For every sales or sales development rep or anyone who is trying to reach someone, the voicemail is a low converting often frustrating part of the game. Many people don’t leave voicemails anymore. They just don’t see the value. I get it…we rarely see one-to-one value from the voicemail.
What if I told you that there is a technique that drives 50% call back return rates?
Actually, don’t answer that because I think your answer would be “bullsh**!” This post is about the “Tibor Shanto” method which Tibor says can return a 50% call back rate. Pretty bold right? Personally, I have been fascinated by his method over the years. There are parts of his method that I use in my voicemail training. The only exception is I like to drive people from the voicemail to email versus trying to get a call back. Tibor likes to get the call back which is the holy grail in outbound prospecting voice mails. It’s well worth exploring.
The Tibor Shanto Rules of Voicemail Mastery
1. Answer the following question: What is the purpose of you voicemail?
One of the biggest roadblocks to successful voicemails is the fact that the sales person goes into the call with the wrong goal or worse yet, no goal. For Tibor Shanto, the goal of the call is get a call back. Very simple. For Tibor, when you get the chance to talk to someone, that is when you can move to the next steps in the sales process. He warns against essentially leaving a commercial where the sales person leaves a long voicemail with way too much information. These types of voice mails never convert.
2. “Less is more effective”
“Please leave a detailed message” is the common request on people’s outgoing voicemail message. As Shanto points out, they want the detail so they can find reasons NOT to call you back.. Leaving a long, overly-detailed message gives the buyer the opportunity to say“no” without the opportunity for you to overcome objections and sell.
3. Create a bit of mystery
Step one is to NOT give them the detail they want and step two is to create curiosity. The best technique is to be prepared to mention the names of other companies you have worked with who are competitive or at least in the same industry. You don’t want to lie, the customers you reference have to be legitimate customers you have worked with.
4. Do multiple touches over a two week period
People are busy. Plan to leave multiple voicemails and emails over a multi-week period. Tibor recommends 6-7, I typically recommend 12-15. If you can’t get to them, set them aside for a month or two and repeat.
A sample voicemail, Tibor-Style
Scenario: You are calling on Coke after you have just done business with Pepsi
“Hi Walt, my name is Tibor Shanto, from Coke. You can reach me at 416 822-778”
- Never say “Please call me back at your earliest convenience”. You will alert the prospect that you are a sales person immediately
- Be firm, authoritative, like you demand a call back, Either “you can reach me at…” or “I can be reached at…”.
- Say your number slowly so they can write it down. Buyers wont stand to have to rewind to write your number down.
”Please reference Pepsi when you call back” or “It’s with reference to Pepsi.”
- Reference a competitor or someone in their industry. Remember, don’t lie about the customer reference, they have to be someone you have done business with
Hang up
See, that was easy. The Tibor Shanto method can be described in 605 words or less.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Craig Rosenberg is the Funnelholic and a co-founder of Topo. He loves sales, marketing, and things that drive revenue. Follow him on Google+ or Twitter