97% of sales calls go to voicemail, according to Donato Diorio's recent HubSpot article. If your stereotypical voicemail includes, "Please call me…," you're not standing out from your competition. In fact, you're using the same plea as thousands of other sales reps, making it seem like the prospect is the one who is doing the favors in this interaction instead of you. Don't make it seem like that's the case. After all, you're the person offering a solution that can help your prospects. You're the one providing value during each sales meeting. 

That’s why salespeople need to work on leaving effective voicemails. If you don’t get a call back from your prospects, who cares how well you’ve honed your sales pitch skills?

Getting Your Point Across Without Saying, "Please Call Me."

Greeting

Keep it brief. If you haven’t been introduced to the prospect in the past, you obviously need to do so in your voicemail. However, we all know that introductions are the least interesting and important part of the message, at least until we figure out whether or not we’re interested in why the person is calling. So, keep your introduction short and sweet. Tell the prospect who you are and your company name. Also, if you think that name-​dropping will pique their attention, don't be afraid to mention a mutual connection.

Intention

Here’s where you have to hook the prospect’s attention. Why are you calling? Are you excited about the new product or service you’re offering and how it can work wonders for this prospect in particular? Are you hoping to network with this person in a way that is mutually beneficial to the two of you? Remember, prospects, at this early stage of the sales process, don’t care who you are and don’t want to hear a monologue of how amazing your product is. And they definitely don't want a vague message consisting of just an introduction and a, "Please call me," plea. The only thing they’re interested in is what you can do for them. 

Provide Value

So, what you should highlight is why their response will be worth their time and effort. Do this and they’ll be replaying your message to find out who they should be asking for when they call you back. For example, you can get their attention by providing statistics or other research your company has produced on their business sector. A projection on industry growth rates always generates interest.

But it’s also crucial that you keep your message brief. How brief? Diorio says effective voicemails are between 20 and 30 seconds long. By keeping your voicemails that short and sweet, you're less likely to lose the prospect’s attention before they've heard your entire message, and you won’t get cut off early by the answering machine.

Send Off

Yes, being available at the prospect’s convenience is nice, but it’s not a call to action. Stating your availability gives them a good time to target. Effective voicemails list dates and hours of availability before your contact information. And don’t forget to end with a polite, “I look forward to hearing from you,” or, “Thank you for your time.” Do NOT end with a send off that sounds like you're begging for the prospect's time, such as, "Please call me."