near the end of an 11-year tour with the US Navy Underwater Bomb Squad Team, Tim answered an ad in the Washington Post newspaper that led him to his first and only network marketing company. Five years later his network marketing income rose to over $150,000 per month with over 56,000 people in his organization. His most noted contribution to the Network Marketing Industry is the Brilliant Compensation presentation. In addition, Tim is a teacher at the university-affiliated Network Marketing Certificate Seminar sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago. To learn more about Tim visit his website at :
http://mlmlessons.brilliantexchange.com/
© 2005, Brilliant Exchange, Inc. Reprinted with permission from Brilliant Exchange, Inc.
By Tim Sales
http://mlmlessons.brilliantexchange.com
This month's newsletter and conference call is on: Don't be surprised by the answering machine .
You're ready to call your prospect and invite them to... look at a video, listen to a conference call or come to a meeting only to discover that you get his answering machine. What do you do? No, you don't freak out; you leave a message that conveys such confidence that your prospect will want to call you back the minute he hears it!
"At the sound of the tone, leave your message, beeeeep." Uh, uh _ _ _ hi _ _ uh I was just calling um _ _ I'll just try later.
That only happens when you're not prepared. So you might as well learn it now and practice it so you're never surprised by an answering machine.
What you're going to learn here and on the conference call I recommend that you rehearse several times and then call your own answering machine and leave yourself a message and listen to it. Listen to how you sound; you may be surprised. Make corrections and do it again. Continue practicing until you can leave a confident message that sounds really good.
Generally for a warm market person (someone you know), you can vaguely state the reason why you are calling and leave it at that. He's your friend and should call you back. How ever you "normally" talk I suggest you keep it that way. Don't suddenly sound like a different person.
Here are some examples:
"Hi John, this is Tim - how are you. I'm calling to talk a little business with you..."
"Hi John, Tim here - give me call. I've got something I want to run past you..."
"Hi John, Tim here - haven't talked in a while. I'd like to catch up on what you've been up to and run something by you..."
"Hi John, this is Tim. Hey man, something's come across my desk that you may find interesting..."
"Hi John, this is Tim Sales - we've not talked in a VERY long time. Give me a call when you can, I want to hear about what you've been up to..."
And if you're normally goofy on the phone, by all means be goofy:
"Hey John did you see the Gators beat up on the Bulldawgs? I'm calling to rub it in a little... (laugh) not really - I want to talk a little business with you..."
Of course, with a cold market person (someone you don't know), you want to be smart with how you handle the call; give yourself the authority in the situation, in a non-assertive way of course.
"Hi I'm calling for John Smith. John, you filled out a questionnaire indicating that you have an interest in a business you can work from home. I'm calling in regards to that. I'd like to get to know you a little bit and find out what you had in mind to see if it's a fit with what I have. Let me give you my number..."
I don't have a lot of examples on this one because this is always the message I leave. The only thing that varies is how I got his number.
I don't recommend you leave long-winded messages - nor very short messages - "This is Tim, call me back."
All of those examples are the first part of the message. The last part of the message should ALWAYS be the same. Let me repeat that, the last part of the message should always be the same!
Here's the last part:
"...let me give you my number 888.888.8888. I'll give that to you again, 888.888.8888. Look forward to talking with you."
NEVER ASSUME HE HAS YOUR NUMBER.
NEVER ASSUME HE HEARD YOUR NUMBER THE FIRST TIME.
ALWAYS ASSUME YOUR PHONE (OR HIS) HAS A BAD CONNECTION AND THE ENTIRE MESSAGE DIDN'T GO THROUGH.
Many times people leave me messages and they rattle their number so fast (because they know it very well) that I have to rewind the recording several times to hear it.
Do not leave anything of value after you give your number. The prospect may hang up after hearing you say, "I'll give that to you again." So if after the number you leave something like, "I'm available after 7" which is very important information your prospect may not get that because they hung up before it played.
With heaps of admiration,
Tim Sales
__________________________________________________
About the Author
In 1989, near the end of an 11-year tour with the US Navy Underwater Bomb Squad Team, Tim answered an ad in the Washington Post newspaper that led him to his first and only network marketing company. Five years later his network marketing income rose to over $150,000 per month with over 56,000 people in his organization. His most noted contribution to the Network Marketing Industry is the Brilliant Compensation presentation. In addition, Tim is a teacher at the university-affiliated Network Marketing Certificate Seminar sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago. To learn more about Tim visit his website at :
http://mlmlessons.brilliantexchange.com/
© 2005, Brilliant Exchange, Inc. Reprinted with permission from Brilliant Exchange, Inc.
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