What should my voicemail say?

Question

I'm in the midst of setting up my toll-free number that I will be directing my sellers to call for my virtual wholesaling business.

All my marketing will be directing sellers to call a 24 Hour Toll-Free number for more information.

When the seller calls, they will hear an automated voice message and then be able to leave me a voicemail if they'd like to move forward.

What do you think my automated voice message should say?

Christopher Salazar · Answer

There are a lot of different opinions about this and what works best, but for me, I just keep it very simple. I say, "Hi you've reached Chris, please leave your property address and a good time to call, and I will be back with you as soon as possible. Thank you". Simple as that. I'm curious to know how much success people with a more drawn out voicemail have. I would imagine some people would hang up, but who knows?

Rick H. · Answer

Ok, this is currently on my mind and it piqued my interest. I just forwarded the audio that I had professionally recorded in NYC this am by my friend Susan, who just happens to be the voice of the AT&T operator (yes, that voice!). We're modifying the voicemail system for my probate liquidity business to both simplify the menu and sub-menu as well as clean up the creative script. As one would expect from a world-class voiceover artist, it's exceptional. However, you don't need fancy to start your business. From the perspective a prospect who might want to do business with you, I'd keep it straight forward. You can always tweak it as you experiment to capture more caller's info. BTW, I use FreedomVoice and I'm really impressed at what you get for a small monthly fee. We also have several #'s that forward to 24/7/365 live operators who use scripts for callers whereby responses are entered into online firms which are, in turn, are captured into our CRM system for further vetting, nurturing and conversion. All very scalable.

Joshua McGinnis · Answer

Rick H. Your response is like gold and a great example of why I love BP.I would love to hear your voicemail - is it possible for me to hear it? Professional voiceover isn't actually so expensive. There are a few freelance artists I know of who do great a job at a low price so it is an option for me in the near future.OK - So I have so many follow-up questions. I'll understand if you don't want to share all of your secret sauce, but here goes: Where did you hire your operators and what is the rate you pay? What is the script you've provided to them?What is the online form they're entering leads in? Is it a custom form or did you something like Wufoo?Which CRM do you use?Thanks in advance!

Joshua McGinnis · Answer

I don't think it's over the top at all. This is the cost of scaling and because of the systems you have in place, you are vastly more efficient and can handle more volume. I'll get there eventually, but I need to crawl before I run.I appreciate the info you shared.

Rick H. · Answer

1) For many years, the voice we used was my own, as others have told me that my natural speaking voice is suitable for recording. Several years ago, after some health briefly affected my voice and I no longer had an office with staff (yay!) I decided to truncate callers with a voice different then my own. A friend suggested Fivrr and I had three different people record my announcement, for about $50 total. I later had my friends vote for the best and that is the one currently running (and about to be changed).2) My script is specific the type business and clients that I work with. I put much time into writing, simplifying and testing function logic. You probably don't need that yet. 3) As with #2, the online form was created, tweaked and refined over the, last year. We use gravity forms for the live operator.4) We use InfusionSoft as our CRM. All in, probably $25,000 plus about $1,000/month to operate, including cost of CRM plus operator. You can get a FreedomVoice 800# for $10/mo. and that includes 5+ mailboxes!Is my system over the top? Perhaps. However, it's automated, effective and scalable and functions 24/7. Once the caller's information is captured, I can monetize it in any number of ways. All this happens while I'm doing other things.

David Bateman · Answer

Joshua McGinnis · Answer

@David Bateman when you say give them the option to bypass the message, what do you mean? Would you have people who bypassed the message go to one voicemail queue and then have everyone else (presumably the more qualified leads) go to another queue?

David Bateman · Answer

I'm experimenting with this right now. It depends on what your marketing says and whether you want 'quantity' calls or 'quality' calls. If you are marketing generally (i.e. Call me about your house) then I think you use a quick vm. However, if you are trying to prequalify your leads you might want to tell them to call a 24/7 recorded message with information on how you can help. Then give them an option to bypass the message, but for those who listen and leave a message the chances are really good that they will be good candidates for your services.

Joshua McGinnis · Answer

@Christopher Salazar Thanks. That's interesting and simple. I was thinking of saying more about what we do to help qualify a potential seller, but trying to keep it short and sweet to avoid losing the caller.Does anyone else have an opinion on this?