Sometimes, a human answering the phone gets in the way. Whatever the situation may be, you need ringless voicemail to send you directly to a voicemail inbox.
Whether you’re cold calling or scheduling an automated follow up, a ringless voicemail script is a simple way to cut straight through the noise and into the inbox.
These days, many people don’t want a phone call. They might be busy. They might not be in the mood to talk. They might want to hear what you have to say—especially if they signed up for it—but they want to refer to it later.
But maybe you don’t need to be convinced that a ringless voicemail is a good idea. Maybe the problem on your end is far simpler: what do you say?
That’s where a ringless voicemail script comes in. Let’s start with the goods and then backwards-engineer our way through how we came up with it.
A classic voicemail script is the one you record for your automated voicemail greeting. The ringless voicemail script turns that on its head.
In this case, you’re the one reaching out.
The problem is that you might be good on the phone, but when you sit down to actually put together something, you freeze up. You’re stuck with a blank page. A cursor blinking at you.
A voicemail script helps you work from a preexisting template that you can put into action right away.
The classic sales technique is to use AIDA: Attention, Interest, Decision, Action. Using this basic formula for your voicemail message, you’ll have a basic structure you can use. Here’s how it might look.
Keep these things in mind:
• Attention: Hello, I’m _____ from _____.
• Interest: I’m calling because you reached out to us about [the problem they were having].
• Decision: If you have just a few minutes of time, I’d like to talk to you about [possible solution] .
• Action: Call me any time before five at [phone number].
There are some compromises here. You don’t want to start out a voicemail with an attention-grabbing “teaser.” That would be tacky. Simply introduce yourself, assuming that if they’re listening, attention is already there.
This is a very basic, easy-to-use, repeatable template that will start you off in your ringless voicemail journey. It’s one you can use to dial a phone number, leave a voicemail without calling, and have some degree of confidence that the person on the other end, if interested, is going to call you back.
When you use some version of the AIDA formula, you’ll set yourself up for a great day of cold calling. Why? Because it’s a tried-and-true formula.
But you will want to make sure to properly contextualize your script for your specific industry. For example, if you’re cold calling in the real estate industry, you won’t use the part in the script where you’re following up about a problem they were having.
If you’re engaging in outbound lead generation with companies that may not know anything about you, you may need a little more oomf when it comes to the “Interest” section.
Your company isn’t going to generate a lot of new business if you drop stale, too-repeatable voicemail scripts into their inbox. You’ll want to find ways that you can create interest without being so overly salesy.
Remember: these days, speaking on the phone is more intimate than ever, because we do it more rarely. The cold call isn’t quite what it used to be. People using their cell phone will look at a number and refuse to answer it if they don’t recognize it. You need to know how to leave an effective voicemail if you’re going to have success with your cold-calling outreach.
This means that you shouldn’t give off the impression that you’re looking to create nothing but sales hassles for them. Treat it more like an outbound version of inbound marketing. Whether you’re calling home buyers on behalf of a real estate agency or simply offering them information on pricing for your software, you have to engage attention without pushing them away.
Why use a script at all? Doesn’t it eliminate the human element out of what’s supposed to be a human-to-human interaction in the first place? A script might make you sound dry and robotic, and that’s not at all what you want.
The simplest reason? Scripts simply work.
There’s nothing inherently robotic about repeating yourself. Salespeople across the world will use similar pitches for their products, and it doesn’t mean that the products are bad or the salespeople are bad. What ultimately determines whether or not you include the human element in your outreach is 1) how warm you are and 2) your attention to detail.
In this case, you’re simply leaving a voicemail.
But there’s another important reason your cold calling strategy will be boosted by a script. It’s the only tenable way to do it! According to some statistics,
• It’s automated. Why add more work to your business, especially if you’re already busy? Automating as many processes as possible keeps the flow of business moving without your direct intervention. It only requires a little setup.
• It’s scalable. Let’s say you work in real estate and you need to reach a lot of leads within a day or so. You simply don’t have enough fingers to dial that many numbers. Using a script is far more scalable because it’s something you can repeat—or create for someone else to repeat on your behalf. Even if it’s a machine.
• It’s convenient. Convenience may be one of the most underrated aspects of our modern-day technology. It’s convenience that makes it easier to remember a company name without a business card. The less you can do to handle your outbound marketing, the more free you’ll be to focus on your work.
If you’re starting a ringless voicemail campaign, you’ll know that the technology isn’t just there to make life easier for you. It’s there to make you more efficient and productive. You’ll come across as a real person while still having the ability to scale your ringless voicemail campaign into an outbound marketing strategy that gets results.
Simply put, when you want a call back but you don’t want to speak right now, a ringless voicemail is a great way to go about it.
Think about it this way. Today’s email features offer all sorts of great outbound abilities. You can schedule emails for the right time of day. You can bypass a salesperson. You can automatically save company name information to your CRM.
Why shouldn’t your phone sometimes work just as smoothly?
Of course, the phone will be limited in some ways. It’s still a sales process. Many people are still going to avoid any calls or voicemails that they perceive are from self-interested sales reps. And no matter how organic you try to make your ringless voicemail script, there are going to be a number of people who still believe that.
But as you incorporate ringless voicemail strategies into your overall marketing—social media, your sales campaigns, etc.—you’ll slowly learn that there are great ways you can come across as a real person while still extending your productive capacity.
• Sales. Anyone in sales, or who has ever run a sales CRM, knows how important it is to get the sales call right. Going direct-to-voicemail is an advantage over the competition because it gives you an opportunity to be heard without anyone ever telling you “no.”
• Real estate agents. The hard work of prospecting as a real estate agent means you’re constantly following up on potential leads. Reaching out to real estate investors is the same way. The same goes for realtors. Everything from handling closing costs to securing the deal can be highly stressful for agents, and so is managing all of the contact information required to make it all work. A script helps automate that process and make ringless voicemail for real estate effective.
• Probate If you’re handling probate and simply need to get communications across, a ringless voicemail script can be a convenient way to do so.
• Wholesalers. Wholesalers are people who might make large purchases, and it’s important to get in touch with them on a personal basis. That kind of authentic connection is important to foster, and a ringless voicemail script can be a great way to get your foot in the door.
We’ve provided a basic template that you can use to immediately reach out to people within your industry. But that isn’t to say that this template should be your final product. Using the basic structure there, you should re-contextualize how that might sound within your industry. For example, if you’re calling as a real estate agent, you know that you need to come across as trustworthy and not overly pushy. How can you personalize your ringless voicemail script to make sure that comes across?
What can you do to get rid of the “salesy” vibe that many people now associate with voicemails and sales reps? What can you do to make someone feel glad that they gave you their telephone number? Answer these questions and you’ll have a ringless voicemail script that you can repeat ad nauseum—and it will continue to generate outbound marketing results for you and your team.
Do you have questions on how to leave a voicemail without calling? Email us at support@slybroadcast.com.