Dman1b

Azure Specialist

To Leave, Or Not To Leave.........VM When Cold Calling??

I personally view it as a wasted dial otherwise. I always leave a simple message that receives an 85% callback rate. "Hello Billy Bob, this is Dman1b calling with a quick question and I appreciate your help. I can be reached at 867-5309." I have a plain VM greeting on desk phone that does not mention my company only my name. They will call back because people love to help........some will be angry when they realize the truth, don't let it bother you. In fact, I should start recording these calls so General Corp. can reenact them! There has been a few absolute classics!!!

When Cold Calling, how do you deal with VM??

Attached poll

Leave Message Call Back Later Leave Unrelated Message "I'm from IRS" "I accidently ran over your dog" etc. Who Cold Calls??

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

🏰 War Stories

📞 Cold Calling

51 comment

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braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

You sell to IT security and are getting an 85% call back on voicemails?!

beachNsales

Politicker

Sales Manager

.85% maybe

85% call back rate is banana land

Dman1b

Catalyst

-6

Azure Specialist

And the 4 minute mile was impossible until someone did it. You seem like one of the many uninspiring and un-innovative sales leaders that plague our ranks with your know-it-all methodology rendering mediocre results at best.

If you find the suggestion holds no merit, you are free to keep training your reps to leave long messages telling your potential prospect all about your company, what you do, why you called.......or to NOT leave a message at all, wasting the time of every dial! My reps leave messages and get an 85%+ callback rate.

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Yeesh. All this on a Friday!

Dman1b

Catalyst

-4

Azure Specialist

Don't even know what that means? When you are a well-oiled sales machine, you can crush quota AND have spare time to help others improve.......provided they want to?

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Just coming real hard at us. You ask for opinions and then started insulting people when they gave their opinion.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

who’s mans is this

Dman1b

Catalyst

-2

Azure Specialist

I asked for opinion on the poll. When I gave MY methodology for attaining an 85%+ callback rate, I was called a liar by those that obviously don't command an 85% callback rate. So you get the wrathful truth!! Not one of you has presented a better idea or an explanation as to why mine couldn't possibly get a 85% rate???

What you are experiencing is a Pit-Bull mauling puppies........since y'all don't seem interested in becoming pit-bulls. Have a great weekend........

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Maybe some of us don't have to make cold calls anymore ;)

And as to your method, I don't like trying to trick people into calling me back. Seems like shaky ground to start a long term relationship. But to each their own!

Dman1b

Catalyst

-3

Azure Specialist

We can't all have SDRs that are better than us.........

Dman1b

Catalyst

-2

Azure Specialist

Yes, and every rep I've trained over the last 15 years has gotten the same.

You see, I could be a vendor, I could be a customer.......you won't know until you call. Another fun fact, you have to have a very thick skin to roll like me because you will get some folks who chew your ass like a pit-bull on a bone!!

I'm the kind of sicko that lives for that though........uncertainty is one of the most flavorful spices of life.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

I only leave messages if I've tried many times to get ahold of them on various channels and haven't had any luck. I use it as a last ditch attempt. I don't leave them on 95% of my cold calls tho. The ROI is abysmal.

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

This man @Dman1b bout to get downvoted right OUT of the War Room. You might want to start taking some of this advice...

Dman1b

Catalyst

-2

Azure Specialist

So, work twice as hard, or three times as hard.......GOT IT!!

I prefer to just pick up the phone when they call me back to see who I am and how they can help me.

If you're going to leave a VM on the "last ditch attempt" anyway, why not the first?? It's not whether to leave a message or not, you're there......LEAVE THE MESSAGE!! The key is in the message you leave.

Question, if you pop in on a prospective client and they are not available or present, do you leave your card.......or come back later??

Your sales manager owes me one........or ten!!

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

If they don't answer, I just call back to get them live on the phone to actually have a productive conversation and book the next meeting. I'd rather not be another voice in their inbox that they delete halfway through the message, my time is worth more than that.

