The Dos And Don’ts Of Ringless Voicemail Marketing

Here are the dos and don'ts to keep in mind to maximize your company's ringless voicemail marketing.

How's your business doing recently? As a business owner, you want your company to generate as many profits as possible. But of course, that's not easy to achieve, considering how intense the competition among businesses today is.

To gain a considerable edge over your competitors, you have to establish positive and relevant connections with your customers quickly yet effectively. One way that may help you achieve that is through phone calls.

However, phone calls alone may not be as powerful as you think in building connections with your customers, especially when it comes to cold calls. For this reason, consider other marketing tools, such as ringless voicemail messages, to boost the effectiveness of your phone calls.

But what are ringless voicemails? They're pre-recorded audio messages delivered straight into your clients' voicemail inbox. Also, they're non-intrusive—hence the name.

You don't have to worry about disturbing your patrons every time you initiate a conversation using ringless voicemails. With ringless voicemails, they'll receive a notification regarding the voicemails you delivered which they can click and listen to anytime. Do bear in mind though – ringless voicemails are only effective when done right.

To help you out, here are the dos and don'ts to keep in mind to maximize your company's ringless voicemail marketing.

Ringless Voicemail Marketing Dos

Ringless voicemail is lauded by business leaders as a useful tool that should be in every entrepreneur's arsenal. To give ringless voicemail justice, here are some tips you can consider:

1. Do Use Automated Dialers

An automated dialer, or auto-dialer, is a software solution that can improve the delivery of your voicemail campaigns. It automatically dials and calls multiple numbers, allowing you to save time to focus on other important tasks like customer service.

Automated dialers come in three different types: preview, power, and predictive. Each type has a different function and purpose, so be sure to choose one that's best suited for your business. Here's how they're different from each other:

• Preview Dialers

A preview dialer is the simplest type of auto-dialer. It provides key information about the recipient before the dialing begins. With this, you'll have extra time to prepare and determine the right voicemail to deliver when the line is unattended.

Preview dialers may not be ideal for voicemail campaigns, as they're often used to deal with customers on the bottom part of the marketing funnel. Plus, it's rarely used to initiate a conversation with potential customers.

• Power Dialers

A power dialer is a type of auto-dialer offered by companies like Power Dialer. It automatically dials another contact number once the call is completed. Unlike preview dialers, its main goal is to connect with as many customers as possible within the day.

If the line you're trying to connect with is busy, disconnected, or unattended, you'll be automatically redirected to another number. But before that, you'll have the option to leave a voicemail to inform the customer about your call.

• Predictive Dialers

A predictive dialer is the most advanced type of auto-dialer. It uses an algorithm to predict the time it takes for an agent to answer the call and the average number of dials required. This will help you maximize your time and increase the number of voicemails you can send daily.

2. Do Keep Your Voicemails Short Yet Concise

Most people have a shorter attention span, especially when listening to anything related to sales and marketing. They easily get bored and tend to lose their focus in the process. That's why it's ideal for voicemail messages to be short but sweet—well, you know what it means.

The duration of a perfectly-crafted voicemail should be within the range of 20 and 30 seconds—not too short and not too long. As you can see, the range seems to be very specific, but why?

Most people won't spend their time listening to an extremely long voicemail, especially from someone they don't recognize. That said, a voicemail longer than 30 seconds will probably get deleted by the recipient with no hesitations.

Further, voicemails shorter than 20 seconds are believed to suffer the same fate. Recipients can determine your voicemail's duration before they decide to listen to it. If it's too short, they'll see it as a waste of time and won't probably hesitate about deleting it right away.

Therefore, always keep your voicemails between 20 to 30 seconds long. It's the ideal call duration to spark interest and attention without wasting both your and your patrons' time.

3. Do Pose Questions You Wouldn't Include In Emails

Look at your email campaigns and see how they're similar to your voicemails. If both campaigns share the same thoughts, structure, and questions, don't expect to receive a lot of responses.

That said, you want your voicemails to include some questions not available in your emails. In addition, voicemail questions have to be as specific as possible. For example, if you're selling accounting services, you might want to ask about the issues your prospects often encounter.

Generic questions are often left ignored and unanswered. They become rhetorical at some point, even if they're not. Specific questions, on the other hand, make recipients feel responsible for getting back to you.

4. Do Split Your Voicemails Into Two Messages

Splitting voicemails into two different parts is another way to deliver them. Instead of leaving a 30-second voicemail, produce a 20-second message and send it first. Then, follow it up with a 10-second message immediately. For the succeeding audio clip, make sure that it's focused on the details you forgot to mention in the first part.

Here's an example you may consider:

• First Voicemail: 'Hi Athena! Recently, I attended a webinar hosted by The Salesman. I wasn't able to receive any emails the day after. This got me thinking if you have a compelling sales strategy for converting qualified and nurtured leads. According to our study, those who attended the webinar managed to achieve a 30% increase in sales. Can you share with us your best practices if you have any?'

• Second Voicemail: 'Athena, I didn't notice that I forgot to leave you my contact details. This is Dorothy Goldsworth from Salespeople Inc. You can call me back at 1-800-121-0081. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.'

