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KW Coach's Corner: Three-Step Strategy to Break Open the Voicemail Clamshell

By Aaron Kaufman

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Keller Williams Realty

October 06, 2009 12:52 PM

Teri Viduna, Agent Coach, Keller Williams Realty Atlanta- Peachtree Road Direct: 404-564-5249 Cell: 404-915-6319 teriv@kw.com

Three-Step Strategy to Break Open the Voicemail Clamshell

Over the course of more than a decade as a sales person as well as a sales trainer and coach, I've noticed that the most successful Realtors out there have some common habits in how they use this particular technology to their advantage. I've noticed a three-step voicemail strategy that you can apply to your own business and start getting the results you're looking for today.

Step #1: Leave a short, purposeful message that requires no action by the person you are calling. Here's an example of what that message might sound like:

"Hello, Janet, it's Teri Viduna. Sorry, I missed you. I'm calling because Brad Feimen asked me to speak with you. I promise to call you back Wednesday at 2:00PM."

Notice that the message does not include leaving your phone number. There's a reason for that. Your first message must not require any kind of task or action on the part of the prospect. You're the one who makes the commitment to call back at a specific date and time. Also, if the call is a referral, be sure to include that person's name in your message. Doing so helps to establish that you're not some stranger at the other end of the line. This gives the prospect an added incentive to talk to you.

Step #2: Leave a short, purposeful follow-up that fully meets the commitment you made earlier. True to your word, when 2:00PM rolls around on Wednesday, pick up the phone and make that follow-up call. If you're intercepted by voicemail again, leave a friendly message that sounds something like this:

"Hi Janet, it's Teri Viduna calling, as I promised, to try and reach you today. Sorry, I missed you. Brad Feiman at Keller Williams knows that you are looking to learn more about investmant properties. I promise to try you again Thursday at 10:00AM."

Step #3: Leave one final, purposeful message that takes ownership of why that person hasn't called back yet. Again, meeting your commitment to call, you pick up the phone on Thursday at 10:00AM. If voicemail greets you one more time, leave one final message like this:

"Hi Janet. It's Teri Viduna. I promised I would reach you today at 10:00AM. Sorry I missed you. I noticed you've been hard to reach this week. I have some interesting information that will help you in your property search Why don't you give me a call at 404-564-5249 and if I don't hear from you, I will try again on [blank date]."

You must take 100% ownership for why that person might not be returning your calls. Not only does this ensure you maintain a friendly, professional tone, it also says to the called party that there are no hard feelings for the lack of callbacks (and there could be plenty of good reasons for this that have no bearing on you whatsoever). Also of note in that third and final message, be sure to include your phone number so that the called party can call you back. That way, you leave the door open rather than slamming it shut.

One more thing to keep in mind about this three-step strategy to prying open the voicemail clamshell: It's field tested-that means that when it's implemented consistently, it yields some really impressive results. Agents who have incorporated it as part of their everyday lead generation strategy have reported back to me that their callback ratios have improved by as much as 80 percent. So embrace voicemail. Treat it right. And be prepared for truly amazing results that influence your bottom line!