NFIB

Avoiding The Voicemail Maze, Part II
03/ 14/ 2002

When contacting a large number of people by telephone for a survey or when cold-calling for new customers, you're quickly going to run into the scourge of the modern age -- voicemail. Just ask anyone who makes a lot of calls. The process can be incredibly frustrating, especially when you need to speak with a person to fill out a survey or give a phone pitch.

In today's Workshop, contributor Jeffrey Moses continues last week's article with additional suggestions for breaking through the Voicemail maze and actually speaking with a live human being.

There are several specific steps you can take before calling to increase your chances of contacting the right person. First, make sure that you have the person's title and name, with correct spelling in case you have to punch it into an automated voicemail system. A receptionist can more easily locate the individual in the company's phone directory. If you reach an automated receptionist, immediately press "0" and you may be put through to a live person who can help you.

If you are calling people with a specific title or job description and don't know the names of people you're trying to reach at a business, you're going to have the extra problem of working with a receptionist to determine the right person. Before you're connected, make sure that you get the correct spelling of the person's name, his or her title, and extension number, which will help if you get voicemail and decide not to leave a message.

When possible, also ask the receptionist if the person you're trying to reach has a private fax number. This will save you time if you decide to try faxing information to the contacts you haven't been able to reach by phone.

You can count on having to call people a second, third or fourth time to reach them without getting voicemail. Some people are never available, but you will inevitably reach at least a few people if you call often enough and at various times of the day.

If you reach people who don't have time to talk, ask if there's a good time to call back. If you don't reach them at the time they gave you to call back, keep calling them back daily or even several times a day. When you finally reach them again, re-introduce yourself and tell them why you're calling. Remind them that they were too busy when you spoke before, and that they asked you to call again. This often can shame a person into completing a survey, or listening to your sales talk.

If you're conducting a survey, tell the person exactly what the information is about and how long the survey will take. Then move systematically through the questions, not wasting their time or your own.

Don't be overly pushy to get a person involved. Being too aggressive will increase the odds of someone simply hanging up on you. Be sensitive to the fact that many people are being overwhelmed by aggressive phone solicitors at home and at work.

And be sure to thank a person when you finish your call. Their time is valuable, and they have given you something of value just by listening to your pitch or participating in your survey.

Small Business Sound Off
Does this story hit home?  Share your story with us