Splitting voicemails seems daunting to execute but keep in mind the benefits you can enjoy. First, it helps you sound more human with the errors you encounter along the process. And second, this helps your prospects to remember you more.

5. Do Create A Sales Script

A sales pitch spiel or script is a useful guide when recording voicemails. With this, you'll be able to speak confidently, avoid stuttering, and prevent mistakes. Yet it should only contain the key points you want to discuss.

Creating a word-for-word sales script will make you sound boring, which you want to avoid when using a sales script. It doesn't encourage prospects to interact with you. Rather, it makes the call uncomfortable and less persuasive.

When writing a script, make sure that everything is personalized and specific. You want your prospects to feel that the voicemail they're listening to is crafted only for them. This will make them feel more valued, encouraging them to call you back right after.

Additionally, don't forget to review your sales script before starting your voicemail recording. Make sure to edit and proofread every sentence and remove the content that doesn't seem encouraging. After all, the goal of your campaign is to attract and convert more people.

Ringless Voicemail Marketing Don'ts

To carry out a successful ringless voicemail marketing campaign, you and your team need to explore the following tips to steer clear of voicemail gaffes in the future:

1. Don't Make Your Voicemails Sound Complicated

When crafting your voicemail messages, you want to keep them as simple as possible. Don't make things complicated by using technical terms or jargon that can make your voicemails difficult to understand. Remember, you're promoting a brand, not conducting academic research.

If you do, the message you're trying to convey might be misunderstood by your listeners. This will lead to confusion and uncertainties on the recipient's end, encouraging them to delete your voicemail right away. After all, they've no idea what they should do with it.

To make your voicemails less complicated, follow these simple tips below:

• Don't use jargon or technical terms—they're not meant for sales and marketing;
• Don't use long sentences, and pause when needed; and
• Use terms familiar to your target audience.

2. Don't Use An Unnatural Tone

Sales representatives are trained to be as enthusiastic and encouraging as possible when interacting with a customer on the other line. That's a good idea; nevertheless, too much enthusiasm can result in an unnatural tone of voice. And it might be too late for them to realize it.

If your voicemail sounds unnatural, your recipients will find it uncomfortable to listen to. They'll quickly hang up the phone and delete the voicemail as soon as they hear it.

Instead of going overly enthusiastic, imagine yourself talking to a friend to bring out the natural tone of your voice. Sustain that tone for several seconds and gradually lower your pitch. This implies that you're comfortable in what you're doing and that the call isn't something odd.

Without the unnatural tone in your voice, your prospects can easily understand the message you're trying to deliver. This will make them feel that the message is personally crafted for them alone. And that appeal to emotion is what will encourage them to respond.

If you need a helping hand, don't hesitate to consult a marketing agency to help you with your voicemail campaigns.

3. Don't Use Outdated Closing Lines

Outdated and old-fashioned closing lines don't offer value and something fresh to your prospects. They're too generic and don't provide the responsibility that will encourage people to respond.

Here are some examples of traditional closing lines you might want to avoid:

• 'Have a nice day!';
• 'I'll call you back.';
• 'Please call back.'; and
• 'I'll call you again on (date).'

Instead, try using these closing lines:

• 'I look forward to hearing from you.';
• 'Can't wait to have more chats with you.';
• 'If you need help, here's my number.';
• 'Thank you! I know you're busy, but I'd really appreciate it if you could call me back.'; and the like.

4. Don't Leave Your Voicemails Any Time Of The Day

Experts believe the best time to deliver voicemails is at the end of the day, around 4:00 to 6:00 PM. This is because of a psychological concept known as the serial position effect. It tells that people often remember the first and last things they see or hear.

Therefore, if you want to get the attention of your customers, be sure to be one of the last things they hear. That said, you should schedule the delivery of your voicemails around late afternoon. But what about being one of the 'first' things they hear?

Sending voicemails as early as 9:00 AM may be a good strategy. But people might have a lot on their plate and listening to your voicemail might seem less of a priority. They can postpone listening to your voicemail later and might probably forget about it.

But if you send your voicemails between 4:00 to 6:00 PM, you'll have better chances of getting responses. Why? Because it's time for your prospects to wrap up the day. After listening to your voicemail, they'll probably email you at night or call you back the next morning.

5. Don't Forget To Test Your Voicemails Before Sending Them Out

Testing should be done before sending your ringless voicemails. You want to ensure they're running in good condition to avoid sounding off your prospects. With that, here are the three things you need to check:

• Sound: Your voicemail should have proper volume settings so your recipients can understand what you're saying.

• Accuracy: All the information you want to discuss should be fact-checked and accurate. Further, check your contact details—even one wrong digit can ruin your campaign.

• Length: As mentioned earlier, keep your voicemails not too short (no less than 20 seconds) and not too long (no more than 30 seconds). Revise your pitch's length whenever necessary until you've hit that sweet spot.

If you're still having trouble with your voicemails, here's an easy tutorial on how to set up voicemail with Consumer Cellular.

Final Words

Ringless voicemail marketing is a powerful marketing strategy that can help you boost your leads and increase your conversion rates. Yet there are rules you have to follow to make your strategy as effective as possible. Mentioned above are the dos and don'ts to remember when producing voicemails for your marketing campaigns. Keep them in mind for a successful and stress-free ringless voicemail campaign.