I don't do in person sales so the pop in question doesn't apply to me. In person "pop ins" are another big (and antiquated) waste of time.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

This will always be my favorite.

Dman1b

Catalyst

-4

Azure Specialist

Why don't you keep asking me, it's so effective for your cold calling?!?

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Dman1b

Catalyst

-2

Azure Specialist

Still here, keep asking!!

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Anything 4 u

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Jenny Jenny, who can you turn to?

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

867-5309!!!!!!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

GREAT tune.

Dman1b

Catalyst

-3

Azure Specialist

Most intelligent reply I've gotten yet!!

BmajoR

Arsonist

Account Executive

What's your favorite CRM?

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Miller Lite.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Mine is red

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Honda.

bareknuckles

Valued Contributor

CEO of my kitchen table

Post it notes

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

I’ll leave a VM after I’ve tried a few times, I don’t love the idea of duping someone into giving me a call back.

Dman1b

Catalyst

-2

Azure Specialist

I can respect that, but I don't view it as a dupe. I genuinely have a question, and I genuinely could use their help answering it. The call back is actually where you get to display your sales prowess, as it is at that very moment the deal gets done or not.

However, no matter how good you become at handling the call backs, you're going to get a few that feel duped.........they are the gold that makes this job so gloriously interesting and different every day.

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

Is the 85% call back include personal calls? 17 out of 20 people you call actually call you back?

Dman1b

Catalyst

-5

Azure Specialist

Yes, they have to. Or they can go through their day wondering if I was a client, existing vendor, channel partner, etc. And I'm asking for help, who doesn't want to help?? The other 15% of people who are assholes!

Can't believe so many "Sales Professionals" have been sent to market without basic sales skills.......yet everyone is crushing quota??

0PercentCloseRate

Politicker

Oh boy

Nah, I don't lie.

Dman1b

Catalyst

-2

Azure Specialist

You just did......

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Leave VM (Less than 30 seconds) for SPECIFIC reason to connect and a time I will call back if I don't hear back from them.

Dman1b

Catalyst

-2

Azure Specialist

So, work twice as hard by calling twice? OK......

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Well.... we know who DOESNT hit their quota....

Dman1b

Catalyst

Azure Specialist

Time for you to make some call backs.......I'm too busy picking up return messages and blowing out quota!

Dman1b

Catalyst

Azure Specialist

Post yours Playa!!

Dman1b

Catalyst

Azure Specialist

Where'd you go, calling people back that didn't return your VM??

RealPatrickBateman

Politicker

🔪Amateur Butcher🔪

Hold on, let me go screenshot my managers dashboard too. Brb.

Dman1b

Catalyst

Azure Specialist

You can see your manager's commissions?? OK, post what you've got........then we can all make fun of you on your merits!!

NoSuperhero

Politicker

BDR LEAD

ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS. leave a VM. And if you can direct them to your email you've hit gold. I've booked so many meetings this way, IDK why I stop from time to time.

Upper_Class_SaaS

Politicker

Account Executive

I never leave VMs cuz I want to call 4-5 times a week lol

Dman1b

Catalyst

-1

Azure Specialist

Now that's funny, period.......end of fact!!

SaaSyBee

Politicker

Founder

One voicemail is fine. More than one is thirsty. I recently received 3 voicemails from someone I had already told "no" and now I'll likely never work with that company.

Dman1b

Catalyst

-1

Azure Specialist

One is all it should take.....

spicy

Good Citizen

Account Executive

Almost 0% conversion rate on VMs, but sometimes it helps when you start a blitz to leave a few in your first calls to warm up

Dman1b

Catalyst

-1

Azure Specialist

Do you mention your company in your VM, "Hello, this is Spicy from Taco Bell....."?? If so, that is why the 0% conversion rate.......they were not in the mood for tacos, just Spicy.

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