Have you ever heard of ringless voicemail? It's the concept that you can leave a voicemail message on someone's smartphone without ever having to set off their notifications for an incoming call. In other words, it's a great way to reach out to someone via voice without interrupting their day.
That might seem like something with a million practical uses, but one of the best places to use it might be in calling people about fundraisers. After all, a fundraiser can be a sensitive subject. You're reaching out to people and often asking for them to make a donation. And it's not easy. You'll often feel like you're cold-calling people.
The good news is that with ringless voicemail, you can engage in telemarketing that adheres to regulations, is slightly more personal than a text message, and leave voicemail messages that give you a shot at earning a person's attention. This is a powerful way to reach out to people, especially when it's time to ask for money. But here's more about why ringless voicemail for fundraisers might help you get the job done.
We live in a world of voicemail messages and notifications. Every time we check our phone, we expect to see a text of some sort, whether a push notification or a text message from someone we know. But ringless voicemail services bring a personal touch back into telemarketing that's been lacking for some time.
It enables you to record a default voicemail message, reach out to a recipient directly, and "drop" the voicemail directly into their inbox—no chances of talking, which can mean that you risk rejection for a fundraising event. You fast-forward to the stage of getting your voice heard for a brief while.
For fundraisers especially, ringless voicemail can come across as exceptionally courteous. Yes, you're asking for money, but you're not trying to "make a sale," which can set off the "spam" alarm bells of many people checking their smartphones these days. And you always leave someone with the option of a callback. They can reach out to you if they're interested, make their donation, and everything goes smoothly.
Ever since the advent of caller ID, things have changed for telemarketers. Reaching a contact list has become more challenging, especially with more people adding themselves to a Do Not Call list. But you still need a way to reach out to people and get your voice heard personally. What is the most cost-effective way of doing this? For many people, it's dropping a message directly into the voicemail inbox.
Before you do anything else, try to see things from the call recipient's perspective. Maybe they've put themselves on a Do Not Call list. Perhaps they're screening calls because of debt collection or debt collectors constantly reaching out to them. In that case, an unknown number on their caller ID can give them a sudden start, and they may be inclined to screen the call. For a fundraiser, this can even mean that you get unnecessarily ignored—they may delete your voicemail message without hearing it.
If, however, you never set off these alarm bells in the first place, you can use ringless voicemail as a legitimate lead generation and marketing tool. In the message you leave, you can notify people that you're a non-profit organization if that's the case, and then leave your phone number in the message for them to call back. You may be surprised to find just how many people do call back.
When you have access to new technology that drops you directly to a recipient's voicemail inbox, you can do many things. Yes, you can place a call for a fundraiser and ask for donations. But as you discover how ringless voicemail works, you'll find there are all sorts of practical purposes you can put to use.
For starters, directly calling people at their voicemail boxes is a form of "voicemail broadcasting." You can do all sorts of lead generation activities with this in mind. After all, people find it less intrusive if you leave a message in their inbox. It's more like an email message with an audio file attached. With this "voicemail broadcasting" mentality in mind, you can create all sorts of unique opening messages to entice the interest of your phone recipients.
Think of it as "voicemail marketing." You're no longer simply calling people up and hoping they don't hang up on you. Instead, you're adjusting strategy, and you're changing the medium of your message. You're no longer a robocall, either; you can have a unique, personal voice in the message that doesn't sound like it comes from a farm of call centers.
In fundraising, your "voice broadcasting" system can be a great way to get around many of the issues that come with telemarketing. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, for example, offers a lot of regulations that are aimed at giving more power to the average consumer, especially someone with a landline who doesn't have access to spam blocking. Your job as a fundraiser isn't to hide from these regulations but to work within them. And ringless voicemail can be a way to do that.
You don't have to be fundraising to get the most out of ringless voicemail, either. You can work in business. You can work in real estate. You can work in sales.
As long as you have a solid lead generation strategy that doesn't feel intrusive, you may find that many of the call recipients are happy to reach out to you. Rather than wondering how someone got past the national do-not-call list, many people are grateful that you didn't take time out of their day with a direct call.
The result? Everyone's happier—and you can raise more funds.